A New Era for the Ethereum Ecosystem: Unified Experience and Seamless Connectivity

Recently, discussions about the future development of Ethereum have been ongoing. Some believe that other public chains may surpass Ethereum, while others worry that the Ethereum ecosystem is declining. However, the facts seem to suggest otherwise.

Looking back at 2017, the user experience in the crypto world was once simple and direct. Today, Ethereum is reshaping this "simple yet powerful" experience, and going even further. Through a modular strategy, Ethereum is reconstructing its underlying architecture: the mainnet focuses on security and settlement, while Layer 2 is responsible for enhancing performance and user experience.

This development trend is bringing a series of exciting changes: the popularization of smart contract wallets, extremely low transaction fees, and a smooth application experience comparable to Web2. These advancements are shaping a seamless, flexible, secure, and unified Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum Mainnet: An Unbreakable Foundation of Trust

Although high-frequency trading is migrating to Layer 2 and other public chains have made breakthroughs in certain areas, the Ethereum mainnet remains the core hub for capital, protocols, and developers.

1. Economic Dominance: Data shows that the total locked value of Ethereum is approximately $62 billion, far exceeding other blockchains. Its stablecoin market capitalization exceeds $126 billion, making it the largest stablecoin issuance and circulation network in the world. In addition, the Ethereum ecosystem is a major contributor to decentralized exchanges (DEX) with monthly trading volumes in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

2. Strategic Shift: Ethereum is focusing on becoming the most neutral and secure settlement layer for global finance and digital assets. Its "trillion-dollar security" plan aims to create a reliable underlying infrastructure capable of supporting substantial assets.

3. Institutional Entry: Traditional financial giants are building the future on Ethereum. From the digital currency of a major bank to the on-chain funds of well-known asset management companies, Wall Street is actively participating in the Ethereum ecosystem. At the same time, the gradual improvement of the regulatory framework has also cleared obstacles for the large-scale entry of compliant funds.

Layer2: The Growth Engine Fully Explodes

The scalability solution of Ethereum has transitioned from concept to reality, and a new division of labor is forming in the blockchain world:

1. Cost plummets, trading volume surpasses the mainnet: The total daily trading volume of mainstream Layer 2 platforms has far surpassed that of the mainnet, primarily due to costs decreasing by 10 to 100 times. This paves the way for the realization of "free trading". With more financial service providers entering fields such as tokenized stocks, Layer 2 is expected to usher in a wave of higher frequency and more diverse trading.

2. Dencun Upgrade: This upgrade introduces a temporary data space called "Blob" specifically designed for Layer 2. This innovation significantly reduces the data publishing costs for Layer 2 and is a key component of the scalability revolution. Future technological upgrades will further optimize this data transmission mechanism.

Account Abstraction: Revolutionizing User Experience

Account abstraction technology aims to address the difficulty of using blockchain, which is key for Web3 to welcome the next wave of user growth. It will turn wallets into programmable "smart accounts," bringing a brand new user experience:

1. Say goodbye to Gas fee worries: Users no longer need to care about Gas and purchasing Ether. Applications can pay Gas on behalf of users or allow users to pay directly with stablecoins.

2. Simplified Account Recovery: Recovering accounts will become simple and secure through mechanisms such as social recovery or email recovery.

3. Smooth login and payment experience: Directly authorize transactions using biometric technology, or achieve multiple operations with a single authorization through session keys, greatly enhancing user experience.

Interoperability: Building a Unified Ethereum Ecosystem

After addressing the issues of cost and usability, the final challenge for the Ethereum ecosystem is to solve fragmentation. Interoperability technologies are connecting different Layer 2 "islands" to build a unified ecosystem:

• Intents: Users only need to express their final goal, 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 the security of cross-chain operations.

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

The future user experience will be: initiating an "intention" through a single biometric verification. The system automatically handles Gas fees, plans the path, ensures security, and assets flow seamlessly between multiple Layer 2s, ultimately settling on the Ethereum mainnet. This is the vision of "Unified Ethereum".

Conclusion

The unification of Ethereum is no longer a distant future; it is becoming a reality. The mainnet ensures trust, Layer 2 provides performance, account abstraction optimizes the entry point, and interoperability technologies seamlessly connect all of this. In this new paradigm, Web3 wallets will serve as the intelligent gateway to the unified ecosystem, acting as assistants for managing programmable accounts and reliable guides 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. The development of this ecosystem will provide users with a smoother, safer, and more efficient blockchain experience.