Ethereum Focuses on its Base Layer as Competition Intensifies

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined a plan to refine the Ethereum network by strengthening its privacy and security foundations while simplifying its overall architecture. His proposal does not involve the launch of a new blockchain. Instead, it focuses on coordinated improvements to the existing system aimed at increasing efficiency and clarity without changing its fundamental structure.

Ethereum pushes key updates

As competition heats up in the crypto sector, Ethereum is moving forward with major upgrades. Buterin's latest proposal aligns with the timeline set by Ethereum developers for Fork Choice Enforcement Inclusion Lists (FOCIL), planned during the Hegota hard fork in late 2026. These initiatives, combined with improvements such as account abstraction, underscore the network's continued evolution and commitment to innovation.

Separately, BNP Paribas Asset Management is exploring Ethereum for a blockchain pilot project, issuing tokenized shares of a French money market fund via Asset Foundry. These actions will operate according to a permitted modelensuring that only approved participants can hold or transfer them while maintaining full regulatory compliance.

FOCIL is designed to strengthen the fairness of Ethereum by ensuring that transactions are processed reliably:

• Validators are required to include legitimate transactions, ensuring that important activities are not overlooked.
• Fork choice rules and inclusion lists guide validator committees in enforcing transaction inclusion.
• If a block omits valid transactions, the chain can temporarily fork, allowing these transactions to be added over a short sequence of blocks, thereby strengthening Ethereum's censorship resistance.

Change in technical priorities

For several years, Ethereum's scaling strategy has relied heavily on rollups, moving execution to Layer 2 networks while keeping the base layer clean. However, Buterin's recent statements indicate an increasing focus on strengthening the core protocol itself, rather than relying primarily on rollups to improve scalability and user experience.

In a message on X on February 19, Buterin outlined Ethereum's key technical priorities for the yearemphasizing long-term security and resilience:

• The network will undergo more rigorous security testing, prepare for quantum-resistant cryptography, and improve tools for evaluating geographic decentralization.
• Work under the Kohaku initiative continues, developing trustless RPC systems, social recovery features, and local simulation of transactions.
• Longer term, structural updates are planned, including the integration of zero-knowledge proofs directly into Layer 1 validation via the Beam Chain concept, marking a deeper evolution of the protocol.

Ethereum refocuses on core architecture

Although the rollup-centric approach increased throughput, it also added complexity to liquidity distribution and user experience. As rival platforms emphasize speed and simplicity, Ethereum management appears to be reevaluating its architectural priorities. The current strategy places more emphasis on strengthening base layer authority and reducing reliance on fragmented layer 2 ecosystems or EVM parallel chains. The focus is shifting from raw transaction capacity to strengthening fundamentals, such as maintaining fairness, censorship resistance, and strong cryptography.

It is uncertain whether this pivot is a defensive measure against successful competitors or a natural step in Ethereum's maturation. However, Buterin expressed confidence that “Ethereum will emerge from the year as a much stronger, more powerful and more sovereign protocol than it was when it entered. »

Meanwhile, Ethereum has been trading in a trading range between $1,900 and $2,120 since the start of the month. Despite this sideways movement, CryptoQuant data shows whale investors holding their positions rather than selling, with increased buying at lower levels signaling continued confidence among large holders as the asset consolidates.