Vitalik Buterin warns Ethereum doesn't need more EVM chains

Ethereum founder continues to speak out on X

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted a scathing critique of the current Layer-1 situation on his personal blog and on X today, arguing that the ecosystem is suffering from an overabundance of “identical EVM chains” that don’t offer much meaningful innovation. The post, titled “ We Don’t Need More Identical EVM Chains — We Need Differentiation ,” quickly became one of the most discussed topics within the Ethereum developer community and the cryptocurrency community in general.

1/ Redundancy in EVM replicas

Vitalik estimates there are currently over 50 public Layer-1 chains compatible with EVM (and hundreds if you include test networks and sub-chains), most of which offer execution environments, gas fee mechanisms, and tools that are nearly identical to the Ethereum mainnet or its major upgrades.

2. The trade-off between security and compatibility

He emphasized that most EVM clones sacrifice Ethereum's proven security model (decentralized validator pool, economic end-to-end nature, L1 payments) in exchange for small performance gains – creating a worse risk/reward profile than using an Ethereum rollup.

3. Stagnation in innovation

Vitalik argues that the proliferation of copycat chains has distracted developers from genuine breakthroughs.

• New virtual machines (Move, next-generation eWASM, RISC-V)

• Advanced security algorithms (integrated zk-SNARK/STARK at L1)

• Coordination and anti-collusion mechanisms (MACI-style voting, prediction markets)

• Dedicated execution environment for high-throughput AI, gaming, or DeFi.

4. Call to Action

New L1s should aim for radical or better differentiation in at least one aspect (e.g., privacy, execution model, governance, ultimate economic viability). Rollups should be the default scaling route unless a blockchain delivers entirely new security or functionality arguments. Ecosystem investment and focus should prioritize projects that expand the design space rather than replicating existing EVM behavior.

The problem with "copy-pasting" EVM

EVM compatibility is one of Ethereum's biggest strengths, allowing developers to deploy applications across multiple chains with minimal friction. However, Buterin argues that the indiscriminate copying of EVM has created an environment flooded with chains offering only marketing narratives, token incentives, or negligible fee reductions.

When chains differ only in branding or short-term offers, they contribute no meaningful progress toward scalability, security, or decentralization.

Buterin's critique draws a line between useful experimentation and lazy imitation. Ethereum benefits when new chains or merger projects explore new execution environments, data availability models, security techniques, or governance structures. It gains far less benefit when projects simply copy the EVM, issue tokens, and compete for liquidity through incentives.

Fragmentation risk for users

The proliferation of nearly identical EVM chains creates real costs. Liquidity is fragmented, users face confusing user experiences across bridges and networks, and developers have to maintain deployments across multiple environments that offer no clear advantage over one another.

This dilution could weaken the network effect—the very property that made Ethereum valuable in the first place.

This warning also relates to broader concerns about Ethereum's rollup-focused roadmap. While Layer-2 is essential for scaling, Buterin has increasingly stressed that scaling should not come at the expense of meaningful decentralization or diversity.

Rollups that merely replicate Ethereum's implementation without promoting decentralization of the process, governance, or security assumptions risk becoming centralized throughput layers, rather than genuine extensions of Ethereum's value.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is the author's personal opinion in the field of cryptocurrency. This is not financial or investment advice. All investment decisions should be based on careful consideration of your personal portfolio and risk tolerance. The views expressed in this article do not represent the official stance of the platform. We recommend that readers conduct their own research and consult with experts before making any investment decisions.

Compiled and analyzed by HCCVenture

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