$ETH $Developers presented Ethereum R1, a layer 2 scaling solution

The introduction of Ethereum R1 diverges from the traditional layer 2 developments that have come to characterize Ethereum scaling networks.

A group of developers from the Ethereum ecosystem, operating independently of the Ethereum Foundation, has announced Ethereum R1, a layer 2 (L2) scaling solution for the Ethereum network that does not include a native token.

According to the announcement, the project relies entirely on donations, has no venture funding, and has no pre-mined token allocations or governance token. The project team wrote in an X post on May 1:

"General-purpose L2s should be commodities: simple, replaceable, and free from centralized dependencies or risky governance. Ethereum R1 is our answer to that call - the rollup based on credible neutrality, decentralization, and resistance to censorship".

"Most current L2s act more like new L1s than as a scaling solution for Ethereum: private allocations, opaque governance, and centralized control," the developers continued.

The announcement points to growing concerns within the Ethereum community regarding the current direction of many layer 2 scaling solutions, which some see as potentially misaligned with the interests of the base layer.