Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the importance of fast withdrawals on L2, calling for the acceleration of ZK validity proof adoption to solidify Ethereum's position as the L1 settlement hub.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (V神) pointed out in a recent statement that achieving fast withdrawals (less than 1 hour) for Layer 2 (L2) is more critical than reaching "Stage 2" full decentralization. He believes that shortening the asset withdrawal time from L2 to L1 through zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs validity proof) can effectively prevent users from turning to multi-signature wallets or MPC cross-chain bridge solutions with weaker trust assumptions, which is a core initiative to maintain the decentralization cornerstone of the Ethereum ecosystem and ensure L1 as the dominant economic center. At the same time, V神 envisioned a future where proof aggregation technology achieves 12 seconds finality and seamless flow of native assets across L2.

L2 progress is promising, Stage 1 meeting standards has become the norm Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed on social media that he is pleased to see that six major Rollup projects, including Base, Optimism, Unichain, Scroll, Ink, and Kinto, have completed the upgrades as required, reaching "Stage 1" decentralization level.

Vitalik Buterin: L2 fast withdrawal priority should be higher than Stage 2 Decentralization However, Vitalik Buterin immediately emphasized that the next core goal of the Ethereum community should be to achieve fast withdrawals (under 1 hour). This requires relying on a validity proof (i.e., zk-SNARKs) system to achieve it. He believes that shortening L2 withdrawal times is crucial for the entire ecosystem, even more so than pursuing the "Stage 2" goal of complete decentralization. Currently, users and liquidity providers withdrawing assets from L2 to L1 could take up to a week if they do not rely on intermediaries.

Long Withdrawal Period Risks: Fostering Dependence on Centralized Cross-Chain Bridges Vitalik Buterin analyzed the drawbacks of long withdrawal periods: not only does it damage user experience, but it also forces ecosystem participants to adopt weaker trust models (such as relying on Multi-signature Wallets or Multi-Party Computation - MPC) for cross-chain bridges. This is contrary to the Decentralization principles upheld by Ethereum.

Technical Maturity: Ethereum should transition from optimistic proofs to zk-SNARKs Vitalik Buterin pointed out that Optimistic Proofs were historically chosen mainly because the technology for zk-SNARKs was immature and costly at the time. However, this situation is changing rapidly. ZK proof technology has made significant progress, and today's Ethereum-compatible ZK Rollups can verify L2 execution results with faster speeds and stronger security. He mentioned resources like ethproofs.org, which are tracking the latest developments in the ZK proof field.

Hybrid Verification Mechanism: A Viable Path to Fast Withdrawals To achieve fast withdrawals, Vitalik Buterin proposed a potential hybrid verification scheme: a "two-thirds" (2-of-3) proof system. This system combines three components: zk-SNARKs, optimistic proofs (OP), and trusted execution environments (TEE). The core idea is that as long as any two of the verification methods reach consensus, a withdrawal can be approved.

zk-SNARKs gas fees become a key bottleneck Vitalik Buterin also pointed out that the final key bottleneck in achieving fast settlement lies in the high Gas costs required to submit large ZK proofs to the Ethereum main chain (L1).

Ultimate Vision: 12 Seconds Finality and Seamless Flow of Native Assets Across L2 Vitalik Buterin's long-term vision goes far beyond one-hour withdrawals. He believes that with further breakthroughs in Proof Aggregation technology—packing and compressing numerous zk-SNARKs proofs from ZK Rollups into one—Ethereum L1 is expected to complete multiple Rollup settlements within each time slot (Slot, approximately 12 seconds). This will enable near-instantaneous transfers of native assets across different L2s through L1, fundamentally eliminating the need for centralized cross-chain bridges or lengthy withdrawal windows.

L1 Role Upgrade: From Security Anchor to High-Speed Settlement Hub Under this framework, Ethereum L1 will not only serve as a secure foundation but will also play the role of the entire Layer 2 ecosystem's high-speed settlement center. This will further consolidate Ethereum's position as the dominant economic center of its ecosystem, where most tokens, core protocols, and key financial activities are still anchored on L1, while scalability is achieved through the upper layer of L2.

Conclusion: L2 withdrawal acceleration is a structural change, laying the foundation for the high-speed financial layer of L1 Reducing L2 withdrawal times is by no means a simple user experience optimization; it signifies a fundamental shift in Ethereum's architecture. With the ongoing improvements in proof systems and the widespread adoption of aggregation technologies, Ethereum L1 is expected to evolve into a high-speed financial layer capable of achieving near real-time settlements in the increasingly robust, trustless L2 networks, thereby consolidating its core position as a Decentralized Economic Hub and a cross-chain liquidity hub.