Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has outlined a key growth trend in the blockchain’s layer-2 (L2) protocols. The trend involves the frantic push to transition from Stage 0 to a higher-acclaimed class. This disclosure comes ahead of the Ethereum Pectra upgrade scheduled for May 7.
Key stages in Ethereum L2 growth
In a recent blog post, Buterin detailed the dynamics of the security council and outlined three key stages of Ethereum roll-up security: stage 0, stage 1 and stage 2.
According to Buterin, the security council has full control at stage 0. The proof system is “advisory only” at this stage because a security council can overturn a running optimistic or ZK with a simple majority vote.
In stage 1, a security council can override with approval of 75% (at least 6 of 8). Meanwhile, in stage 2, the security council can only act in case of provable bugs. Provable bugs could be two redundant proof systems, like the OP and ZK.
Buterin released a mathematical model that shows when to move to stage 2. The model assumes each security council member has an independent 10% chance of “breaking.” Another assumption is to treat “liveness” failure (as Buterin likes to say) and safety failure as equally likely.
The Ethereum cofounder further suggested making the proof system a multisig of independent systems. This could substantially enhance robustness, especially in early stage 2 deployments, aligning with the need for layered security in L2 protocols.
What to expect from Pectra upgrade
The Pectra upgrade, anticipated to go live on the mainnet on May 7, is set to drive sentiment on the market. Pectra is a landmark update that aims to enhance Ethereum’s core functionality, with improvements centered on wallet usability and staking efficiency.
The Pectra upgrade has encountered a lot of challenges in its deployment. However, Ethereum developers quickly rectified the issue, and many expect to see improved overall user experience once the mainnet goes live.
Vitalik Buterin earlier disclosed that the Pectra hard fork will help to double the capacity of layer-2 networks.
