The Ethereum Foundation published a strategic vision document redefining the roles of layer-1 and layer-2 networks within its ecosystem, signaling a shift away from pure scaling narratives toward service differentiation. According to the foundation, Ethereum L1 will maintain its position as the network's global settlement layer and decentralized finance hub, while layer-2 solutions are repositioning themselves to deliver specialized and customized services rather than competing solely on transaction throughput.
The foundation committed to continued infrastructure improvements for L1 scalability and Blob technology, which reduces data storage costs for rollups and has become central to Ethereum's scaling roadmap since its implementation in the Dencun upgrade. This dual-track approach acknowledges market reality: while L2s have captured significant transaction volume, L1 remains the trust and liquidity anchor for the broader ecosystem.
The strategic repositioning reflects maturation in Ethereum's scaling narrative. Rather than viewing L1 and L2 as competitors, the foundation's framework treats them as complementary infrastructure layers serving distinct use cases—L1 for settlement and core DeFi primitives, L2 for application-specific optimization and user experience customization. This clarity may influence developer allocation and institutional infrastructure investment across the ecosystem.