From Global Computers to World Ledger: Ethereum's Strategic Transformation

On June 20, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin responded to a tweet, stating that "Ethereum Layer 1 is the world ledger." This rare statement sparked widespread discussion about Ethereum's macro positioning.

In the world of blockchain, each public chain has its unique design positioning, which often determines the characteristics of its technical architecture and ecosystem. Since its inception, Ethereum has aimed to build the "world computer" as its ultimate goal, intending to create an open platform that can run any smart contract and support various Web3 applications. Vitalik has explicitly stated that Ethereum is not just a payment network, but a universal decentralized computing layer.

So, what is the deeper meaning behind the narrative shift from "world computer" to "world ledger"?

Ethereum: Staying True to the Original Intention of the World Computer

Looking back at the development of Ethereum, we find that its main direction, although it has not undergone drastic changes, has been in dynamic evolution.

Since 2016, Ethereum has been the leader as a smart contract platform, leading multiple market cycles. From ERC20 to DeFi, and then to NFTs and blockchain games, each wave of trends highlights the allure of "on-chain computing power." Smart contracts have always been its core, which is why Vitalik has repeatedly emphasized that Ethereum is a decentralized application platform, aimed at supporting various Web3 native logics, not just asset transfers.

However, there are also some contradictions in reality. The most criticized are the high Gas fees and low TPS performance issues, which have limited the large-scale application of complex computational logic. It is against this backdrop that Rollup technology has gradually matured since 2020, and after 5 years of development, Ethereum has gradually established a "L1+L2" layered structure.

In this architecture, especially over the past two years, there are increasing signs that Ethereum is demonstrating the potential to become a trustworthy, stable, sovereign-level "world ledger."

Narrative Reconstruction under the Division of L1+L2

If we summarize this division of labor in one sentence, "the Ethereum mainnet is responsible for security and settlement, while L2 handles high-frequency interactions" is quite appropriate.

Today, a clear division of labor has formed within the Ethereum ecosystem: the mainnet is responsible for providing security and final settlement infrastructure, while L2 (such as certain well-known platforms) carries most high-frequency trading and user operations. This model not only improves scalability but also further strengthens the value capture logic of ETH, naturally positioning the Ethereum mainnet as a "global decentralized ledger." The more L2s there are and the more successful they become, the more prosperous the ecosystem, and the higher the value of the Ethereum mainnet as a unified ledger.

After all, all L2 networks rely on it as the "central bank" level settlement layer.

The implementation of EIP-1559 is a key turning point in the Ethereum narrative. It not only introduces the Base Fee and burning mechanism but also fundamentally reshapes the way Ethereum captures value. Ethereum no longer relies on the Gas revenue generated by a large number of transactions on the mainnet, but instead shifts to relying on L2 for continuous "taxation".

In other words, users were direct customers of the mainnet in the past, but now they have become agents for their respective L2s, responsible for providing services to users, collecting fees, and ultimately "paying" these fees to the mainnet in exchange for settlement rights. This mechanism design is quite similar to the historical "tax-farming system":

• The mainnet becomes the ultimate trusted ledger for transaction clearing and settlement, similar to a central bank;
• L2 is like a commercial bank, responsible for high-frequency services aimed at users;
• Every L2 transaction that returns to the mainnet for verification will burn ETH, paying for the security of the ledger.

It can be said that Ethereum has not given up on the vision of a "world computer"; rather, the division of labor and development path of L1+L2 is guiding it to first become a "world ledger."

The Realism of the "World Ledger"

Another interesting perspective is that each round of ETH value explosion actually stems from the mainnet being "used" in its role as a ledger.

The 2017 ERC20 wave was the clearing and settlement layer for issuing tokens, while the 2020 DeFi Summer served as the fund settlement platform under smart contract combinations. Recently, if this wave explodes again due to the tokenization of US stocks, RWA, and other financial assets on-chain, Ethereum will still be that trusted ledger.

For traditional finance, computing power is certainly important, but what ultimately determines whether to migrate on-chain is the "trust, finality, and security" of the ledger — this is the core point for compliant assets.

This is also why some well-known platforms have chosen to launch US stock token trading services based on certain L2 solutions. This is not only a recognition of the performance of the Rollup architecture, but more importantly, these transactions will ultimately return to the Ethereum mainnet for settlement.

This indicates that the performance, security, and compliance capabilities of existing L2 solutions are sufficient to meet the trading needs of core traditional financial assets. In a sense, this wave of "US stocks on-chain" has actually strengthened Ethereum's positioning as the global financial settlement infrastructure, further validating the feasibility and real demand for its role as a "world ledger."

This is the realistic evolution path of Ethereum from a "world computer" to a "world ledger"—it is no longer just promising a future landscape of on-chain applications, but is increasingly chosen by mainstream assets in the real world as a settlement endpoint.

From this perspective, these trends not only confirm the value of Ethereum L1, but also profoundly reconstruct the value capture logic of L2, driving the entire Ethereum ecosystem to truly connect between technology and financial infrastructure.

In summary, the narratives that can truly drive this chain towards hundreds of millions of users are not just about what Ethereum can do, but rather what the real world is willing to do with Ethereum.