- Goldfeather used Buterin’s 2020 roadmap to counter L2’s criticism.
- Buterin likened L2 to a web browser to strengthen Ethereum’s ecosystem.
Recently, critics have scrutinized Vitalik Buterin’s vision for a Layer 2 (L2) solution, arguing that L2 deviates from the core principles and original roadmap of Ethereum (ETH).
These claims suggest that L2 solutions designed to increase Ethereum’s scalability are no longer aligned with the network’s core goals.
However, most of these criticisms overlook a key aspect of Buterin’s 2020 rollup-centric roadmap, which provides a clear path for L2 development.
Steven Goldfeder Defends Buterin’s L2 Roadmap
In response to these criticisms, Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder recently addressed the issue in a post on X.
He rebutted these claims by revisiting Vitalik Buterin’s 2020 rollup-centric roadmap, emphasizing that the current development of layer 2 solutions is still consistent with Ethereum’s long-term vision.
He said,
“Those who claim L2 is misaligned clearly haven’t read @VitalikButerin’s 2020 rollup-centric roadmap.”
To bolster his argument, Goldfeather shared “three quotes that directly refute some of the most bizarre claims,” providing clear evidence to support Buterin’s original roadmap.
Early criticism stemmed from common misunderstandings. Various Layer 2 (L2) solutions such as Arbitrum and Base cannot belong to the Ethereum ecosystem. Competitive nature.
However, Goldfeder refuted these claims by citing Vitalik Buterin’s roadmap.
“It’s okay (in fact, it’s good!) that Ethereum is made up of several “islands” that are unique but still part of the larger Ethereum.
Source: Steven Goldfeder/X
This shows that these “islands”, despite their differences, can still contribute to the overall Ethereum ecosystem.
The diversity of L2 solutions strengthens Ethereum by providing a variety of approaches that complement rather than degrade the network.
The second argument is that “L2 tokens are bad. Collecting fees/MEV revenue is bad and doesn’t fit with Ethereum.”
Goldfeather points out that these claims are unfounded, emphasizing:
“This was a key feature of our 2020 roadmap.”
Source: Steven Goldfeder/X
The final argument critics raise is that “L2 is not for DeFi, DeFi should be left to Ethereum, and L2 supporting DeFi projects is not aligned.”
To this, Goldfeder responded:
“Vitalik literally mentioned DeFi as the first expected adopter in his comments on the 2020 roadmap.”
Source: Steven Goldfeder/X
He concluded his argument by saying:
Source: Steven Goldfeder/X
Vitalik Buterin responds.
Vitalik Buterin also joined the discussion and offered his views on a two-layer solution.
Source: Vitalik Buterin/X
Meanwhile, Ethereum price is struggling to break above $2,500 and is trading at $2,337, down 0.91% over the last 24 hours.