Thread by @0xzak

Ethereum is bleeding value to L2s. Rollups extract fees, MEV, and liquidity while ETH stakers get left behind. If this keeps up, Ethereum becomes a dumb security layer while L2s print money. Does this sound like a decent model for fixing it? 🧵👇

2/ Rollups extract fees, MEV, and liquidity while ETH stakers get left behind. If this keeps up, Ethereum becomes a dumb security layer while L2s print money.

3/ L2s don’t need to use ETH as gas, but they do need to pay for Ethereum’s security. Right now, they pay almost nothing. That needs to change. Ethereum isn’t a free lunch. L2s should be paying rent.

4/ Base pulled ~$2.5M in fees last month and paid Ethereum less than $11K. Optimism is making ~$321 in L2 fees for every $1 it pays to ETH. L2s are insanely profitable, but ETH barely sees any of this value.

THIS IS INSANE! 🤡 🌎

5/ Every rollup should contribute to Ethereum in one of these ways:

- ETH staking deposits: L2 sequencers should put up ETH as collateral to participate

- Settlement fees: A portion of all L2 fees should go to Ethereum stakers

- MEV redistribution: L2-generated MEV should be routed back to Ethereum

6/ If an L2 doesn’t use ETH as gas, it should still be required to stake ETH or contribute a portion of its token supply to an ETH vault. This vault would act as an index of all rollup economies, making ETH the financial layer of the L2 ecosystem.

7/ Ethereum validators should be securing rollups, not just L1. L2 sequencers should be required to stake ETH and restaking should be used to extend Ethereum’s security to all rollups. If an L2 wants Ethereum’s trust, it needs to pay for it.

8/ Every L2 needs liquidity to move assets across chains. ETH should be the default settlement asset for all cross-rollup transactions. Native gas tokens are fine, but ETH needs to be the liquidity layer.

9/ L2s don’t have to be forced into one model. They can use their own tokens, their own sequencers, and their own economics. But Ethereum needs to capture value, either through ETH staking, fees, or direct alignment with rollup economies.

10/ Right now, Ethereum is subsidizing L2s while they extract all the upside. That’s not sustainable. Either Ethereum forces alignment now, or it risks becoming an outdated security layer for rollups that don’t need it anymore.

Who else is thinking about this?