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Layer-1Layer-2

Ethereum's Future: Post-Pectra Incentive Alignment

Drexel Bakker, Jake Koch-Gallup, Alice HouMay 30, 2025 ⋅ 17 min read

Key Insights

  • Rollups have enabled Ethereum to scale, but at the cost of economic alignment. While L2s have delivered the performance needed to support user demand, they capture most of the value they generate, contributing little back to Ethereum.
  • The Ultrasound Money narrative is in question. With the introduction of blobs and the migration of activity to L2s, Ethereum’s base layer burns less ETH than before, leading to net inflation.
  • Ethereum has struggled to define its core purpose in a modular world. It exists in a strategic limbo, caught between competing visions of being infrastructure, programmable money, and a global execution layer, without committing to any one path.
  • Early 2025 marked a shift toward proactive L1 development. Rising frustration over Ethereum’s drift gave way to renewed optimism as developers prioritized scaling the base layer.
  • Ethereum’s long-term success will depend on a cohesive, layered strategy. Rather than choosing between L1 and L2, Ethereum is moving toward a model where base layer upgrades enhance rollup performance and ecosystem alignment.

The Evolution of the L2 Scaling Roadmap

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Drexel Bakker
DrxlEth

Drexel is a Research Manager at Messari for the Protocol Reporting team with a focus on base layers and DeFi. He is a strong follower of the crypto mullet thesis of diligence in the front and degen in the back.

Jake Koch-Gallup
immutablejacob

Jake is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Research team. He previously worked as an Investment Analyst at an AI-driven crypto research platform and as a Venture Analyst at a digital assets venture fund. He advised multiple RWA tokenization projects on tokenomics. Jake graduated from the University of Southern California, where he studied Philosophy and Finance.

Alice Hou
FBitach

Alice is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Services team. She previously worked as a Research Analyst at The Block and was an Investment Intern at Variant Fund. Alice graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied Economics.

Mentioned Assets
Outline
  • Key Insights
  • The Evolution of the L2 Scaling Roadmap
  • Layer-2s in Practice
  • Blobs and the Shift in Economic Alignment
  • Not so Ultra Sound
  • A Network Without Direction
  • The Ship is Turning
  • The Path Forward
  • Conclusion
Authors
Drexel Bakker
Drexel is a Research Manager at Messari for the Protocol Reporting team with a focus on base layers and DeFi. He is a strong follower of the crypto mullet thesis of diligence in the front and degen in the back.
Jake Koch-Gallup
Jake is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Research team. He previously worked as an Investment Analyst at an AI-driven crypto research platform and as a Venture Analyst at a digital assets venture fund. He advised multiple RWA tokenization projects on tokenomics. Jake graduated from the University of Southern California, where he studied Philosophy and Finance.
Alice Hou
Alice is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Services team. She previously worked as a Research Analyst at The Block and was an Investment Intern at Variant Fund. Alice graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied Economics.
Mentioned Assets