Table of Contents

1. Ethereum: The Original Smart Contract Platform
2. What Are Layer 2s, and Why Did We Need Them?
3. The Bottlenecks of Ethereum Today
4. What’s Coming: Ethereum’s Roadmap in 2025 and Beyond
5. Danksharding, Proto-Danksharding, and the “Surge” Phase
6. Will Layer 2s Still Be Necessary?
7. What This Means for Users, Developers, and Investors
8. Risks and Unanswered Questions
9. Conclusion – Ethereum’s Future: One Chain to Rule Them All?
10. Want to Build Something on Ethereum? Contact Digital One Agency

1. 🧠 Ethereum: The Original Smart Contract Platform

Ethereum launched in 2015 with a revolutionary idea: a blockchain that did more than just move money. It allowed you to program logic and rules – aka smart contracts – directly on-chain.

This meant you could build apps on the blockchain: decentralised finance (DeFi), NFTs, DAOs, tokenised assets, identity layers, and more. Ethereum became the foundation of Web3.

But… it wasn’t perfect.

🚧 The Problem? Ethereum Got Popular – Fast

Ethereum’s original design could handle only around 15 transactions per second (TPS). That might sound like a lot until thousands (or millions) of people try to mint NFTs or use DeFi apps at the same time.

Fees skyrocketed. $100+ gas fees became normal. Congestion was constant.

That’s where Layer 2s came in.

2. 🪜 What Are Layer 2s, and Why Did We Need Them?

Imagine Ethereum as a crowded highway. You’re in gridlock, and it’s frustrating.

Layer 2s are like express lanes built on top of Ethereum. They let people drive faster – but still ultimately use the same destination (Ethereum mainnet) for final security and settlement.

🚀 Layer 2 Examples

• Arbitrum – fastest-growing rollup
• Optimism – closely tied to Ethereum Foundation
• zkSync – uses zero-knowledge proofs
• Base – Coinbase’s Layer 2

These networks batch many transactions, compress them, and then submit a summary to Ethereum. This reduces congestion and makes fees lower – often just a few cents.

Layer 2s saved Ethereum. But they also made things… complicated.

3. ⛽ The Bottlenecks of Ethereum Today

Even with Ethereum’s shift to Proof of Stake (via The Merge), the network still has limitations:

• Base layer is slow: still only ~15 TPS
• Layer 2s need bridging: moving assets between Ethereum and L2s adds risk
• Data availability is an issue: L2s need to post data on Ethereum, but block space is limited
• User experience is fragmented: switching chains, managing wallets, bridging tokens – it’s a mess

So now Ethereum is evolving again.

4. 🔧 What’s Coming: Ethereum’s Roadmap in 2025 and Beyond

Ethereum’s roadmap includes several major upgrades. These aren’t just tweaks – they’re massive architectural changes that will boost scalability and reduce costs, potentially eliminating the need for most Layer 2s.

🧩 Key Upgrades Coming:

✅ EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding)

• Already proposed and expected to go live in 2025
• Introduces blobs: large chunks of data that L2s can post cheaply
• Reduces L2 transaction costs by up to 90%

🔮 Danksharding

• The long-term vision of full sharding
• Ethereum will be split into many mini-blockchains (shards), all syncing back to the mainnet
• Allows massive throughput increases – potentially 100,000+ TPS

📶 Stateless Clients

• Reduces the amount of data each validator has to store
• Makes it easier to run Ethereum nodes

🌀 The Surge Phase

• Ethereum’s roadmap post-Merge includes five phases: The Merge, The Surge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge
• The Surge is focused on scaling Ethereum for mass adoption, with Danksharding at its core

5. 🧠 Danksharding, Proto-Danksharding, and the “Surge” Phase Explained Simply

Let’s break it down with an analogy.

📦 Imagine Ethereum Is a Warehouse

Right now:

• Ethereum can only handle a few boxes at a time
• Layer 2s are extra warehouses that eventually deliver boxes to Ethereum’s main warehouse
• But this delivery takes time and adds friction

Proto-Danksharding = Ethereum installs huge loading docks to accept more deliveries (blobs) quickly and cheaply.

Danksharding = Ethereum builds dozens of automated loading docks and hires robots to sort everything efficiently in parallel.

Suddenly, Ethereum becomes so fast and efficient that other warehouses (Layer 2s) aren’t needed as much.

6. 📉 Will Layer 2s Still Be Necessary?

Here’s the big question: Will Ethereum become fast and cheap enough to make Layer 2s obsolete?

The answer: Maybe. But not all at once.

💡 Likely Outcome:

• Many Layer 2s will still exist – especially for apps needing ultra-low costs or customised logic
• The value of Layer 2s will shift – from scaling Ethereum to enhancing privacy, interoperability, or app-specific use cases
• Users may not even know they’re on Layer 2s – thanks to better UX and abstracted wallet tech

In the long term, however, Ethereum’s base chain may become so powerful that:

• Retail users don’t need L2s
• Simple apps deploy directly on-chain again
• The economic incentives shift back to Layer 1

7. 👨‍💻 What This Means for Users, Developers, and Investors

🧍‍♂️ For Users:

• Expect cheaper fees in the next 12–24 months
• You may not need to bridge assets or switch networks
• User experience will feel more like Web2

👨‍💻 For Developers:

• You’ll be able to build directly on Ethereum with lower costs
• You’ll get access to blobs via EIP-4844 for more efficient data storage
• Simpler architecture = faster development cycles

💼 For Investors:

• The Ethereum narrative is evolving: fewer “ETH killers” will matter
• ETH itself may become more valuable as usage increases
• Some L2 tokens may lose relevance, while others pivot to value-added services

8. ⚠️ Risks and Unanswered Questions

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Ethereum still has challenges ahead.

❗ Here’s What Could Go Wrong:

• Delays: Ethereum upgrades are notorious for delays
• Complexity: Danksharding is a huge technical leap
• L2 Dependence: Many apps are already built on L2s – it’s hard to migrate backwards
• New Attack Vectors: Each upgrade introduces unknown risks

Plus, user behaviour is sticky. Just because Ethereum becomes faster doesn’t mean everyone will suddenly switch.

9. 🎯 Conclusion – Ethereum’s Future: One Chain to Rule Them All?

Ethereum isn’t just evolving – it’s aiming to fulfil its original vision: a truly scalable, decentralised, world computer.

With EIP-4844 and Danksharding, the Ethereum base layer may become fast, cheap, and powerful enough to handle most use cases directly, reducing dependence on Layer 2s and enabling smoother, more unified user experiences.

But Ethereum is also learning to play well with others. Layer 2s, alt-L1s, sidechains, and even non-blockchain tech will continue to innovate. The real winners will be the users and builders who can navigate this next phase.

💡 Want to Build Something on Ethereum? Let’s Talk.

At Digital One Agency, we’ve been building blockchain apps, smart contracts, Layer 1 and Layer 2 integrations, payment systems, and token economies since 2010.

Whether you’re launching a DeFi protocol, building an NFT marketplace, or developing a new Ethereum-based dApp, we can:

✅ Scope your idea
✅ Architect your solution
✅ Design, code, test, and launch
✅ Integrate Layer 1, Layer 2, or zk rollups
✅ Deliver smart contracts that are secure, audited, and ready to scale

📞 Ready to launch or upgrade your Ethereum project?

Email: contact@digitaloneagency.com.au
Call: +61 2 9057 9079

Don’t wait for the upgrade to pass you by. Build now. Evolve with Ethereum.