DeFi expert: Ethereum 2.0 cannot solve the problem of high gas fees

Editor's Note: This article comes fromCointelegraph Chinese (ID: CointelegraphChina), Author: TING PENG, reprinted by Odaily with authorization.

Editor's Note: This article comes from

Cointelegraph Chinese (ID: CointelegraphChina)

Cointelegraph Chinese (ID: CointelegraphChina)

, Author: TING PENG, reprinted by Odaily with authorization.

Gas fees for transactions on the Ethereum blockchain have hit record highs, while the popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) has attracted many new users to the Ethereum network.

On September 3, DeFi experts and computer scientists gathered at Cointelegraph Chinese’s DeFi Marathon to share their views on potential solutions to high gas fees. Although they have different views on the solution, they all agree that Ethereum 2.0 cannot solve high transaction costs.

Anton Bukov, CTO of decentralized exchange 1inch, Mounir Benchemled, founder and CEO of ParaSwap (a middle layer that connects protocols, DApps, and trading venues), and bloXroute Labs (a blockchain distributed network that enables Global network to communicate faster) co-founder Professor Alex Kumanovic said there are pros and cons to Ethereum 2.0. It may not be scalable and secure enough to facilitate transactions for users.

Ethereum 2.0 is a major upgrade to the current Ethereum public mainnet. Although Ethereum 2.0 aims to accelerate the use and adoption of Ethereum through improved performance, Bukov pointed out that with the current gas fees, many new users entering the DeFi space may leave the Ethereum network.

This upgrade did not really anticipate the popularity of DeFi. Therefore, infrastructure needs to be rethought in order to ensure that everyone can participate. Bukov said:

“You have to rethink everything. You can migrate the code of smart contracts, but you can’t scale. To be able to scale, you have to create standards and introduce new protocols based on new sharding architectures (like NEAR, similar to Ethereum 2.0).”

Mounir added that although ethereum 2.0 can scale, it may take a long time to achieve it. The reason for the delay is mainly due to security concerns. Considering the importance of security, the core team must ensure that it is sufficiently secure before rolling it out.

Bukov, Mounir, and Kumanovic all agreed that not all projects should move to Ethereum 2.0, noting:

"In order for this to work, all applications need to migrate towards one platform. Large projects may agree, but for other projects with their own plans, it may be difficult. This requires building new bridges to achieve Interoperability."

Mounir said that ethereum is introducing solutions, such as layer 2 solutions, to address high costs. Layer 2 can be used for scalability solutions for all blockchains, which are built on a layer below the blockchain mainnet. The general idea is to move transactions, or at least parts thereof, outside of the blockchain network.

However, Mounir pointed out that the complexity of explaining to end users how layer 2 works, and the risk of not being able to pay those users their funds immediately, are the most worrisome issues with this solution. He advises users to seek to use existing tools. Kumanovic's project has struggled to avoid high fees.