According to Odaily Planet Daily, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin posted on the X platform that he was surprised to see so many mainstream Layer 2 platforms reach Stage 1. The next goal is to achieve fast withdrawal times (less than an hour) through a validity (also known as zero-knowledge proof) system, which is more important than reaching Stage 2. Fast withdrawal times are crucial and will reduce the cost of capital for liquidity providers. If native withdrawal times can be reduced to less than an hour in the short term and to 12 seconds in the medium term, it will further consolidate Ethereum Layer 1's position as the default platform for issuing assets and the economic center of the Ethereum ecosystem.

To achieve this, we must move away from optimistic proof systems, which inherently require days-long waits for withdrawals. Historically, zero-knowledge proof technology has been immature and expensive, making optimistic proofs a sensible and secure choice. However, this is rapidly changing, with the 2-of-3 ZK + OP + TEE proof system strategy striking a balance between security, speed, and maturity. In the long term, Ethereum will ultimately enable near-instantaneous transfers of native assets across L2 via L1.