Vitalik Buterin cites sub-cent L2 fees and Stage 1 security milestones as key to reviving decentralized payment use cases.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that high transaction fees stifled the first wave of crypto payment adoption. During a visit to Argentina, he observed locals using free Binance transfers instead of decentralized alternatives due to cost barriers.
Buterin noted that Layer 2 (L2) solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum now charge less than one cent per transaction and have reached Stage 1 security. This shift makes decentralized payments viable again, aligning with Ethereum’s revised rollup-centric scaling strategy.
He emphasized that future growth depends on L1 and L2 synergy, with L2s needing to offer unique features like privacy or application-specific tools to remain competitive.