You may have heard voices like this:
"Solana will overtake Ethereum" "Ethereum fees are high, the ecosystem is declining" "Slow upgrades, no narrative, cannot support coin prices"...
But what is the truth?
If you are an OG who entered the circle in 2017, you must remember the early crypto experience: fast transactions, low fees, simple operations, wallets without cross-chain, everything was pure and direct.
Today, Ethereum is returning to a 'simple and powerful' user experience, even further - like Qin Shi Huang's "same tracks and same script", reshaping the underlying architecture with a modular strategy: the mainnet anchors security and settlement, while Layer2 bears performance and experience.
Can you imagine?
Will smart contract wallets become universally popular?
Is the Ethereum transfer fee less than 1 cent?
Does the on-chain experience rival the smoothness of Web2?
These are becoming a reality. Technologies like Rollup, EIP-4844, and account abstraction are building a smooth, flexible, secure, and unified Ethereum.
Foundation of trust: unshakeable Ethereum mainnet
Although high-frequency trading is flowing to Layer2, and TRON's stablecoin share is rising, the Ethereum mainnet remains the core territory for capital, protocols, and developers.
1. Data evidence: economic dominance
On-chain data never lies:
The total value locked in Ethereum exceeds 62 billion USD, crushing other blockchains;
The market capitalization of stablecoins exceeds 126 billion USD, making it the largest issuance and circulation network globally;
The ecosystem has contributed decentralized exchanges (DEX) with a monthly trading volume of hundreds of billions of dollars, a definitive main force.
2. Strategic shift: the safe foundation for trillion-dollar assets
The vision of Ethereum as a "world computer" has landed in the leading scenario **'world ledger'** - focusing on becoming the most neutral and secure settlement layer for global finance and digital assets. The foundation is advancing the "trillion-dollar safety" plan, aiming to hold assets the size of the UK stock market, paving the way for "World Onchain".
3. Institutional entry: traditional finance reconstructing the future on Ethereum
From JPMorgan's JPM Coin to Franklin Templeton's on-chain funds and BlackRock BUIDL, Wall Street is betting on Ethereum. Coupled with the implementation of frameworks like MiCA (EU Crypto Assets Regulation), the barriers for compliant funds to enter on a large scale have been cleared.
Growth engine: Layer2 fully explodes
Ethereum's scalability has transitioned from blueprint to reality, establishing a new division of labor in the blockchain world:
1. Costs plummet, trading volume surpasses the mainnet
The total daily transaction volume of mainstream Layer2 such as Base, Arbitrum, and OP has far exceeded the mainnet, primarily due to costs decreasing by 10 to 100 times. "Free transactions" have shifted from vision to reality. With brokerages like Robinhood entering the tokenized stock market, Layer2 will welcome a wave of higher frequency and diverse trading.
2. Dencun upgrade: opening up exclusive highways for Layer2
The Dencun upgrade introduces Blob (temporary data space designed for Layer2), independent of the mainnet's expensive permanent storage, drastically reducing Layer2 data publishing costs by 100 to 200 times, marking a key step in the scalability revolution. Subsequent technologies like PeerDAS and ePBS will continue to broaden this "data highway."
Revolution in experience: account abstraction, knocking on the door of the mass market
Layer2 addresses the issue of "cost", while account abstraction tackles the pain point of "usability" - this is the final hurdle for Web3 to welcome a billion users.
The goal is to evolve wallets into programmable "smart accounts", bringing a disruptive experience:
1. Say goodbye to Gas fee anxiety
In the future, using DApps will not require worrying about Gas or purchasing ETH: through the Paymaster mechanism, DApps can pay for Gas or directly use stablecoins like USDT for transactions, making it as natural as breathing.
2. Ending the mnemonic nightmare
Forget that nerve-wracking mnemonic! Through social recovery (friend verification) or email recovery (zk-Email technology), recovering accounts becomes simple and secure.
3. Web2 level smooth interaction
Passkey: facial recognition and fingerprint directly authorize transactions, making complex concepts like private keys and signatures completely invisible;
Session keys: When playing blockchain games or performing high-frequency operations, one authorization allows for timed play, bidding farewell to frequent signature interruptions.
Unified landscape: on-chain islands connected into a continent
After solving the issues of "cost" and "difficulty", the final challenge for the Ethereum ecosystem is fragmentation - assets and identities trapped on Layer2 islands, with complex and slow cross-chain experiences.
Interoperability technology is the puzzle connecting the islands:
1. Intent: from "how to do it" to "what to do"
In the future, there will be no need to worry about cross-chain steps; just express your goal (e.g., "Use 100 USDC on Arbitrum to exchange for the most ETH on Base"), and the system's "solvers" will automatically plan the optimal path, completing it in the background with a seamless experience.
2. Shared sequencers: atomic cross-chain operations
Ensuring that complex cross-chain transactions (like arbitrage, lending) are "all or nothing", eliminating the risk of asset loss, and laying a solid foundation for complex cross-chain applications.
3. Cross-Chain Session Keys: Account abstraction + ultimate interoperability fusion
One authorization allows DApps to automatically execute tasks across multiple chains. For example, one-click staking of idle assets across multiple Layer2 to the highest yielding protocol in the network.
The ultimate experience of the future: front-end smoothness like Web2, back-end modular collaboration
In Web3 wallets, a single fingerprint verification initiates an "intent", the Paymaster pays the Gas, the Solver plans the path, and shared sequencers ensure security, allowing assets to flow seamlessly across multiple Layer2, ultimately settling on the Ethereum mainnet.
The front end is as smooth as Web2, while the back end is a highly collaborative modular network - this is 'Unified Ethereum.'
Welcome to the era of 'Unified Ethereum'
Unified Ethereum is no longer a future tense; it has become a present continuous: the mainnet secures trust, Layer2 enhances performance, account abstraction serves as a gateway, and interoperability technology seamlessly connects everything.
Web3 wallets will also surpass the concept of a "wallet" itself, becoming intelligent gateways for a unified ecosystem, managing programmable accounts as "personal assistants", and reliable guides for experiences in a multi-chain world.
We are standing at the starting point of a new value internet - it is unified, open, user-friendly, and unprecedented.#ETH（二饼）
