Ethereum Today Is No Longer Just an L1 Blockchain; It's Part of a Much Larger, Modular Ecosystem

If you're planning to launch a stablecoin or preparing for a token generation event (TGE), your choice of blockchain

If you’re planning to launch a stablecoin or preparing for a token generation event (TGE), your choice of blockchain likely comes down to two major contenders: Ethereum or Solana.

At first glance, the decision seems straightforward—Solana is faster and cheaper, while Ethereum’s Layer 1 (L1) remains costly and slow. But is it really that simple?

Today, Ethereum is no longer just an L1 blockchain; it’s part of a much larger, modular ecosystem that includes a growing Layer 2 (L2) infrastructure. This architecture enables high throughput and low latency, effectively addressing the limitations of L1.

However, the market hasn’t fully adapted to this modular paradigm yet. Many users still associate Ethereum with high fees and limited scalability, even though its technology has already evolved beyond those constraints. This misperception arises from a lack of awareness regarding L2 solutions and their capabilities.

Mass adoption always lags behind innovation. If you’re not deeply involved in tech, you likely don’t perceive the modular architecture of the internet—yet it’s the backbone of the digital world. The internet itself never aimed to solve UX problems. Instead, applications abstracted the complexity, delivering a seamless experience to users.

The same must happen with Ethereum. As long as L2s feel like separate networks rather than native extensions of Ethereum, mainstream users will struggle to embrace them.

So how do we make Ethereum more user-friendly? Three critical issues need to be addressed:

Until these challenges are fully resolved, Ethereum will continue to face resistance in mainstream adoption—despite being technologically prepared for the next phase of growth.

This article will delve into each of these issues and propose solutions, exploring what it will take to position Ethereum for mass adoption.

Interoperability: From Bridges to Seamless Compatibility

One of Ethereum’s biggest hurdles today is the lack of native interoperability between L2 solutions. Users still have to manually bridge assets between networks, a process that remains clunky and inconvenient.

This limitation stems from the architecture of intent-based bridges like Across, which are optimized for highly liquid assets like ETH or WETH. For instance, a user might need to wait 15-30 seconds for an L1 → L2 transfer, while L2 → L2 swaps usually take less than 5 seconds. However, for memecoins or other low-liquidity tokens, this time frame becomes problematic, especially considering the limited lifetime of memecoins.

This is why the Ethereum ecosystem is pushing toward native interoperability—first between L2 chains and, ultimately, between L1 and L2.

Most projects are still in development, but Q2 2025 should see the first releases of ERC-20 cross-chain transfers between L2 clusters (Arbitrum, Superchain [Optimism], Elastic Chain [ZKSync], Agglayer [Polygon]).

Ultimately, what is going to be the endgame for rollup adaptation are:

When will this fully materialize? No clear timeline yet. None of the existing rollups have confirmed plans to transition into Based or Native models. However, the direction is set—recently, the Ethereum Foundation introduced an open-source framework for building intent-based bridges under the ERC-7683 standard.

For wallets, this is a major breakthrough. A unified integration standard means that intent-based bridges like Across could see widespread adoption within the next 1-2 months. This will drastically simplify asset transfers, making Ethereum’s modular architecture feel far more seamless and intuitive for users.

dApps & Wallet UX: The Next Step Toward Mass Adoption

Fragmentation between L2 chains isn’t the only UX hurdle in the Ethereum ecosystem. The inability to batch transactions and sponsor gas fees for regular EOA wallets remains a major barrier.

Previous efforts to fix this—most notably EIP-4337 (Account Abstraction)—failed to see widespread adoption. This was due to a lack of a unified standard, which slowed down integration. However, that’s finally changing.

EIP-7702 introduces a breakthrough solution by allowing EOA wallets to temporarily function as smart contracts within a single transaction. This essentially creates a lightweight alternative to Account Abstraction, improving gas fee management and user experience.

What does this mean for users? EIP-7702 will enable wallets like Trust Wallet to perform several actions in a single transaction, such as batching multiple transactions, sponsoring gas fees for users, or even paying for goods and services directly from the wallet.

EIP-7702 is expected to be integrated into wallets and dApps within two months of Pectra’s launch. This estimate comes from Offchain Labs, whose representatives confirmed to me that updates will hit L2 chains within 1-2 weeks after Ethereum Mainnet (currently set for early April).

With the rollout of intent-based bridges and EIP-7702, Ethereum UX will drastically improve. Wallets and dApps that integrate