Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin: Why Boosting L1 Gas Limit Matters in L2-Dominated Era

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has recently published an article titled "Why Increasing the L1 Gas Limit Even in an L2-Dominated Ethereum" is Necessary. In the article, Buterin discusses the recent increase in the L1 Gas limit from 30 million to 36 million, a 20% capacity increase, and the potential for further substantial increases in the short term. He highlights that the security of this expansion benefits from recent and upcoming technical improvements, such as Ethereum client efficiency improvements, EIP-4444 to reduce historical data storage requirements, and future stateless clients.

However, Buterin raises an important question: in the context of a roadmap centered around Rollup, is it the right move in the long term to increase the L1 gas limit? He argues that even in a world where the majority of usage and applications are on L2, significantly expanding L1 still holds value because it enables a simpler and more secure application development pattern.

Buterin's article comes at a time when the Ethereum ecosystem is rapidly evolving, with a growing focus on layer 2 solutions. The increase in the L1 gas limit, coupled with the technical improvements mentioned, could help to facilitate this evolution and ensure the security and scalability of the Ethereum network.