Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin took the stage at Token2049 in Singapore, drawing attention to a major milestone in Ethereum's evolution—the drastic reduction in Layer-2 (L2) transaction fees.
Historically, high gas fees were a major challenge for users. Now, Buterin shared that Ethereum's Layer-2 networks have reached a point where transaction fees have dropped to "basically zero."
"At the same time, Optimism and Arbitrum, two major Ethereum L2s, have hit this important security milestone. So rollups are rapidly becoming safer, and rollups are finally affordable," he remarked.
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Layer-2 solutions are key in improving Ethereum's scalability and affordability. By processing transactions on secondary chains and settling them on the Ethereum mainnet, these networks relieve congestion on the primary blockchain.
Beyond the reduction in transaction fees, Buterin celebrated the positive impact of the Ethereum Merge in September 2022, when the network transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. This upgrade led to faster confirmation times for transactions, cutting the average block waiting time in half.
He also stressed the importance of meeting the demands of mainstream users while preserving the core principles of open-source development and decentralization.
In a lighter moment during his address, Buterin paid tribute to some songs that have emerged from past crypto projects.
Overall, Ethereum's journey to lower costs and faster transactions reflects its commitment to becoming a more practical and scalable platform while preserving its decentralized ethos.
In other news, Buterin has recently denied rumors of him selling millions of dollars worth of ETH for personal gain.