TechFlow, August 7 — Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on social media stating that the next goal for layer-2 networks should be enabling fast withdrawals, using zero-knowledge proof systems to reduce withdrawal times to under one hour, which he considers more important than progressing to stage two.
Vitalik noted that a one-week waiting period for withdrawals is too long for users and imposes high capital costs on liquidity providers intending to bridge (e.g., via ERC-7683). He proposed combining zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), optimistic proofs (OP), and trusted execution environments (TEE) using a "2-of-3" proof system strategy to balance security, speed, and maturity. The long-term objective is to achieve near-instant asset transfers between layer-2 networks through aggregation technologies.
