Ethereum Can't Scale Alone — Here's How Rollups Are Changing the Network

Ethereum's rollup-centric scaling roadmap is experiencing a fundamental reassessment amid shifting market dynamics and base-layer architectural upgrades. While Layer 2 (L2) rollups now process more than 3,400 user operations per second, surpassing mainnet activity, aggregate L2 Total Value Locked (TVL) fell over 13% year-over-year to around $50 billion by Q3 2026. This divergence highlights that rollups are largely functioning as low-friction execution environments rather than high-value settlement layers. The scaling model faces dual headwinds from persistent centralization among L2 sequencers and rapid throughput expansions on Layer 1 (L1). Protocol enhancements such as EIP-4844 and proposals to raise the L1 gas limit to 80 million—targeting 10,000 TPS—significantly reduce L1 transaction costs, eroding the fee advantage of general-purpose rollups. To address this structural misalignment, the ecosystem is exploring Native Rollup architecture via EIP-8079 alongside functional specialization. By shifting toward privacy, non-EVM execution environments, and native L1 verification, Ethereum seeks to resolve governance friction and bridge risks while redefining value capture across its layered architecture.