Ethereum New Era: Exploring the Future Blueprint of a Unified Ecosystem

You may have heard some controversial statements about Ethereum, such as other public chains will surpass Ethereum, and the Ethereum ecosystem is declining. However, the actual situation may be quite different from these claims.

For those early participants who entered the cryptocurrency space in 2017, they may remember the user experience at that time: transactions were fast, fees were low, operations were simple, and there was no need to switch between multiple chains. Today, Ethereum is reshaping this simple yet powerful user experience, going even further. Ethereum is adopting a modular strategy to restructure its underlying architecture: the mainnet focuses on security and settlement, while Layer 2 is responsible for performance and user experience.

Imagine a future scenario: smart contract wallets are widespread, Ethereum transfer fees are as low as 1 cent, and on-chain application experiences are as smooth as Web2. These visions are gradually becoming a reality. Technologies such as Rollup, EIP-4844, and account abstraction are building a smooth, flexible, secure, and unified Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum Mainnet: The Unshakeable Foundation of Trust

Although high-frequency trading is moving towards Layer 2 and other public chains are increasing their market share in stablecoins, the Ethereum mainnet remains the core hub for capital, protocols, and developers.

1. Economic Dominance: Data shows that the total locked value of Ethereum is approximately $62 billion, far exceeding other blockchain networks. Its stablecoin market capitalization exceeds $126 billion, making it the largest stablecoin issuance and circulation network in the world. At the same time, the Ethereum ecosystem is the primary source of hundreds of billions of dollars in monthly trading volume for decentralized exchanges (DEX).

2. Strategic Transformation: Ethereum is shifting from the vision of a "world computer" to a "world ledger", aiming to become the most neutral and secure settlement layer for global finance and digital assets. Its "trillion-dollar security" plan aims to build Ethereum into a solid foundation capable of supporting large amounts of assets, laying the groundwork for the future of "everything on chain".

3. Institutional Participation: Traditional financial institutions are building the future on Ethereum. From large banks' digital currency projects to asset management companies' on-chain funds, and the blockchain layouts of other financial giants, Wall Street is actively embracing Ethereum. As regulatory frameworks become clearer, such as the EU's Crypto Market Regulation, barriers for large-scale entry of compliant funds are being removed.

Layer2: The Engine of Growth

The scalability solution of Ethereum has transitioned from theory to reality, and a new division of labor is taking shape in the blockchain world:

1. Significantly reduced transaction costs: The total daily transaction volume of mainstream Layer 2 solutions has surpassed that of the Ethereum mainnet, with key reductions in transaction costs by 10 to 100 times. This makes the vision of "free trading" possible. As more financial service providers enter the tokenized stock sector, Layer 2 will witness a wave of higher frequency and more diversified trading.

2. Dencun Upgrade: Opening a dedicated data channel for Layer2. This upgrade introduces "Blob" - a temporary data space specifically designed for Layer2. It is independent of the expensive permanent storage of the mainnet, drastically reducing the data publishing costs for Layer2 by 100-200 times, which is a key part of the scalability revolution. Future technology upgrades will further optimize this data transmission mechanism.

Account Abstraction: A Revolution in User Experience

Account abstraction technology aims to tackle the complexity issues associated with cryptocurrency usage, which is key for Web3 to embrace the next wave of users. It seeks to transform wallets into programmable "smart accounts," delivering a revolutionary user experience:

1. Eliminate Gas fee worries: Users no longer need to care about Gas fees or purchase ETH. Through a specific mechanism, the application can pay Gas fees on behalf of users or allow users to pay directly with stablecoins.

2. Simplified account recovery: Recovering accounts will become simple and secure through social recovery or new email verification technologies, eliminating the need to remember complex mnemonic phrases.

3. Smooth login and payment experience: Users can authorize transactions using biometric features or perform unlimited operations within a specific time frame through session keys, greatly simplifying the usage process.

Interoperability: Connecting On-Chain Islands

After addressing the issues of cost and complexity, the final challenge facing the Ethereum ecosystem is fragmentation. Assets and identities are trapped on different Layer 2 networks, and cross-chain operations remain complex and time-consuming. Interoperability technologies are becoming key to connecting these independent networks and building a unified ecosystem:

• Intents: Users only need to express their ultimate goals, and the system will automatically calculate and execute the optimal path, simplifying cross-chain operations.

• Shared Sequencer: Ensures that complex cross-chain transactions either all succeed or all fail, enhancing the security of cross-chain operations.

• Cross-chain session key: Allows applications to automatically perform tasks across multiple networks, achieving more efficient asset management.

The ideal scenario for the future is: users initiate a cross-chain operation intention through a single identity verification. The system automatically handles Gas fees, plans the optimal path, ensures transaction security, and assets flow seamlessly across multiple Layer 2 networks, ultimately settling on the Ethereum mainnet. This is the vision of "Unified Ethereum."

Towards a Unified Ethereum Ecosystem

The unified Ethereum ecosystem has begun to take shape. The mainnet ensures a foundation of trust, Layer 2 provides high performance, account abstraction technology simplifies user operations, and interoperability technology seamlessly connects these elements. In this new paradigm, Web3 wallets will play a more important role, not only as asset management tools but also as intelligent gateways to access the unified ecosystem, personal assistants for managing programmable accounts, and reliable guides for obtaining the best experience in a multi-chain world.

We are standing at the starting point of a brand new value internet - it is unified, open, user-friendly, and unprecedented. This new era of the Ethereum ecosystem will bring users unprecedented convenience and opportunities.