Many people view Vitalik Buterin's emphasis on Ethereum as a 'world ledger' as a new strategic adjustment, but in fact, this transformation was completed the moment EIP-1559 went live. And the 50% monopoly market share of stablecoins on Ethereum only reinforces the positioning of Ethereum as a financial settlement layer. Let me elaborate:
1) The core of EIP-1559 is not to reduce gas fees, but to redefine the value capture mechanism of the Ethereum mainnet, establishing a new model for capturing value that does not rely on increased gas consumption from transaction volume.
Previously, all transactions (DeFi, NFT, GameFi, etc.) were crowded onto the mainnet, leading to significant Ethereum gas consumption, with data showing that the daily average burn of Ethereum in 2021 was nearly thousands. At that time, the Ethereum mainnet was also severely congested, and Layer2 had to join the gas war when submitting batch data validation to the mainnet, resulting in high and unpredictable costs.
But EIP-1559 changed the rules of the game: after introducing a predictable base fee mechanism, the cost of batch submissions for Layer2 on the mainnet became stable and controllable. This directly lowered the operational threshold for Layer2, allowing more Layer2 solutions to rely solely on Ethereum for final settlement.
On the surface, EIP-1559 seems to facilitate Layer2, but in reality, it deeply transforms the logic of value capture in Ethereum: shifting from 'consumption-based growth' that relies on high-frequency trading on the mainnet to 'tax-based growth' that relies on settlement demand from Layer2.
Think about it: previously, users paid Ethereum's mainnet directly for computing services, which was a buyer-seller relationship. Now, Layer2 earns fees from users, but must regularly 'remit' batch data to the mainnet and burn Ethereum, creating a tribute relationship.
This is very similar to banks handling daily operations, but large interbank settlements must be confirmed through the central bank system. The central bank does not directly serve ordinary users, but all banks must 'pay taxes' to the central bank and accept regulation.
This is typically the positioning of a 'world ledger'.
2) According to DeFiLlama data, the global total market value of stablecoins currently exceeds $250 billion, with Ethereum holding a 50% market share, a proportion that has risen since the launch of EIP-1559. Why is Ethereum so attractive to capital? The answer is actually very simple: irreplaceable security premium.
Specifically, $USDT has solidified $62.99 billion on Ethereum, and $USDC has $38.15 billion. In comparison, the total amount of stablecoins on Solana is only $10.7 billion, and BNB Chain has only $10.4 billion, with the two combined being less than a fraction of Ethereum.
The question arises: why do stablecoin issuers choose Ethereum?
Certainly, it's not because it's cheap, nor because it's fast, but solely because of the unparalleled economic security provided by nearly hundreds of billions of dollars worth of staked Ethereum, making the cost of attacking Ethereum exorbitantly high, which is a crucial consideration for institutions managing hundreds of billions in assets.
With a large amount of stablecoin funds solidifying, the Ethereum ecosystem has formed a self-reinforcing growth flywheel effect:
The more stablecoins there are → the deeper the liquidity → more DeFi protocols choose Ethereum → creating more demand for stablecoins → attracting more capital inflow.
From this perspective, the large-scale aggregation of stablecoins on Ethereum is actually a result of global liquidity voting with their feet, and a market confirmation of its world ledger positioning.
3) When the Ethereum mainnet focuses on being a 'central bank'-level settlement layer, the strategic positioning of the entire Ethereum ecosystem becomes very clear: Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism are responsible for high-frequency trading, while the Ethereum mainnet focuses on final settlement, with clear and efficient division of labor. Each settlement from Layer2 back to the mainnet will continue to burn Ethereum, making this deflationary flywheel spin faster.
You see, many E guardians will feel heartbroken at this point. If that's the case, why hasn't Layer2 contributed to deflation for the Ethereum mainnet, but instead has become a 'vampire' that overdraws the value of the Ethereum mainnet?
The actual data is harsh: the previous situation where the Ethereum mainnet burned thousands of Ethereum daily is no longer present. Now? The daily average burn has significantly shrunk, sometimes even less than a few hundred Ethereum. Meanwhile, Arbitrum processes millions of transactions daily, Base has become a super profit machine thanks to traffic from Coinbase, and Optimism is also reaping substantial profits.
Where is the problem? Users have all moved to Layer2, and the mainnet has become a 'ghost town'. Layer2 collects millions of dollars in fees every day into their own pockets, but the 'protection fee' paid to the mainnet is pitifully low.
However, this issue does not shake the established position of Ethereum as a world ledger. The massive solidification of stablecoins, the security provided by nearly hundreds of billions of dollars (with 28% of the supply staked), and the world's largest DeFi ecosystem all prove that capital chooses the authoritative settlement of Ethereum, rather than the trading prosperity of the Layer2 ecosystem.
Currently, Vitalik Buterin seems to have realized this issue and is trying to elevate the performance of Ethereum's mainnet, hoping that Layer2 does not become a developmental burden on Ethereum's overall world ledger positioning.
But at the end of the day, the success or failure of Layer2 has nothing to do with the positioning of Ethereum's world ledger.
Vitalik now emphasizes 'world ledger', more like an official confirmation of a fait accompli. EIP-1559 is that historic turning point; from that moment on, Ethereum ceased to be a 'world computer' and became a 'world central bank'.
In other words, if you believe that the next crypto boom will be the integration of on-chain DeFi infrastructure and traditional finance (TradiFi), then Ethereum's positioning as a 'world central bank' is enough to solidify its status, and whether Layer2 thrives is fundamentally unimportant.
Of course, if you still think that Ethereum must wait for the strength of the Layer2 ecosystem to rise, you can ignore this analysis; pretend I didn't say anything.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Foresight News)
Original title: (Viewpoint: EIP-1559 is the real turning point for Ethereum to become a 'world central bank')
Original author: Haotian
'Redefining value capture! Why is EIP-1559 the key to making Ethereum a world central bank?' This article was first published on 'Crypto City'
