A New Era for the Ethereum Ecosystem: Exploring a Unified Future

In the cryptocurrency space, discussions about the future of Ethereum have never ceased. Although some question its pace of development and competitiveness, it has been proven that Ethereum is reshaping the blockchain experience, moving towards a more streamlined and powerful direction.

Looking back at 2017, cryptocurrency operations were simple and direct, transactions were quick, and costs were low. Today, Ethereum is recreating and enhancing this user experience. Through a modular strategy, Ethereum is restructuring its underlying architecture: the mainnet focuses on security and settlement, while Layer 2 is responsible for performance and user experience.

This evolution is bringing exciting changes:

• Smart contract wallets are becoming increasingly popular
• Ethereum transfer fees dropped below 1 cent
• The on-chain application experience rivals the smoothness of Web2.

These advancements stem from the development of technologies such as Rollup, EIP-4844, and account abstraction, which are building a smooth, flexible, secure, and unified Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum Mainnet: Unshakeable Foundation of Trust

Although high-frequency trading is migrating to Layer 2 and certain networks are gaining market share in stablecoins, the Ethereum mainnet remains the core hub for capital, protocols, and developers.

Economic dominance

On-chain 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 a major contributor to the monthly trading volume of several hundred billion dollars in decentralized exchanges (DEX).

Strategic Shift

Ethereum is shifting from the vision of a "world computer" to a "world ledger," focusing on becoming the most neutral and secure settlement layer for global finance and digital assets. The "trillion-dollar security" plan proposed by the Ethereum Foundation aims to create a solid foundation capable of supporting the entire asset volume of the UK stock market, laying the groundwork for "everything on-chain."

Institutional Entry

Traditional financial institutions are building the future on Ethereum. From the digital currency projects of a large bank to the on-chain funds of well-known asset management companies, and the blockchain projects of leading investment management firms, Wall Street is actively laying out its Ethereum ecosystem. With the implementation of regulatory frameworks like MiCA, barriers to large-scale entry of compliant funds have been cleared.

Layer2: Growth Engine Fully Erupts

The Ethereum scalability solution has transformed from an idea into reality, creating a new division of labor pattern:

Cost plummets, trading volume surpasses the mainnet

Today, the total daily trading volume of mainstream Layer 2 solutions has far surpassed that of the mainnet, with the key being a cost reduction of 10 to 100 times. This has made "free trading" a possibility rather than just a business vision. As more financial service providers join the tokenized stock market, Layer 2 will witness a surge in higher frequency and more diverse trading.

Dencun Upgrade: Layer 2 Exclusive Expressway

The Dencun upgrade introduces "Blob" — a temporary data space designed for Layer2. It is independent of the expensive permanent storage of the mainnet, significantly reducing the cost of data publishing on Layer2 by 100-200 times, which is a key part of the scaling revolution. Future technological upgrades will further expand this data highway.

Account Abstraction: The Last Mile to the Mass Market

Account abstraction aims to address the complexity of using cryptocurrencies, which is key for Web3 to welcome the next billion users.

The goal of account abstraction is to transform wallets into programmable "smart accounts", bringing a revolutionary user experience:

1. Say goodbye to Gas fee worries: Users no longer need to care about Gas and purchasing Ether. Through a specific mechanism, applications can pay Gas on behalf of users or allow payment with stablecoins.

2. End mnemonic anxiety: Account recovery will become simple and secure through techniques such as social recovery or email recovery.

3. Web2-level smooth login and payment: biometric authorization transactions, as well as session keys and other technologies, will greatly simplify the user operation process.

Unified Ecosystem: Connecting On-Chain Islands

After solving the issues of cost and difficulty of use, the last challenge facing the Ethereum ecosystem is fragmentation. Interoperability technologies are connecting these islands to build a unified ecosystem.

• Intents: Users only need to express their final goals, and the system will automatically calculate and execute the optimal path.

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

• Cross-chain session key: Achieve a single authorization to automatically execute tasks across multiple chains.

Embracing the Unified Ethereum Era

The unified Ethereum ecosystem has begun to take shape. The mainnet ensures trust, Layer 2 provides performance, account abstraction simplifies entry, and interoperability technology seamlessly connects all of this.

In this new paradigm, Web3 wallets will play a more important role, not just as simple wallets, but as smart gateways into a unified ecosystem, as assistants for managing programmable accounts, and as reliable guides in a multi-chain world.

We are standing at the starting point of a brand new value internet - it is unified, open, easy to use, and unprecedented. This ecosystem will bring users unparalleled convenience and opportunities, paving the way for the large-scale application of blockchain technology.