From World Computer to Global Ledger: The Role Shift of Ethereum

Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin expressed agreement with the positioning of Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) as the "world ledger." This statement has sparked widespread discussion about the macro narrative of Ethereum.

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

However, what evolution process is behind the narrative shift from "world computer" to "world ledger"?

Ethereum: Upholding the Original Intention of a World Computer

Looking back at the development of Ethereum, we can see that its main line, although it has not undergone dramatic narrative changes, has been evolving dynamically.

Since 2016, with multiple rounds of market cycles, Ethereum, as the leader of smart contract platforms, has driven the emergence of a large number of on-chain applications. From ERC20 tokens to DeFi, and then to NFTs and blockchain games, each round of hotspots highlights the charm of "on-chain computing power."

Smart contracts have always been at the core of Ethereum, which is why Vitalik has repeatedly emphasized that Ethereum is a decentralized application platform aimed at supporting various Web3 native logics, rather than just asset transfers.

However, there are also some contradictions in reality. The previously high Gas fees and low TPS performance issues have limited the large-scale implementation of complex computational logic. Against this backdrop, starting in 2020, Rollup technology gradually emerged, and after nearly five years of development, Ethereum has gradually established a "L1+L2" layered structure.

Under this architecture, especially in the past two years, there are more and more signs indicating that Ethereum is showing the potential to become a trusted, stable, sovereign-level "world ledger."

Narrative Reconstruction under L1+L2 Division of Labor

Currently, a clear division of labor has been established within the Ethereum ecosystem: the mainnet is responsible for providing infrastructure assurance for security and final settlement, while L2 (such as certain well-known scaling solutions) takes on most of the high-frequency trading and user operations.

This division of labor not only enhances scalability but also further strengthens the value capture logic of Ether, naturally positioning the Ethereum mainnet as a "global decentralized ledger." The more L2 networks that exist and succeed, the more prosperous the ecosystem becomes, and the greater the value of the Ethereum mainnet as a unified ledger.

The launch of EIP-1559 is a key turning point in the Ethereum narrative. It not only introduced a base fee and a burning mechanism but also fundamentally reshaped the way Ethereum captures value. Ethereum no longer relies on the Gas revenue generated from a large number of transactions on the mainnet, but instead shifts towards 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, akin to a central bank; L2 functions like a commercial bank, responsible for high-frequency services aimed at users; and every L2 transaction that returns to the mainnet for verification will burn ETH, paying for the security of the ledger.

The Realism of "World Ledger" Landing

It is worth noting that the value explosion of ETH in each round actually stems from the widespread use of the mainnet as a ledger. Whether it was the ERC20 wave in 2017, the DeFi boom in 2020, or the recent potential new round of explosion triggered by the tokenization of U.S. stocks and the on-chain of physical assets, Ethereum has always played the role of a trusted ledger.

For traditional finance, computing power is certainly important, but the key factors that truly determine whether to migrate on-chain are "trust, finality, and security" of the ledger—this is the core focus of compliant assets.

This also explains why some well-known platforms have chosen to launch US stock token trading services based on certain L2 solutions. This not only reflects the recognition of the performance of the Rollup architecture, but more importantly, these transactions will ultimately return to the Ethereum mainnet for settlement.

This round of "US stocks on-chain" wave has actually strengthened Ethereum's positioning as the global financial clearing and settlement infrastructure, further validating the feasibility and real demand for its "world ledger" role.

The transition from "World Computer" to "World Ledger" is the realistic evolutionary path of Ethereum. It no longer merely promises a future landscape of on-chain applications, but is increasingly chosen as a settlement endpoint by mainstream assets in the real world.

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.