Ethereum Foundation: Rebuilding the L1–L2 Division of Labor to Forge Ethereum’s Endgame Ecosystem
Ethereum Foundation: Rebuilding the L1–L2 Division of Labor to Forge Ethereum’s Endgame Ecosystem
Ethereum’s scaling debate has matured. The industry is no longer asking whether Layer 2 is necessary, but how Layer 1 and Layer 2s should coordinate so Ethereum behaves like a single, secure, and composable system—not a collection of loosely connected chains.
In the Ethereum Foundation Platform team’s article, “How L1 and L2s can build the strongest possible Ethereum” (by Josh Rudolf, Julian Ma, and Josh Stark), the core message is clear: Ethereum’s “endgame” isn’t L1 or L2—it’s L1 and L2 working as one. You can read the original piece via the Ethereum Foundation.
Below is a builder- and user-oriented interpretation of that vision, with practical implications for 2025-era Ethereum scaling, rollups, interoperability, and wallet security.
Why the L1–L2 Relationship Needs a Reset
Ethereum’s rollup-centric trajectory has delivered real progress: cheaper execution, higher throughput, and fast-moving application innovation. But the same shift has also amplified user pain points:
- Fragmented liquidity and UX: assets, apps, and identities feel split across networks.
- Bridge and upgrade risks: users must evaluate trust assumptions that vary per L2.
- Unclear security guarantees: “inherits Ethereum security” can mean different things.
- Fee uncertainty and congestion spillovers: L1 fee dynamics still matter, even in an L2-first world.
A robust “unified Ethereum” requires a more explicit division of responsibilities—where L1 focuses on what only it can do, and L2s specialize in execution and user experience.
The Platform Team’s “Unified System” Goal
The Ethereum Foundation Platform team frames a simple north star: Ethereum should scale as a unified, coordinated system that users can trust by default.
In that framing:
- L1 is the credible neutral base for security, finality, and data availability.
- L2s are where most execution happens, competing and innovating at the application layer.
- The ecosystem must reduce the cognitive load on users—so the default experience is safe.
This matters in 2025 and beyond because mainstream adoption won’t come from telling users to “just DYOR every bridge and sequencer.” It comes from making Ethereum feel like one coherent platform.
What L1 Should Do (and Keep Doing Relentlessly Well)
To build the strongest possible Ethereum, L1 should double down on the functions that are hardest to replicate elsewhere.
1) Be the Settlement and Finality Layer
L1 should remain the place where disputes resolve, proofs finalize, and canonical truth is established. That is the anchor that lets L2s scale without becoming independent trust zones.
If you want a concise overview of Ethereum’s roadmap thinking, start with ethereum.org’s scaling vision.
2) Provide Data Availability for Rollups
Rollups need a reliable, censorship-resistant place to publish transaction data so anyone can reconstruct the chain and verify correctness.
The industry’s focus on cheaper DA has been central to reducing L2 fees. For background on how Ethereum has evolved DA capacity for rollups, see EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding).
3) Be a Credible Neutral Coordination Layer
Ethereum L1 is not just technology; it’s a neutrality guarantee. That neutrality is what allows many L2 teams to build on a shared base without inheriting a single operator’s political or commercial agenda.
What L2s Should Do (and Do Better Than L1 Ever Could)
If L1 is the foundation, L2s are the product surface.
1) Scale Execution and Experiment with UX
L2s should optimize for high-throughput execution, low fees, and rapid iteration—things that are difficult to do on L1 without compromising decentralization.
In 2025, this includes advanced fee markets, custom gas tokens (where applicable), app-specific chains, better account UX, and high-performance trading infrastructure.
2) Specialize in Use-Case Environments
Different applications need different trade-offs: games, consumer apps, payments, onchain order books, and privacy-preserving flows may each want distinct execution environments. L2 diversity is a feature—if Ethereum can keep it feeling unified.
3) Mature Their Trust Assumptions
The ecosystem increasingly expects L2s to evolve toward stronger guarantees: robust proof systems, safer upgrades, decentralized sequencing, and transparent risk disclosures.
For a widely used, continuously updated overview of L2 security and maturity (TVL, stages, risks), many users reference L2BEAT.
The Shared Work: Making Ethereum Feel Like One Chain
The hard part isn’t “L1 vs L2.” It’s everything that sits between them.
1) Interoperability Without Security Theater
Ethereum needs seamless movement of assets and messages across L2s—without pushing users into risky bridges or confusing wrappers.
A healthy direction is standardized, verifiable cross-domain messaging and clearer “trust labels” so users understand when they’re relying on Ethereum finality vs external assumptions.
2) A Safer Upgrade and Governance Story
Users don’t want to read forum posts to understand whether an L2 can change rules overnight. The ecosystem is trending toward:
- clearer upgrade delays and emergency controls
- better onchain governance transparency
- formal security councils and publicly auditable policies
The goal is not to eliminate upgrades—but to make them legible, bounded, and aligned with user expectations.
3) Wallet and Account UX That Matches Multi-L2 Reality
As users spread across L2s, wallets become the “operating system” of Ethereum. That means:
- safer chain switching and transaction simulation
- clearer signing messages and permission hygiene
- predictable address behavior and account recovery options
Account abstraction is a major piece of this direction; for technical context, see ERC-4337.
What This Means for Users in 2025: Practical Takeaways
If Ethereum succeeds at this “unified system” model, users should eventually feel:
- Ethereum is Ethereum, regardless of which L2 they’re using.
- Moving between apps doesn’t require learning new security assumptions each time.
- Fees are lower, but security remains anchored to L1 finality and DA.
- Risks are communicated transparently, not hidden in marketing language.
Until that endgame is fully realized, users should still adopt conservative habits:
- Treat bridges and cross-chain messages as higher risk than simple transfers.
- Prefer ecosystems with clear proof roadmaps and transparent upgrade processes.
- Verify networks and contracts before signing high-value approvals.
Where OneKey Fits: Self-Custody for an L2-First Ethereum
As execution increasingly happens on L2s, the number of transactions users sign can rise dramatically—swaps, approvals, cross-domain interactions, and smart-account operations. That increases the value of keeping private keys isolated from internet-connected devices.
A hardware wallet like OneKey can help by keeping signing keys offline while you interact with both Ethereum L1 and popular L2 ecosystems—supporting a self-custody posture that aligns with Ethereum’s long-term goal: a system where users can participate confidently without trusting intermediaries.
Closing: The Strongest Ethereum Is a Coordinated Ethereum
Ethereum’s next chapter is less about choosing sides and more about designing the interface between layers. L1 must remain the neutral, secure base for finality and data availability. L2s must deliver scalable execution and great UX. And the ecosystem must prioritize interoperability, transparent trust assumptions, and user safety.
That’s how Ethereum becomes not just the most decentralized smart contract platform—but the most usable one at global scale.
