As Ethereum continues to evolve, the path toward scalability has become increasingly clear: rollups are no longer just an experimental solution—they are the foundation of Ethereum’s near- and mid-term future. With rising gas fees making Layer 1 (L1) usage impractical for many decentralized applications, and the full realization of Eth2 still years away, the ecosystem must pivot toward a rollup-first strategy. This shift isn’t just technical—it’s economic, structural, and philosophical.
In this article, we explore Vitalik Buterin’s vision of a rollup-centric Ethereum roadmap, detailing how this approach reshapes development priorities, enhances scalability, and ensures long-term sustainability for the network.
The Urgency of Scalability
Ethereum’s current transaction throughput—around 15 transactions per second (TPS)—is insufficient for mass adoption. As demand grows, so do gas prices. In fact, non-financial dApps have already been forced to shut down due to unaffordable costs, while others remain confined to testnets.
Meanwhile, Layer 2 (L2) solutions like Optimism, Arbitrum, and ZK Rollups such as Loopring, zkSync, and DeversiFi are not only live but actively serving users. Even Plasma-based projects like OMG Network have launched beta mainnets. These developments underscore a critical insight:
Ethereum cannot wait for Eth2 Phase 2 to solve scalability. The solution is here—and it's rollups.
👉 Discover how next-gen blockchain platforms are enabling scalable dApp ecosystems.
Short-Term Priority: Optimize Eth1 for Data Throughput
The primary bottleneck for rollups isn't computation—it's data availability. Rollups batch transactions off-chain and post compressed data on-chain. Therefore, the key metric becomes how much data Ethereum can include per block.
Instead of optimizing L1 for complex computations or state efficiency, efforts should focus on increasing data capacity. Current throughput is approximately 60 kB/sec—modest by modern standards. Even small improvements here directly boost rollup performance.
Key Upgrades to Support Rollups
- EIP-2929: Increases gas costs for state-access opcodes to mitigate DoS attacks, ensuring network stability under high load.
- EIP-1559: Introduces fee burning and predictable pricing, improving transaction inclusion certainty—critical for rollup operators posting data.
- New Elliptic Curve Precompiles: Enable efficient verification of zero-knowledge proofs, essential for ZK Rollups.
- Statelessness & Binary Merkle Trees: Transitioning from hexary to binary tries supports stateless clients, reducing node burden and enabling broader participation.
Account abstraction and other advanced L1 features are less urgent. Why? Because most of these capabilities can be implemented within L2 environments regardless of L1 support.
Eth1 as a Rollup Engine
Here’s a paradigm shift: Eth1 clients can evolve into optimistic rollup clients. If a rollup uses Ethereum-like execution semantics (e.g., Optimism), existing client code can verify its state transitions. Projects like TurboGeth remain vital—not for L1 scaling, but for powering high-throughput rollup nodes.
Furthermore, ongoing work on separating consensus from execution (as seen in eth1+eth2 merge prototypes) paves the way for modular client architectures tailored to rollup validation.
Infrastructure Shifts: Making Rollups User-Friendly
For rollups to succeed, they must integrate seamlessly into the user experience. Today, most assets, identities, and apps reside on L1. That needs to change.
ENS Must Go Multi-Layer
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) should support domain registration and transfers on L2. Users shouldn’t need to return to L1 for basic identity management. A proposed solution involves static calls across layers, allowing L2 actions to be validated against L1 state without full execution.
👉 Learn how decentralized identity systems are evolving across Layer 2 networks.
Wallets Need Native L2 Integration
Currently, many L2 experiences are embedded within dApps (e.g., Gitcoin with zkSync). This model forces users to trust the dApp operator—a step backward in decentralization.
The ideal scenario? L2 support built directly into wallets like MetaMask or Status. Standardizing this integration ensures that any app supporting zkSync payments works smoothly with any wallet that includes it.
Enable Seamless Cross-Rollup Transfers
Users shouldn’t face friction moving assets between different rollups. The goal is instant, trust-minimized bridging—whether via shared liquidity pools, messaging protocols, or unified liquidity networks.
Standardize Intermediate Compilation Languages
Solidity compiles to both EVM and OVM (Optimism Virtual Machine), but subtle differences create compatibility issues. To promote interoperability and reduce reliance on a single language, we need better standardization of intermediate representations like Yul.
A standardized, verification-friendly intermediate language could also make formal verification more accessible across multiple high-level languages—enhancing security across the ecosystem.
