Ethereum: From Global Computing Platform to Digital Ledger Evolution

Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin responded to a comment on social media, stating that "Layer 1 of Ethereum is the world ledger." This rare statement has sparked widespread discussion in the industry about the macro positioning of Ethereum.

In the blockchain field, each public chain has its unique design philosophy and positioning. Since its inception, Ethereum has aspired to be a "world computer"—an open platform capable of running any smart contract and supporting various Web3 applications. Vitalik has explicitly stated that Ethereum is not just a payment network, but a general-purpose decentralized computing layer.

However, what is the deeper meaning behind the narrative shift from "world computer" to "world ledger"?

Ethereum's Original Intention: Building a World Computer

Looking back at the development history of Ethereum, we can see that its main line has not undergone drastic changes, but has been in a dynamic evolution.

Since 2016, Ethereum has been the leader of smart contract platforms, leading multiple market cycles. From ERC20 to DeFi, and then to NFTs and blockchain games, each wave of hotspots showcases the appeal of "on-chain computing power." Smart contracts have always been at its core, which is also why Vitalik has repeatedly emphasized that Ethereum is a decentralized application platform, rather than just an asset transfer tool.

However, contradictions also exist in reality. The high Gas fees and low TPS performance issues in the past limited the large-scale deployment of complex computing logic. To address these problems, Rollup technology gradually matured starting in 2020. After five years of development, Ethereum has gradually established a "L1+L2" layered structure.

In this architecture, especially in the past two years, there are increasing signs that Ethereum is developing towards a trusted, stable, sovereign-level "world ledger."

Narrative Reconstruction under the Division of Labor between L1 and L2

Currently, a clear division of labor has formed within the Ethereum ecosystem: the mainnet is responsible for providing security and infrastructure assurance for final settlement, while L2s (such as Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, etc.) carry most of the high-frequency trading and user operations.

This division of labor not only improves scalability but also further strengthens the value capture logic of ETH, naturally positioning the Ethereum mainnet as a "global decentralized ledger." The more L2 networks there are, and the more successful they become, the more prosperous the ecosystem, and the higher the value of the Ethereum mainnet as a unified ledger.

The introduction of EIP-1559 is a key turning point in the Ethereum narrative. It not only introduced the Base Fee and burning mechanism but also fundamentally reshaped the way Ethereum captures value. Ethereum no longer relies on a large number of transactions on the mainnet for Gas revenue, but instead shifts to relying on L2 for continuous "taxation".

This mechanism design is similar to the historical "tax-farmer system":

• The mainnet serves as the ultimate trusted ledger for transaction clearing and settlement, similar to a central bank;
• L2 is like a commercial bank, responsible for high-frequency services aimed at users;
• Every L2 transaction that returns to the mainnet for verification will burn ETH, paying for the security of the ledger;

It can be said that Ethereum has not given up on the vision of a "world computer"; rather, the L1+L2 division of labor and development path is guiding it to first become a "world ledger."

The Realism of "World Ledger" Landing

Every surge in the value of ETH actually stems from the "usage" of the mainnet as a ledger role. The ERC20 wave in 2017 was the clearing and settlement layer for issuing tokens, while the DeFi Summer in 2020 was the funding settlement platform under smart contract combinations. If there is another explosion in the future due to the tokenization of U.S. stocks, RWA, and other financial assets on-chain, Ethereum will still be that trusted ledger.

For traditional finance, computing power is certainly important, but what truly determines whether to migrate to the blockchain is always the "trust, finality, and security" of the ledger—this is the core focus for compliant assets.

This also explains why some platforms choose to launch US stock token trading services based on L2 solutions like Arbitrum. This is not only an acknowledgment of the performance of the Rollup architecture, but more importantly, these trades will ultimately return to the Ethereum mainnet for settlement.

The performance, security, and compliance capabilities of existing L2 solutions are sufficient to meet the trading needs of traditional financial core assets. In a sense, this wave of "US stocks going on-chain" has actually strengthened Ethereum's position as a global financial clearing and settlement infrastructure, further validating the feasibility and real demand for its role as a "world ledger."

This is the realistic evolution path of Ethereum from "world computer" to "world ledger"—it no longer merely promises a future landscape of on-chain applications, but is increasingly chosen by mainstream assets in the real world as the settlement endpoint.

From this perspective, such trends not only confirm the value of Ethereum L1 but will also profoundly restructure the value capture logic of L2, driving the entire Ethereum ecosystem to truly connect between technological and financial infrastructures.

Overall, the narratives that can truly drive Ethereum towards hundreds of millions of users are not just about what Ethereum can do, but more about what the real world is willing to do with Ethereum.