According to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum network, a Layer 1 decentralized blockchain that executes intelligent contracts, is analogous to the open-source Linux operating system.

Both Linux and Ethereum are open source and offer custom implementations. Linux achieves this through developers creating custom software modifications, while Ethereum does it through Layer 2 (L2) scaling networks, Buterin he said.

Linux has delivered value to “billions” of individuals, businesses and state governments “without compromising” the open source and decentralization ethos, Buterin said, adding:

“We need to ensure that Ethereum L1 functions as a financial and ultimately identity, social and governance home for people and organizations that want a higher level of autonomy, and ensure they have access to the full power of the network without dependence on intermediaries.”

The analogy highlights the Ethereum Foundation’s long-term goals of making Ethereum an operating system for the Internet that enables distributed computation, the transfer of value and risk, and the achievement of consensus across the Internet.

Related: Ethereum and Solana are at odds over what blockchain resilience really means

Ethereum has a layer 2 for every flavor, but the tension remains

According to. As of this writing, there are 127 Layer 2 networks in the Ethereum ecosystem L2Beat.

Critics of Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling approach argue that there are too many Layer 2 networks that compete with Ethereum and cannibalize base layer revenues, which declined sharply after the Dencun update in March 2024.

Proponents of Ethereum’s scalable approach argue that Layer 2’s diverse network ecosystem provides optionality and a better user experience for Ethereum users.

The modular scaling strategy potentially allows Ethereum to build multiple high-throughput chains on its base layer, Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Ethereum L2 Polygon, told Cointelegraph.

“The underrated beauty of this package-centric roadmap architecture is that it allows multiple teams to experiment with different runtimes and different block times,” Arjun said.

However, a flood of high-bandwidth chains without true blockchain interoperability will lead to greater fragmentation of the ecosystem, trapping user liquidity in isolated pools and providing inferior user experiences, Arjun told Cointelegraph.

Warehouse: How Ethereum Treasury Companies Can Usher in ‘DeFi Summer 2.0’