Recently, Vitalik dropped a big move on X, directly pointing out that the Ethereum L2 ecosystem has fallen into a somewhat alarming state of complacency. He said very plainly: we no longer need to see "another EVM chain, add an optimistic bridge, wait a week." This has become the blockchain version of Compound governance forks—just copying and pasting familiar designs over and over, with no one truly innovating.

I think what he said makes sense. The L2 ecosystem has indeed become a bit too comfortable. Many projects just swap out the skin of existing EVM chains, add a standard bridge, and then claim to be "Ethereum scaling solutions." But the problem is, this copypasta mentality makes the entire ecosystem somewhat lazy.

The most interesting point Vitalik made is that some L2 projects overstate their connection to Ethereum. He emphasized that "the atmosphere needs to match the substance." Having just a bridge doesn’t mean you are part of Ethereum’s core architecture. This hit a nerve for many projects—they market themselves as closely linked to Ethereum, but in reality, most of them are independently operated networks.

That said, Vitalik didn’t completely dismiss the value of L2s. He pointed out two possible paths forward. One is application-specific systems that are tightly integrated with Ethereum, with Ethereum serving as the settlement layer, account layer, or validation layer as a first-class citizen. The other is chains driven by institutions or applications that publish cryptographic proofs or state commitments to Ethereum. These aren’t Ethereum itself, but they can still achieve transparency and verifiability.

The background of this criticism is also important. Recently, transaction fees on the Ethereum mainnet have been very low, and block space capacity has been improving. This weakens the core reason for L2s—"Ethereum, but cheaper"—which has been the main selling point for a long time. So, the ecosystem has become somewhat lazy; everyone is riding on their old reputation, with no one thinking about how to truly break through.

The reactions are quite interesting too. Arbitrum’s team said they should be seen as close allies of Ethereum rather than Ethereum itself. The leader of Base emphasized that rollups need to offer more than just low fees. Polygon interpreted Vitalik’s criticism as an opportunity to clarify their positioning, rather than a threat to their existence. Everyone is reflecting on one question: what is the truly unique value proposition of L2s?

Honestly, this discussion might be good for the entire ecosystem. It’s definitely better than everyone continuing to pile up homogeneous solutions in a complacent state. Real innovation requires someone to dare to question the status quo.