Vitalik Buterin Doubles Down on Base Network Decentralization—Here’s the New Goal

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is turning up the heat on Base Network’s decentralization push—and he’s not mincing words. Fresh off his latest blog post, Buterin outlined a sharper vision for scaling Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem, with Base squarely in the crosshairs.

The decentralization ultimatum

No more half-measures. Buterin’s new target? A fully trustless, user-controlled Base Network by 2026—no more ’training wheels’ from Coinbase or other centralized validators. The call comes as Base’s TVL flirts with $10B, drawing both DeFi degens and Wall Street tourists.

Why this matters now

Base’s rapid growth has exposed Ethereum’s perennial tension: scale vs. sovereignty. Buterin’s push forces the issue—just as institutional players start treating L2s like their personal sandbox. (Cue eye-roll from crypto OGs watching VC funds ’discover’ decentralization.)

The clock’s ticking. Either Base becomes the poster child for credible neutrality… or just another bankchain with better marketing.

Key Insights:

• Vitalik Buterin highlights how Base and other L2s are more concerned about Stage 1 and 2 decentralization.
• This highlight comes in response to Jesse Pollak’s plans to enhance the Base network.
• Several blockchain scaling solutions are working on improving scalability, cost, and speed.

Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has joined a conversation on X about the decentralization MOVE of Base, a Layer-2 scaling solution.

He stated there is a higher call for Base Network to achieve Stage 1 and 2 decentralization than for it to decentralize its acclaimed sequencer.

Conversations about decentralization have grown in recent times, with Buterin always sharing insight on how protocols can scale.

Feedback from Vitalik Buterin on Base

Stage 1 and 2 decentralization are considered a necessity because fault proofs and security councils reduce centralized control.

Ordinarily, Layer-2s on ethereum already leverage the network’s Layer-1 decentralization to enhance their security.

However, Buterin noted that it is more critical for Base to achieve Stage 1 and 2 decentralization.

To further support his opinion, the Ethereum co-founder highlighted ultralow latency and protection against sandwich attacks as two unique benefits L2s provide.

It is worth noting that achieving these feats on L1 is difficult. Hence, sequencer decentralization becomes the least urgent push for an L2 like Base.

The focus WOULD be on achieving faster withdrawal and bypassing channels for censorship resistance.

According to Buterin, Base has made significant progress achieving Stage 1 decentralization within the last eight months.

One example to show how evolved the Coinbase-linked protocol is its implementation of permissionless fault proofs.

This push, recorded in October 2024, allows users to withdraw/transfer their assets to L1 without a centralized intermediary.

Base Plan to Dominate L2s and Rollups

This entire conversation started with a post from the Layer-2 network’s lead developer, Jesse Pollak outlining some ambitious goals for Base.

These include achieving a transaction speed of about 200 milliseconds, a transaction cost below $0.01, and a throughput of 200 transactions per second.

The goal is to enhance scalability and the overall user experience on the Ethereum network.

Pollak’s X post also mentioned L1 Chain Reorganization (CR) and “no sandwich,” hinting at Base’s focus on neutrality and fairness in transaction ordering.

He also talked about plans for Base to decentralize by progressing through Stages 1 and 2, thereby involving more builders in the process.

The roadmap of the Base blockchain explicitly reflects the broader trend among scaling solutions.

As it stands, Optimism, another top L2 with which Base collaborates, is keen on beating down high gas fees and network congestion.

Some data suggests that these L2s have collectively achieved 250 TPS, successfully outperforming Ethereum’s 15 TPS.

Which Protocol is Winning the Decentralization Race?

Austin Federa, the co-founder of DoubleZero, has his doubts about the Base decentralization push, which prompted him to respond to Pollak’s post.

He does not agree that Stages 1 and 2 ensure decentralization as it is understood in the context of blockchain.

His stance stems from his concern with sequencer decentralization. Federa does not think that Base effectively inherited L1 decentralization without decentralizing the sequencer.

Base, Optimism, and other L2s are making efforts to achieve adequate decentralization in their respective rights, finally.

Each of these blockchain scaling solutions is trying to improve scalability, cost, and speed as a single entity.

It remains uncertain which protocol is leading for now, but Core developers are invested in this milestone.