Episode Summary: Vitalik Signals the End of the Rollup-Centric Roadmap – What's Next for Ethereum?

Podcast: Bankless
Hosts: Ryan Sean Adams & David Hoffman
Date: February 7, 2026

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into Vitalik Buterin's recent tweet (Feb 3, 2026), marking what many consider the end of Ethereum’s "rollup-centric roadmap." The hosts thoroughly analyze the tweet's implications, explore why the original layer 2 (L2) vision fell short, discuss the challenges of rollup security and interoperability, and look ahead to Ethereum’s new scaling trajectory—focusing in particular on the promise of zkEVM at Layer 1. Along the way, they reflect on the history and future of L2s, community reactions, and what it all means for Ethereum's competitive position and identity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vitalik’s Tweet: The End of the Rollup-Centric Era

• Summary: Vitalik signaled the end of the rollup-centric roadmap after years of placing L2s at the heart of Ethereum’s scaling strategy. The rollup path is not dead, but it’s no longer the center.

  • “The centric word is being ejected.” – David (01:04)

• Two core reasons behind Vitalik’s statement:

  1. Stage 2 Rollups Are Stalled: Decentralizing rollups and reaching Stage 2—the point where L2s achieve full Ethereum security guarantees—has proven much harder than expected.
  2. Lack of Interoperability & Shared Liquidity: Instead of synergistic, interconnected rollups, the ecosystem remains fragmented. The vision of seamless shared state hasn’t materialized.
  • “Rollup interoperability has been far more slow and difficult than previously expected… We seemingly are stuck on stage one and for good reason.” – David (01:57)

2. Layer 1 Scaling Catches Up

• Tech Breakthrough: zkEVM and general L1 scaling are now, unexpectedly, within reach. With increasing L1 throughput and zkEVM advances, Ethereum now can scale much more directly.

  • “We thought ZKVMs five, six years ago were a decade away and turns out they're kind of here today.” – David (05:47)

• Implication: Activities once only possible on rollups may soon be efficiently executed on Ethereum L1 itself, challenging the prior assumption that L2s were the only scalable path.

  • “We can just do the things on the layer 1… the ZKVM thing will massively scale Ethereum far, far beyond what any other layer one could ever do ever.” – David (04:51)

3. Changing the Social Contract: L2s Are Not "Ethereum"

• Vitalik and the hosts critique the meme “L2s are Ethereum.” People have long believed that using an L2 is tantamount to using Ethereum—this is now officially rejected.

  • “With this tweet, we can formally say layer twos or Ethereum is dead... There's no way to look for layer twos to be Ethereum.” – David (08:35)

• Nuance: L2s do inherit some security and network effects from Ethereum, but are not full extensions or shards of Ethereum itself.

  • “It’s also not true that L2s are just sidechains… L2s do inherit some of the security guarantees and a little bit of the liquidity…” – Ryan (11:53)

4. Opening the Design Space: L2s to Be Differentiated

• Differentiation—not equivalence—is now the goal.

  • “EVM equivalence is dead. It's the same thing as layer… Layer twos are not Ethereum. Ethereum is Ethereum. EVM equivalence is now just redundant. Now it's… be very, very differentiated.” – David (13:30)

• L2s should bring truly new features—privacy chains, app-specific chains, specialized VMs—rather than simple EVM clones.

  • “Vitalik sums it up like this… Number one, do something that brings something actually new to the table. Number two, the vibe should match the substance… your public image should reflect the degree of connection to Ethereum that your thing has in reality.” – Ryan quoting Vitalik (14:22)

5. Community Reaction

• Many reactions: praise for honesty, “I told you so” from skeptics, frustration over wasted effort, concerns about messaging.

• Notable Quotes:

  • John Charbonneau: “sor about all the mean shit I said when I was right” (16:09)

  • Max Resnick: “I'm very much enjoying reading this app today.” (16:18)

  • Stephen Goldfeder (Arbitrum): “Arbitrum is not Ethereum, which is a divergence from previous rhetoric.” (16:59)

  • “Arbitrum is part of the Ethereum alliance… it's just not the complete story here. You have to put an asterisk” – Ryan (17:42)

• Polygon’s facetious reaction: “Due to market conditions, we now identify as a sidechain.” – (22:05)

• Strong thread from Stephen: L2s have evolved from scaling solutions to customizable domains—meeting unique needs for different institutions and apps.

6. Retrospective: Were the Roadmap and Vision Wrong?

• The hosts debate whether the rollup-centric approach was wrong, partially wrong, or the best available path (30:03–31:12).

