Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"

Views from: Jay Jog, Co-founder of Sei Labs

The lesson from the 2017 CryptoKitties incident that paralyzed the Ethereum network is even more profound in the current context where DeFi has locked over $100 billion and NFT trading volume has surpassed one million. The EVM, as the core engine of the ecosystem, is approaching its performance limits. The industry currently views Layer 2 as a solution, but is this the right direction?

Layer 2 is not the ultimate answer

While Layer 2 blockchains can offload Ethereum's computational burden, they have proven to be merely a "temporary patch" rather than a cure-all solution. Data from Gemini shows that a new Layer 2 is born on average every 19 days in 2024, and this rampant growth exacerbates the problem. Existing Layer 2 solutions face two major issues: first, most use centralized sequencers, which pose risks of transaction censorship and ordering manipulation; second, as Vitalik Buterin recently pointed out, they have interoperability flaws that lead to liquidity fragmentation and complicated user experiences.

Recently emerged native Rollups attempt to address the centralization issue but may weaken the value proposition of projects, making it unlikely to be the ultimate solution to Ethereum's predicament. According to L2BEAT statistics, the annual operating cost of mainstream Layer 2 solutions can reach as high as $95.53 million—rather than continuously investing in Layer 2 and cross-chain solutions, why not focus on optimizing the base layer?

Reconstructing performance evaluation standards

To create a high-performance Layer 1, it is essential to innovate the blockchain performance evaluation system. The industry currently overemphasizes transactions per second (TPS), but the difference in computational load between a simple ETH transfer (21,000 gas) and an ERC-20 transfer (65,000 gas) renders TPS lacking in comparative value. A more scientific metric of "gas processed per second" can comprehensively reflect network computational capacity: TPS is only applicable for basic transfer assessments, while gas/s quantifies the computational load of all transaction types, accurately presenting the network's throughput potential. Although the comprehensive implementation of this metric will take time, it is a necessary path for blockchain evolution.

Returning to the source: Reshaping Layer 1

As the cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem, Layer 1 is key to breaking the performance shackles of the EVM. Currently, the EVM faces structural challenges of network congestion and gas fee volatility, necessitating a bottom-up reconstruction: enhancing throughput through transaction parallel processing, innovating consensus mechanisms, and upgrading storage solutions to create higher-performance infrastructure for developers. Over the past few years, the industry has overly focused on a Rollup-centric roadmap, effectively neglecting the evolutionary potential of Layer 1.

The correct answer to EVM scalability

Layer 2 was once hailed as a solution for low-cost, high-speed transactions, but what the EVM truly needs is the native evolution of Layer 1. Now is the time to shift towards more precise performance metrics and focus on base layer optimization. These changes will unleash the ultimate potential of the EVM, ushering in an unprecedented era of scalability and efficiency. The continued prosperity of the EVM ecosystem depends on the construction choices we make at this moment.

Views from: Jay Jog, Co-founder of Sei Labs

Related: As gaming giants collapse, the promise of on-chain gaming remains unfulfilled

This article is for informational reference only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. The views expressed represent the author's personal opinion and do not reflect the position of Cointelegraph.

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