From World Computer to World Ledger: The Evolution of Ethereum's Role

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently expressed agreement with the positioning of Ethereum Layer ( as a "world ledger." This statement has sparked widespread discussion within the industry regarding Ethereum's macro narrative.

In the blockchain field, each public chain has its unique design positioning, which often determines its technical architecture and ecological development direction. Since its inception, Ethereum has aimed to build a "world computer" as its ultimate vision, intending to create an open platform capable of running various smart contracts and supporting diverse Web3 applications.

However, the transition from "World Computer" to "World Ledger" reflects Ethereum's strategic adjustments during its development process. This change was not sudden, but rather the result of a series of market cycles and technological evolution.

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Since 2016, Ethereum has been the leader as a smart contract platform, driving the emergence of numerous on-chain applications, from ERC20 tokens to DeFi, and then to NFTs and blockchain games. Each wave of trends has highlighted the importance of on-chain computing power. However, high Gas fees and limited TPS have also become bottlenecks restricting its development.

To address these challenges, Ethereum gradually adopted a "L1+L2" layered structure starting in 2020. In this architecture, the Ethereum mainnet is responsible for providing the infrastructure for security and final settlement, while L2 networks (such as Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, etc.) handle most of the high-frequency trading and user operations.

This division of labor model not only enhances overall scalability but also strengthens the value capture logic of Ether. The mainnet is gradually aligning itself with the role of a "global decentralized ledger," while the prosperity of L2 networks further highlights the value of the mainnet as a unified ledger.

The introduction of EIP-1559 is a key turning point in the Ethereum narrative. This proposal reshaped the way Ethereum captures value, shifting from relying on Gas income generated by a large number of transactions on the mainnet to depending on L2 for continuous "taxation." This mechanism design is similar to the historical "tax farmer system," where the mainnet becomes the ultimate trusted ledger for transaction clearing and settlement, while L2 is responsible for high-frequency services directed at users.

It is worth noting that each round of value explosion of Ethereum stems from its widespread application as a ledger. Whether it was the ERC20 wave in 2017, the DeFi Summer in 2020, or the recent potential new round of explosion triggered by the tokenization of US stocks and RWA and other financial assets on-chain, Ethereum has always played the role of a trusted ledger.

For traditional financial institutions, the "trust, finality, and security" of the ledger is the core factor in deciding whether to migrate on-chain. This also explains why platforms like Robinhood choose to launch US stock token trading services based on L2 solutions like Arbitrum, as these trades will ultimately return to the Ethereum mainnet for settlement.

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This wave of "US stocks on the blockchain" has actually strengthened Ethereum's positioning as the global financial clearing and settlement infrastructure, further validating the feasibility and real demand for its role as a "world ledger." Ethereum is no longer just promising a future of on-chain applications, but is increasingly being chosen by mainstream real-world assets as the settlement endpoint.

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

In the future, whether Ethereum can truly reach hundreds of millions of users depends not only on its technological capabilities but also on whether the real world is willing and able to fully utilize Ethereum's infrastructure.

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