Vitalik salutes six Ethereum L2s for meeting L2Beat's updated Stage 1 decentralization standards, pushing for a trustless ecosystem. L2Beat, an independent analytics platform, evaluates L2 security and governance, grading chains via its Stages Framework, developed with Vitalik. Here’s what Stage 1 means for Base, Optimism, Unichain, Scroll, Ink, Kinto, and their security upgrades. 👇 ~~ Analysis by @davewardonline ~~ Inside the Recategorization Framework Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap is now four years in. By December last year, when @l2beat announced its Recategorization framework, there were about 50 rollups and 70 alt-data availability (DA) L2s live, holding over $50B in TVL. Most lacked proof systems entirely, forcing users to trust multisig operators. Beyond @Optimism Mainnet and @base, most OP Stack deployments and (Arbitrum) Orbit chains fell into this category, with some even allowing a single entity to propose state summaries or handle fraud challenges. Only six projects — @arbitrum One, OP Mainnet, @zksync Era, @fuel_network Ignition, Kroma, and @KintoXYZ — had proper Security Councils with at least eight members, 75% thresholds, and geographic distribution. The rest used small internal multisigs. For alt-DA L2s like @eigen_da or @celestia, trust assumptions were “abysmal,” relying on tiny committees with no guarantees on data publication or on centralized sequencers for proofs. Recategorization’s key change: to classify as a Rollup, an L2 must use a proof system and verify every state transition on @ethereum, enabling permissionless exits. Stage 1 rollups may still require Security Council help, while Stage 2 allows full autonomy. Alt-DA L2s must also bridge to Ethereum or use robust DA committees; otherwise, they don’t qualify even for Stage 0. When the framework went live in June, of 136 projects reviewed, only 26 kept L2 status, and just 8 have reached Stage 1. The Stage 1 Upgrades Stage 1 sits between Stage 0 (meeting minimum rollup requirements) and Stage 2 (fully autonomous contracts). Requirements: → Security Council threshold — A large, diverse multisig with 75% approval and 26% independent members, preventing withdrawals or fake transactions unless 75%+ are compromised. → Permissionless exits — Users can withdraw funds without multisig or sequencer approval, enforced by proof systems on Ethereum. Without proofs, Security Councils are vulnerable to bribery. Proof systems make false updates harder, requiring a majority to approve any malicious change. Other L2Beat Upgrades On July 8th, L2Beat upgraded Liveness Tracking, adding an Anomalies view to flag when L2s fail to post data for unusually long, showing downtime, last update, and frequency. On July 23rd, they added the UOPS/TPS Ratio Chart to track user operations per second against transactions per second — a measure of account abstraction adoption. High ratios suggest use of smart wallets or bundling protocols, with @worldcoin chain, Base, and @Starknet leading. A Critical Magnifying Lens The shift from December’s snapshot to August’s results shows Ethereum’s L2 ecosystem maturing through clearer standards and accountability. L2Beat’s tools now make it easier to separate serious projects from those lagging behind, giving users clearer risk profiles and developers firm benchmarks. But as @VitalikButerin noted, Stage 1 is only a checkpoint. Withdrawal times still span days, forcing reliance on risky third-party bridges. The goal is under an hour — ideally seconds. With Vitalik’s pledge to endorse only Stage 1+ rollups and L2Beat’s stricter benchmarks, the standard is set. Now, more teams must meet it.