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Opinion by Malda CEO Barna Kiss

Recently, some prominent thinkers in the Ethereum space have proposed the idea of taxing Ethereum's layer two networks to recreate value for the mainnet. The future of Ethereum does not depend on policy but rather on whether frictionless capital flow can be achieved between the relevant second layers. Imposing tariffs on rollup price increases seems like a good way to reclaim value for the mainnet. However, in reality, this would fracture the ecosystem, consume liquidity, and push users towards centralized platforms, completely avoiding decentralized finance. In a permissionless system, capital flows to where it is treated best, and Ethereum's rollups would abuse that.

In traditional finance, the link between liquidity and growth has been established. When the barriers to capital inflow are lowered, investment increases. Take the EU's single market before Brexit as an example. As economists tracking cross-border activities have pointed out, Brexit led to a fragmentation of the capital pool and a slowdown in investment flows. Ethereum faces a parallel decentralization challenge.

Rollup trading, especially optimistic and ZK-based rollup trading, can lead to withdrawal delays of up to a week and can only provide sporadic cross-rollup trading liquidity. As a result, the system becomes fragmented, adoption slows, and capital utilization is insufficient.

Developers face two bad choices. They can either focus on a single rollup project and limit its audience or spread liquidity across multiple projects and accept inefficiency. Neither option serves the long-term interests of the ecosystem. Therefore, protocols that eliminate these frictions hold tremendous business opportunities. They will attract more capital, improve operational efficiency, and provide a better experience.

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Capital flow must be abstracted from the end user. Bridges and withdrawal queues should be a protocol-level issue, not a user issue. Ensuring solvency and efficiency through backend rebalancing, where liquidity deployed on one rollup meets the needs of another rollup, is feasible. What seems like a complex problem today can be simplified.

This shift from passive bridging to intent-based liquidity coordination will restore composability and maintain decentralization. More importantly, it will adhere to Ethereum's core principle of building an open system without central gatekeepers. Without it, users will continue to rely on centralized exchanges to bypass frictions, sacrificing self-custody for convenience. This is not only a technical challenge but also a philosophical one.

Designing around capital efficiency is becoming a competitive advantage. Future DeFi protocols will compete not just on fees or yields. They will compete on how to acquire liquidity in a fragmented environment. The winners will be those businesses that can meet user demands regardless of where they are, without the need for manual fund transfers. The result will be a better user experience, more productive capital, and higher network stickiness.

Some underlying technologies are beginning to address this issue. The Ethereum native cryptocurrency planned for launch after the hard fork in 2026 is expected to achieve tighter integration, although it is not yet ready for deployment. However, Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies are achieving closer alignment with Ethereum through shared ordering and improved settlement, sacrificing some independence. Meanwhile, optimistic cryptocurrencies are racing to implement zero-knowledge proofs to speed up exit times. These innovations reduce friction, but they are not enough on their own. Scale will come from applications designed around these limiting factors, not just the base layer.

ZK-Rollups are particularly well-suited for this. Their cryptographic structure allows for low-latency and trust-minimized information transfer between chains. This makes them ideal for applications such as payments, decentralized trading, and real-time financial products, all of which require speed and certainty. If Ethereum can enable seamless cross-platform liquidity, it will not just be about scaling. It will become a pillar of a more efficient financial system.

This outcome is not guaranteed. Charging for rollups may help achieve short-term goals, but in the long run, they will undermine the network that Ethereum aims to strengthen. For example, Solana has already provided composability within a single domain. While Ethereum's modular approach may be considered more robust, it cannot ignore the usability costs brought about by fragmentation.

Ethereum's greatest strength lies in its neutrality. This should include the ability for capital to flow freely within its ecosystem. The future will not be built through taxation. The future will be built by allowing them to function as an economic engine.

Author: Barna Kiss, CEO of Malda

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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