Economic Sustainability Through Layer 2 Innovation
Sustainable funding is a core challenge in crypto. Public goods funding mechanisms like Gitcoin Grants help, but they’re limited in scale. A rollup-centric roadmap unlocks new economic models:
- L2 Protocols Can Issue Tokens: By capturing value through transaction fees or MEV (Miner Extractable Value), rollups can fund development via token issuance.
- Decentralized Public Goods Funding: Unlike L1, where protocol-level funding is politically sensitive, individual rollups can implement their own funding mechanisms—e.g., quadratic funding or treasury systems—without affecting Ethereum’s neutrality.
- Developer Autonomy: Talented teams want ownership over their tech and economics. Rollups allow them to innovate independently while still contributing to Ethereum’s broader ecosystem.
This model fosters a healthy, decentralized innovation economy—where value creation is rewarded without compromising core protocol integrity.
Long-Term Vision: Eth2 as a Data Availability Engine
What happens to Eth2 in a rollup-dominated world?
The answer may be simpler than expected: Eth2 becomes a highly secure data availability layer, with one powerful execution shard and many data shards.
Why Data Sharding Is Safer Than Compute Sharding
- Data Availability Sampling (DAS) with ZK-SNARKs or polynomial commitments is secure even in asynchronous networks.
- In contrast, sharded EVM computation requires fraud proofs relying on strict timing assumptions—riskier in adversarial conditions.
Thus, prioritizing data availability over native sharded computation leads to stronger security guarantees.
Projected Throughput Evolution
| Stage | Estimated TPS |
|---|---|
| Current Eth1 | ~15 |
| Rollups on Eth1 | ~3,000 |
| Rollups on Eth2 Data Shards | ~100,000 |
| Full Eth2 with Sharded EVM | ~1,000–5,000 |
This shows a paradox: Eth2’s native execution may be slower than optimized rollups running atop its data layer.
Hence the emerging concept: “Phase 1.5 and done”—where Eth2 focuses on consensus and data availability, leaving execution to scalable L2s.
Eth2 Development Priorities in a Rollup-Centric World
- Staggered Block Proposals: Offset block times across shards to ensure frequent data availability—critical for low-latency rollups.
- Consensus Optimization: Strengthen finality gadgets and improve liveness under network stress.
- EVM Modifications for Fraud Proofs: Introduce sandboxing controls or remappable storage access (SLOAD/SSTORE) to simplify off-chain verification.
- Universal ZK-SNARK Integration: Gradually embed zero-knowledge proofs at all levels—from account validation to state roots.
A Balanced Compromise: Hybrid Execution + Data Shards
Not convinced by “Phase 1.5 and done”? There’s a middle ground: use 4–8 execution shards alongside dedicated data shards.
This preserves some on-chain execution capacity for essential operations:
- Fraud proof submission
- ZK proof verification
- Bridging between rollups
- Hosting root contracts (e.g., ERC-20 canonical bridges)
With careful design, even consumer-grade hardware could verify all execution shards—preserving decentralization while boosting capacity over current L1 limits.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is a rollup-centric roadmap?
A: It’s a strategic shift where Ethereum prioritizes scaling via Layer 2 rollups rather than waiting for full Eth2 sharded execution. The base layer focuses on data availability and security.
Q: Why not scale directly on Layer 1?
A: On-chain computation is expensive and hard to scale securely. Rollups offer 10–100x efficiency gains by processing transactions off-chain while inheriting Ethereum’s security.
Q: Will Eth2 become obsolete?
A: No—Eth2 evolves into a powerful data availability engine. Its sharded architecture enables massive rollup throughput without compromising safety.
Q: How do users benefit from this shift?
A: Lower fees, faster transactions, and broader access to dApps. Over time, switching between rollups will feel as seamless as browsing websites today.
Q: Are ZK Rollups better than Optimistic Rollups?
A: Both have trade-offs. ZK Rollups offer instant finality and stronger security but are harder to build. Optimistic Rollups are EVM-compatible today but require challenge periods.
Q: Can rollups communicate with each other?
A: Yes—cross-rollup messaging protocols are under active development. Interoperability will be key to creating a unified user experience.
👉 See how leading platforms are integrating cross-chain communication tools today.
Conclusion
The future of Ethereum lies not in monolithic scaling, but in a modular architecture: a secure consensus layer (Eth2), a robust data availability layer, and a vibrant ecosystem of specialized execution environments (rollups).
By embracing a rollup-centric roadmap, Ethereum positions itself as the foundational trust layer for a multi-chain internet of value—scalable, sustainable, and resilient.
The tools are here. The vision is clear. Now it’s time to build.