The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has released a series of pivotal publications outlining a comprehensive future vision for the world’s second-largest blockchain network. Through a detailed technical roadmap and a newly issued 38-page governance mandate, the Foundation has formally articulated a strategic shift in the division of labor between Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) networks, alongside a long-term plan to systematically reduce its own institutional influence.
The dual release marks a critical maturation phase for Ethereum, addressing both the immediate architectural bottlenecks of a scaling multi-chain ecosystem and the existential requirements of true decentralized governance.
Restructuring the L1 and L2 Symbiosis
In a technical release published earlier this week, the Foundation clarified the evolving collaborative vision between the Ethereum mainnet and its sprawling ecosystem of Layer 2 rollups. As the network matures, the EF noted that the primary mandate of L2 networks has shifted.
Rather than existing solely to “scale Ethereum,” Layer 2 solutions are now expected to focus on differentiated innovation, customized application environments, and decentralized control. Meanwhile, the base layer will double down on its foundational properties.
The Foundation’s new framework strictly delineates these roles:
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Layer 1 (The Base Layer): Will permanently serve as a permissionless, highly resilient global settlement layer and decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity hub. The EF will focus engineering efforts on improving L1 scaling capabilities through zero-knowledge (ZK) technology and ensuring efficient liquidity access.
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Layer 2 (The Execution Layer): Will focus on complementary strategies, building autonomous on-chain economies that extend Ethereum’s core attributes to a broader user base. The EF stated it will actively support L2s in enhancing privacy and security, while emphasizing the need for these networks to maintain strictly verifiable security properties.
The Stewardship Mandate: Preparing for the ‘Walkaway Test’
Accompanying the technical vision is a 38-page governance mandate that fundamentally redefines the Ethereum Foundation’s role. The document explicitly positions the organization as an “initial steward” rather than a governing authority, rejecting labels such as “parent company” or “ruler.”
The core philosophy of the mandate centers on ensuring Ethereum remains a tool for user self-sovereignty. To achieve this, the EF introduced a guiding framework of four non-negotiable principles, dubbed CROPS:
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Censorship Resistance: Guaranteeing that transactions cannot be blocked or altered based on origin or content.
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Open Source: Maintaining transparent and freely accessible technological development.
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Privacy: Implementing advanced cryptographic protections for user data and transaction details.
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Security: Upholding rigorous standards to protect the network from emerging threats.
Crucially, the mandate commits to a planned reduction of the Foundation’s direct influence over time. The ultimate benchmark for this transition is what Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has previously called the “walkaway test”—a future state where the protocol and core application layers are robust and trustless enough to function reliably even if the Foundation and its current core developers ceased to exist.
The newly published vision also embeds the Foundation’s 2026 protocol roadmap, which prioritizes future-proofing the network against advanced computational threats.
The EF has established post-quantum security as a core priority, allocating resources to transition the network away from current Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) vulnerabilities toward quantum-resistant cryptographic schemes. Additionally, the Foundation is targeting aggressive throughput enhancements, aiming to push the network’s gas limit toward and beyond 100 million per block during the upcoming “Glamsterdam” hard fork.
The release of this comprehensive vision arrives at a critical juncture for Ethereum. The network is currently balancing the demands of heavy institutional inflows, the rapid expansion of automated AI-agent transactions, and fierce competition from alternative high-throughput blockchains.
By formally clarifying the economic relationship between L1 and L2 and institutionalizing its own path toward obsolescence, the Ethereum Foundation is signaling a transition from an experimental technology project into a permanent, highly secure bedrock for the global digital economy.
