Vitalik Buterin Expresses Skepticism Over Simplifying Layer 1 Blockchains

According to CryptoPotato, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently expressed skepticism about the prevailing notion of prioritizing simplicity in Layer 1 (L1) blockchains over Layer 2 (L2) solutions. Buterin disclosed that his confidence in simplifying L1s at the expense of more intricate L2s has diminished significantly over the past five years. He highlighted the dilemma of choosing between the risks associated with bugs in L1 and L2, stating that it's not clear that the latter is better. He emphasized the potential risks of bugs in L2 networks, which could lead to significant permanent financial losses. Proposing an alternative method, Buterin suggested that it might be beneficial to introduce advanced features to L1 to alleviate the coding complexity of L2s, thereby enabling their simplicity. Buterin also recently explored using artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle one of Ethereum's major technical hurdles: the existence of bugs within its code. L2 solutions are designed to increase throughput by processing transactions off the main L1 blockchain. However, the complexity of these solutions can lead to bugs that are difficult to detect and resolve. Bugs in L2 networks can lead to significant financial losses, such as incorrect transaction records in a payment channel like the Lightning Network, potentially resulting in loss of funds. Buterin also recently discussed L2 networks, explaining that L2s are categorized into rollups and validiums while emphasizing the importance of understanding their security and scalability features. Rollups consolidate transactions into a single proof on the main chain, prioritizing security. In contrast, validiums prioritize scalability by storing data off-chain but keep proofs on-chain, with a slight security compromise. Despite subtle differences, choosing between rollups and validiums has significant implications. Rollups offer heightened security but come with higher costs, while validiums are more cost-effective with a small security trade-off.