Ethereum’s Layer 1 Scaling: Two Perspectives

WAGMI
Coinmonks
3 min readAug 1, 2023

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Part 1: The Nostalgic Longing

There was once an individual who, in the wild expanse of cryptocurrency, found solace in the arms of Ethereum. To this person, Ethereum represented all that Bitcoin could have been but wasn’t: a marriage of security and scarcity, hand in hand with Decentralized Finance (DeFi). It was a beacon of promise, upholding the ideal of scalability while fiercely guarding its decentralization.

But alas, the joy was short-lived. This ardent believer noticed a shift in Ethereum’s path. According to them, Ethereum strayed from its commitments to Layer 1 (L1) scaling, opting for a new path sometime last year. A switch flipped, a direction altered, a controversy birthed.

Part 2: The Voice of Dissent

Enter the counter-voice, a skeptic who thrives on questioning the status quo. This character scoffed at the suggestion that Ethereum had only recently deviated from L1 scaling. To them, the timeline of this ‘infamous pivot’ was all wrong. They pointed out that the shift was not a recent event but occurred a good 3–4 years ago. Our skeptic was not just disagreeing; they were questioning the attention span of our first protagonist.

But they didn’t stop there. The skeptic brought up the subject of rollups, a scaling solution that bundles multiple transactions into a single one. They provocatively argued that rollups were essentially an L1 scaling solution. They even dared to redefine it as “L1.5.”

Part 3: The Clash of Titans

The rebuttal was swift. Our initial protagonist would not have their argument so easily dismissed. They insisted that rollups could not be equated with L1 scaling. For them, the two had drastically different user experience trade-offs. The debate was spiraling into a whirlwind of terminology, with both parties sticking to their guns.

The protagonist stood firm on their stance that Ethereum had abandoned L1 scaling. They were bewildered by the skeptic’s denial, pointing towards a wealth of public evidence that supported their claim. The skeptic, however, remained unfazed. With a dismissive wave, they suggested that they were merely attempting to save the protagonist from self-embarrassment.

Part 4: In Good Faith or Not?

Accusations started flying. Our protagonist felt that the skeptic was not engaging in a good faith debate. They felt like they were being treated as a member of some ‘maxi religion,’ with the skeptic playing the part of a self-appointed savior. The skeptic, on the other hand, continued to dismiss the protagonist’s arguments, even going so far as to label their sources as “junk.”

Part 5: The Final Stand

Despite the skeptic’s dismissive remarks, the protagonist insisted on the veracity of their sources, which included renowned platforms such as Coinbase, Cointelegraph, and Forbes. They were astounded at the skeptic’s stubborn denial. The skeptic, however, maintained that repeating incorrect information would only lead to the Ethereum community disregarding the protagonist.

The drama concluded with the protagonist suggesting a potential misunderstanding. They differentiated between Ethereum’s focus on Layer 2 (L2) scaling and the official dropping of sharding from the roadmap. It was an attempt to salvage some mutual respect from the fiery exchange that had taken place.

Epilogue

This tale is a testament to the never-ending debates within the crypto space. It’s a whirlwind of assertions, counterclaims, and a healthy dose of sarcasm. It’s also a reminder that even in this innovative arena, perspectives can diverge, creating rifts in understanding and interpretation. In the end, we’re left to ponder: whose side do we take, or are we just spectators enjoying the spectacle? Regardless, one thing is clear: in the realm of cryptocurrencies, there’s rarely a dull moment

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WAGMI
Coinmonks

Macro stuff, investment thoughts, tech savi