From Sidekicks to Stars: L2s Declare Independence from Ethereum

"Arbitrum is Ethereum." That's what Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder confidently declared on X in March 2024. Coinbase's Base team echoed the sentiment in April 2025: "Base is Ethereum."

Fast-forward to today, and Goldfeder's singing a very different tune: "Arbitrum is not Ethereum." What changed? A single blog post from Ethereum's co-founder that's forcing an entire industry to rethink its identity.

The Comment That Shook the L2 World

The catalyst was Vitalik Buterin's recent questioning of whether Ethereum still needs a dedicated layer-2 roadmap. His logic was straightforward: if Ethereum itself becomes faster and cheaper, the original rationale for L2s—scaling the base layer—might be shifting.

This wasn't just philosophical musing. L2 networks have grown into crypto juggernauts, with Base holding roughly $4 billion in total value locked and Arbitrum securing more than $2 billion. These aren't side projects anymore; they're critical infrastructure.

Goldfeder's response to Buterin was telling: "It's a core part of the ecosystem, a close-knit ally, and has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship for the last half-decade. But it is not Ethereum."

Not a Threat, but a Transition

Instead of panic, L2 leaders are embracing this moment as evolutionary, not existential. Ben Fisch of the Espresso Foundation sees Buterin's comments as "a logical evolution in how Ethereum's scaling strategy is being framed."

"Vitalik's post is very consistent with that idea now that he's saying, 'The whole purpose of layer-2s in the first place was to scale Ethereum. Well, now we're making Ethereum faster so they're becoming less relevant,'" Fisch explained.

But he rejects the idea that this makes rollups obsolete. "I think it's the start of layer-2s flourishing and becoming independent from Ethereum. A layer-2 may use Ethereum as a service, but it by no means is beholden to Ethereum or what the leaders of Ethereum think."

Beyond 'Ethereum But Cheaper'

The messaging shift is already happening. Base's Jesse Pollak called Ethereum scaling "a win for the entire ecosystem" while making it clear that rollups need to evolve: "Going forward, L2s can't just be 'Ethereum but cheaper.'"

Polygon CEO Marc Boiron echoed this sentiment after his company pivoted to focus primarily on payments. "Vitalik's point was not that rollups are a mistake, but that scaling alone is insufficient," he told CoinDesk. "The real challenge is building a unique blockspace that works for real-world use cases like payments, where cost, reliability, and consistency matter."

This represents a fundamental strategy shift—from competing on speed and cost to competing on specialized functionality and user experience.

The Website Analogy

Optimism Foundation co-founder and OP Labs CEO Jing Wang offered perhaps the most striking reframe: "L2s are websites. Every company will have its own, tailored to its needs. Ethereum is an open settlement standard."

This analogy is powerful because it suggests L2s aren't just scaling solutions—they're custom platforms that happen to use Ethereum for settlement, much like websites use the internet for connectivity but offer completely different experiences.

"It's important for Ethereum to stay true to those base layer values to give L2s the flexibility to customize," Wang added.

The Branding vs. Reality Gap

What's really happening here is a reconciliation between how L2s have marketed themselves and what they're actually becoming. The "we are Ethereum" messaging worked when the primary value proposition was scaling. But as these networks mature and differentiate, that branding becomes limiting.

Consider the numbers: the combined TVL across major L2s exceeds $6 billion. These aren't just technical experiments—they're billion-dollar businesses with their own communities, applications, and economic models.

Market Implications

For investors and developers, this shift raises important questions about value capture and platform risk. If L2s become truly independent, does that make them more valuable as standalone investments, or does it weaken their connection to Ethereum's network effects?

The answer likely depends on execution. L2s that successfully differentiate and build unique value propositions could benefit from independence. Those that remain generic scaling solutions might struggle in a world where Ethereum itself scales better.