  • “Hindsight is 20/20, man. We had no idea how this was going to work out.” – Ryan (31:12)

• What Went Right:

  • Unlocked ZK tech, onboarding millions to EVM, preserved decentralization, developed an L2 business model.

• What Went Wrong:

  • No effective interoperability/liquidity standard for L2s.
  • Course correction came too late.
  • Lost focus on core use case (ETH as store-of-value, DeFi as “max decentralized blockspace”).
  • Fragmented liquidity, modest fee and value accrual to ETH.

• Notable Exchange:

  • “If we were doing the L2 roadmap, we totally could have done this. Ethereum totally could have done this. It could have prioritized shared liquidity… We could have done something much more here and we didn’t.” – Ryan (34:06)

7. Looking Ahead: zkEVM as the New North Star

• zkEVM precompile is now seen by the hosts as Ethereum's next "merge/danksharding"–level moment.

  • “The Ethereum layer one is going to become a ZK VM and it's going to be so fast and so scaled... it's the Manhattan Project.” – David (38:04)

• Execution and competition:

  • Despite the roadmap correction, L2s are not going away and business models still look strong—especially as customized on-demand chains.

• Leadership & Critique:

  • A tradeoff between Vitalik’s methodical, patient approach and the more “executional” or risk-taking leader some desire:
    • “Vitalik is happy being overly patient… And it wastes money and time and... it’s so inefficient.” – David (41:33)
    • “I don't want him to be the CEO of Ethereum. I like him in the place that he is, which is... social, like, here's what we should do... And he's willing to course correct.” – Ryan (42:39)

8. Outstanding Questions & What to Watch Next (46:36–51:43)

• Will L2s stay allied with Ethereum or go their own way?

• Can Ethereum rally effectively around the zkEVM vision and scale L1?

• Will differentiated L2s (“Gen2 L2s”) win market share?

• Will ETH regain ground as a store-of-value asset?

• Can Ethereum lead in AI/blockchain convergence?

• Is this cycle a “partial win” for Ethereum, and what’s needed next for a full one?

  • “Ethereum needs to ship like hell on scaling L1 now and lean Ethereum and the zk vision… And from a price perspective, ETH needs to bounce back next cycle.” – Ryan (51:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On changing times:
  “This tweet signifies something new… It's the ending of the centric part, right?” – Ryan (01:57)

• On failed assumptions:
  “When I go into another chain, it's not Ethereum… It's not stage two, and I don't get the liquidity.” – Ryan (08:11)

• On the roadmap pivot:
  “It was already dead… Now there's no way to look for layer twos to be Ethereum.” – David (08:35)

• On differentiation:
  “Have a specialized VM… do things that the Ethereum layer one can never do… Just don't do the same thing that Ethereum is doing because Ethereum is going to do that thing.” – David (13:30)

• On accountability:
  “A lot of people's lives went into building this future that the Ethereum community, led by Vitalik, identified… What's not excusable is that so many people identified this and… capital continued to be mismanaged.” – David (41:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Opening & framing the topic | 00:02-01:06| | What did Vitalik say, and why? | 01:25-02:48| | L2 security and interoperability issues | 02:48-03:15| | Layer 1 scaling & zkEVM breakthrough | 04:51-05:55| | Social contract and community values | 05:55-07:39| | The “L2s are Ethereum” meme dies | 08:10-09:58| | L2s as differentiated, not equivalent | 13:30-14:22| | Community reactions & notable tweets | 15:51-18:09| | Interop & liquidity critique | 34:06-35:04| | Retrospective: wins & missteps of L2 roadmap | 32:55-36:38| | ZkEVM as new scaling north star | 38:03-38:04| | Leadership critique & Vitalik's style | 41:33-43:53| | Outstanding questions and outlook | 46:36-51:43|

Conclusion: The “Bookend” of an Era, and What’s Next

Vitalik’s tweet marks the formal end of an era in Ethereum’s scaling journey, one defined by optimism about interoperable L2s as primary blockspace. The reality: technical obstacles and unexpected developments in zk tech mean L1 scaling is back in focus. The eth-identity of L2s is now nuanced, and the direction for rollups is clear: specialize, differentiate, and add new value—not just clone Ethereum. The community is adjusting, sometimes with frustration, but momentum is building for a new vision centered around zkEVM and a rescaled, revitalized Layer 1. The next cycle will test whether Ethereum can regroup, innovate, and retain its lead not just as a technical platform, but as a monetary, social, and application-layer force.

For those who missed the episode, this summary captures the main currents, community sentiment, and where the Ethereum conversation is headed next.