Will all L1s move to Ethereum? Operate an airline, not an airport ✈️ Airport vs Airline - Role Distribution • Independent L1 = Directly operate the airport (security, records, control all), annual security costs in the hundreds of millions of won • Ethereum L2 = Use a shared airport, just operate the planes • Ethereum handles consensus and data availability, while L2 is responsible for execution • Security budget: Ethereum $125B staking vs independent chains in the millions to tens of millions of dollars The landscape changed by technological upgrades • Dencun (March 2024) → Introduction of blobs reduces L2 data costs by 95% • Pectra (May 2025) → Blob capacity increases from 3 to 6, operating margin surpasses 90% • Rollup daily operating costs drop from $1M to $130K-$200K • Base earns $100K daily, Arbitrum earns $50K daily, securing a sustainable model Real migration cases • Ronin: Hacked for $600M under a 9-validator system → Transitioned to zkEVM L2, inheriting security from Ethereum's hundreds of thousands of validators • Celo: Annual validator reward expenditure burden of $15M-$25M → Costs reduced to thousands of dollars after L2 transition, expanding liquidity access from $100M TVL • Lisk: Isolated by sticking to JS blockchain → Absorbed into the EVM ecosystem immediately after adopting OP Stack Does L2 kill Ethereum? Quite the opposite • L2 transactions = ultimately settled on Ethereum, increasing ETH burn through blob fees and proof verification • Linea burns 20% of fees in ETH, Taiko contributes 423 ETH burned + 283 ETH in tips • Even if L2 achieves 250+ TPS, Ethereum remains the final authority = increasing throughput while maintaining decentralization and security • Costs decrease like AWS → Demand increases → Total revenue increases structure Liquidity integration and the future • Independent L1s take months to years to bootstrap liquidity, while L2s have immediate access to Ethereum's $500B+ liquidity • Improving cross-chain UX with ERC-7683 (universal intent), ERC-3770 (chain-specific addresses), etc. • The 7-day withdrawal issue is abstracted by intent-based protocols (Across, Everclear) • Final goal: Experience of moving between Base and Arbitrum feels like one network Don't build an airport, fly the planes Source (Decentralised)