Vitalik Buterin: Switch to supporting Native Rollups thanks to mature ZK

Vitalik Buterin recently published an important analysis on Layer 2 technology directions, in which he expressed that compared to the past, he now tends to strongly support Native Rollup solutions. This change in perspective stems from significant advancements in the technological roadmap, especially the maturity of zk technologies.

Core Barriers from the Past - ZK Not Ready

Previously, the main reason Vitalik opposed Native Rollups was due to technological limitations at that time. Native rollups had to choose between two paths: adopting zk-mode or using Optimistic mode. However, the issue was that zk-EVM was still not mature enough for widespread deployment, causing Layer 2 projects to face a dilemma.

Layer 2 had to consider two options: one was “fast withdrawal but responsible for proof risks,” or two was “completely rely on Ethereum’s security but wait 2-7 days to send funds back to the mainchain.” Most projects chose the second option, which weakened Ethereum’s natural composability and promoted the popularity of surrounding solutions like multi-sig bridges.

The Situation is Changing - ZK Has Matured

Currently, the technological landscape has changed significantly. Ethereum is deploying zk at the L1 level, and this progress is gradually aligning with the actual development of native pre-compilation Rollups. The core barrier that Vitalik previously mentioned is now likely to be completely eliminated.

The developer community is also increasingly recognizing the importance of “synchronized composability” — the ability to combine components in a synchronized manner. This is considered one of the core values of modern Layer 2 solutions. Alongside that, developers are actively exploring ways to combine Rollup-based solutions with low-latency pre-confirmation mechanisms.

Synchronized Composability: A New Direction for Layer 2

Vitalik emphasizes that synchronized composability is not just a feature but a new design philosophy for Layer 2. This allows Rollups to operate almost fully integrated with the Ethereum mainchain while maintaining technical independence. This innovation opens up many possibilities for applications requiring high synchronization.

Cautious Deployment - No Rush for Native Rollups

Although Vitalik is optimistic about the prospects, he also advises the community not to rush into deploying pre-compilation technology for Native Rollups. Instead, he proposes a more practical and flexible approach.

Ideally, Vitalik hopes developers can build a Rollup that is “EVM plus some custom extensions,” and they can directly reuse the EVM part in the pre-compilation of Native Rollup. With this approach, they only need to design their own proof systems for the entirely new functions added, then connect both parts through a standardized interface. This optimizes performance while minimizing security risks.

With the maturity of zk technology and clarity in the technical direction, Native Rollups could become the main path for Layer 2 in the near future.