Vitalik Buterin Emphasizes Layer-2 Decentralization Standards

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has reiterated his commitment to layer-2 decentralization, stating that he will only recognize scaling solutions that meet 'stage 1' of his decentralization scale starting next year. In a post on Sept. 12, Buterin emphasized the importance of this standard, noting that he will only publicly mention layer-2 networks that achieve 'stage 1+' status. He also mentioned a possible short grace period for new, genuinely interesting projects. Buterin clarified that his recognition criteria are strict, stating, 'It doesn’t matter if I invested, or if you’re my friend; stage 1 or bust.' He expressed optimism about the progress of zero-knowledge rollup teams, many of which have informed him they are on track to reach 'stage 1' by the end of the year. 'The era of rollups being glorified multisigs is coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust is upon us,' he wrote. Buterin introduced the concept of 'training wheels' for Ethereum scaling rollup projects at various stages of development in 2022. He outlined a path to layer-2 decentralization with three stages. The first, 'stage 0' or 'full training wheels,' involves projects that self-identify as rollups with all transactions on-chain and users able to transact and withdraw without operator intervention. However, these projects are controlled by a simple multisignature wallet and do not require fraud or validity proofs. ' Stage 1,' the minimum level Buterin will now acknowledge, is the next step toward decentralization. At this stage, layer-2s must have an active fraud-proof or validity-proof scheme in place. They should also have a multi-signature-based override mechanism, or 'security council,' with strict conditions such as a minimum of 6 of 8 signature requirements and a quorum-blocking group external to the rollup organization. Upgrades should also have a seven-day delay window. The final stage, 'stage 2' or 'no training wheels,' involves no group being able to override the code output if the code is bug-free. There is also limited use of security councils allowed, only for clear bug cases, and a 30-day upgrade activation delay. In June, several layer-2 rollup teams, including those for Linea, ZKsync, Arbitrum, and Optimism, claimed that 'stage 2' full decentralization would be achieved in a few years.