What is the impact of Ethereum's layer-1 progress on layer-2 networks?

🧵 Vitalik Buterin shared a major update on Ethereum L2s. Here’s the simple breakdown:

 Old view (2021–2024): L1 was slow/expensive, so L2s (Optimism, Arbitrum, zkSync) acted like “mini-Ethereum's”—branded shards that moved most activity off L1 while inheriting its security.

- What’s changing (2026+):

L1 is getting much faster and cheaper, so “just cheaper/faster Ethereum” won’t be enough for many L2s.

-New L2 role:

With rollup precompiles, L2s can connect more directly to L1 and each other, reducing risky bridges. L2s must offer what L1 can’t: privacy, specialized VMs, custom rules, new app types.

My Takeaway: Ethereum isn’t killing L2s, it’s forcing them to evolve. Innovate and thrive; copy-paste and struggle.

#EthereumLayer2Rethink? #VitalikButerin #Etherum