A New Dawn for the "World Computer": Insights into the Future Outline Emerging from Ethereum

From account abstraction, interoperability to Rollup conglomerates, a unified, open, permissionless value internet is rapidly taking shape.

Written by: imToken

You may have heard these sayings:

• Solana is about to overtake Ethereum
• Ethereum transaction fees are high, and the ecosystem is declining.
• Ethereum upgrades are too slow and lack a narrative, failing to support the coin price...

But, is it really like that?

If you are an OG who entered the circle in 2017, you may still remember that year's crypto experience: fast transactions, low fees, simple operations, and no need to switch chains for wallets; everything was simple and straightforward.

Today, Ethereum is returning to a "simple yet powerful" user experience - even further. Just as in the time of Qin Shi Huang when "vehicles shared the same tracks and scripts were uniform", Ethereum is reshaping its underlying structure with a modular strategy: the mainnet focuses on security and settlement, while Layer 2 carries performance and experience.

Can you imagine:

• Are smart contract wallets becoming more popular?
• Is the transfer fee on Ethereum less than 1 cent?
• Enjoy a Web2-like smooth application experience on-chain?

These are all happening. Technologies like Rollup, EIP-4844, and account abstraction are building a smooth, flexible, secure, and unified Ethereum.

The Cornerstone of Trust: The Unshakeable Ethereum Mainnet

We observe that although high-frequency trading is flowing to Layer 2, TRON is gaining market share in stablecoins, the Ethereum mainnet remains the core hub for capital, protocols, and developers.

1. Data as evidence: Economic dominance

On-chain data does not lie. The total locked value on Ethereum is approximately $62 billion, far surpassing other blockchains; its stablecoin market capitalization exceeds $126 billion, making it the largest stablecoin issuance and circulation network in the world; its ecosystem is a major contributor to the decentralized exchange (DEX) monthly trading volume of hundreds of billions of dollars.

2. Strategic Shift: Moving Towards a Secure Base of Trillion Assets

Currently, Ethereum, as the vision of the "world computer," has unearthed the pioneering scenario of the "world ledger"—focusing on becoming the most neutral and secure settlement layer for global finance and digital assets. The foundation's proposed "trillion-dollar security" plan aims to create a solid foundation capable of supporting the entire asset volume of the UK stock market, paving the way for "World Onchain."

3. Institutional Entry: Traditional finance is building the future on Ethereum.

From JPM Coin by JPMorgan to on-chain funds by Franklin Templeton and BlackRock's BUIDL, Wall Street is building the future on Ethereum. The implementation of regulatory frameworks such as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) has also cleared the obstacles for the large-scale entry of compliant funds.

Growth Engine: Layer 2 Comprehensive Explosion

Ethereum's scaling has transformed from a concept into reality, and a new division of labor is emerging in the blockchain world:

1. The cost has dropped sharply, and the trading volume has surpassed the mainnet.

Nowadays, the total daily trading volume of mainstream Layer 2s like Base, Arbitrum, and OP has far exceeded that of the mainnet, with the key being: costs have decreased by 10 to even 100 times. This has turned "free trading" from a commercial vision into a possibility. With brokerages like Robinhood entering the tokenized stock market, Layer 2 will usher in a wave of higher frequency and more diverse trading.

2.Dencun upgrade opens a dedicated highway for Layer2

The Dencun upgrade introduces "Blob" - a temporary data space specifically designed for Layer 2. It is independent of the expensive permanent storage on the mainnet, drastically reducing the data publishing cost for Layer 2 by 100-200 times, which is a key part of the scalability revolution. Subsequent technologies such as PeerDAS and ePBS will further expand this data highway.

The Revolution of Experience: Account Abstraction, the Last Mile to the Mass Market

If Layer 2 solves the problem of being "expensive", then account abstraction aims to solve the problem of being "difficult to use". This is the final hurdle for Web3 to welcome the next billion users.

The goal of account abstraction is to turn your wallet into a programmable "smart account," bringing a disruptive experience:

1. Say goodbye to Gas fee worries completely

In the future, when using DApps, you won't have to worry about Gas or buying ETH. Through the Paymaster mechanism, DApps can pay Gas for you, or you can directly pay with stablecoins like USDT. Transactions will be as natural as breathing.

2. End mnemonic anxiety

Forget that nerve-wracking mnemonic phrase! Recovering your account will become simple and secure through social recovery (verified by friends and family) or email recovery (using zk-Email technology).

Smooth login and payment at Web2 level

Say goodbye to the hassle of needing a pop-up signature for every operation!

• Passkey: Directly use facial recognition or fingerprint to authorize transactions, completely hide complex concepts like private keys and signatures.
• Session Key: When playing blockchain games or performing high-frequency operations, a single authorization allows for unlimited play within a specified time, without being frequently interrupted by signatures.

A Unified Landscape: When "On-Chain Islands" Connect to Form a Continent

Having solved the issues of "expensive" and "difficult," the final challenge for the Ethereum ecosystem is fragmentation. Assets and identities are trapped on different Layer 2 islands, and the cross-chain experience remains complex and slow.

Interoperability technology is the key piece of the puzzle that connects these islands and builds a unified continent.

• Intents: From 'How to do' to 'What to do'

In the future, you will no longer need to worry about the cumbersome cross-chain steps. Just express your final goal, such as "I want to exchange 100 USDC on Arbitrum for as much ETH as possible on Base." The professional "Solvers" in the system will automatically calculate and execute the optimal path for you, with the entire process completed in the background, making it completely seamless for you.

• Shared Sequencers: Making Cross-Chain Operations Atomic

It can ensure that a complex cross-chain transaction (such as cross-chain arbitrage and lending) either succeeds entirely or fails entirely, completely eliminating the risk of asset loss during the cross-chain process, providing a solid foundation for complex cross-chain applications.

• Cross-Chain Session Keys: The Ultimate Combination of Account Abstraction and Interoperability

One authorization allows DApps to automatically perform tasks for you across multiple chains. Imagine with one click, your idle assets across multiple Layer 2s are automatically staked into the highest-yield protocols on the network.

The ultimate experience of the future will be: In a Web3 wallet, you initiate an 'intention' with a single fingerprint verification. Then, the Paymaster covers the Gas for you, the Solver plans the path, and the shared sequencer ensures security, allowing assets to flow seamlessly across multiple Layer 2s, ultimately settling on the Ethereum mainnet.

The front end is as smooth as Web2, and the back end is a highly collaborative modular network. This is "Unified Ethereum."

Welcome to "Unified Ethereum"

Unified Ethereum is no longer a future concept; it is already at our feet. The mainnet ensures trust, Layer 2 provides performance, account abstraction opens the door, and interoperability technology seamlessly connects all of this.

In this new paradigm, Web3 wallets will play a role that is not just that of a simple wallet, but rather as an intelligent entry point into a unified ecosystem, a personal assistant for managing programmable accounts, and a reliable guide to achieving the best experience in a multi-chain world.

We are standing at the starting point of a brand new value internet - it is unified, open, user-friendly, and unprecedented.