This chapter explores the current priorities and challenges facing Ethereum's rollup-centric development, emphasizing the need to enhance Layer 1 to reduce reliance on potentially insecure Layer 2 solutions. The discussion contrasts optimistic and ZK rollups, highlighting the technological advancements and potential centralization risks associated with Layer 2 projects. The speakers call for better collaboration within the Ethereum ecosystem to address these issues and uphold its decentralized values in the face of increasing market pressures.
Is the Ethereum roadmap… off track? Have we lost the plot? Are L2s running interference, intercepting all the users, transactions, and value from reaching the L1? And if all of this is real, and not just FUD, what should we do about it?
We have Max Resnick on the show today, he's an Ethereum researcher working at Special Mechanism Group and he’s got some opinions that are contrary to what is typically found out of the Ethereum Rollup Centric Roadmap.
Max explains why Ethereum is breaking down on its vision for bringing the world onto decentralized, censorship resistant, permissionless blockchains, and suggests possible alternative directions.
0:00 Intro 5:08 Max’s Contrarian Take 12:20 The State of Rollups 17:59 Are L2s Extensions of Ethereum? 27:52 What Needs to Change 44:33 Based Rollups 50:05 The Holy Grail Blockchain 59:02 Scaling the L1 1:05:29 Max’s Incentives 1:09:53 Why Not Solana? 1:14:06 Navigating ETH’s Roadmap 1:18:05 ETH: The Asset 1:22:15 Value Capture 1:23:58 Call to Action 1:26:43 Closing & Disclaimers