Native rollups have emerged as a promising development in Ethereum's scaling landscape, with widespread support across major Layer 2 networks including Optimism and Base.
"Native rollups seem like a no-brainer for rollups. They are so much simpler and much more secure," explains Ethereum Foundation researcher Ladislaus. "They can inherit L1 security with just a few lines of code by calling the precompile in the future."
What Are Native Rollups?
Native rollups represent a fundamental overhaul in how Layer 2 networks operate, making them as secure and trustless as Ethereum itself by shifting complex verification processes to the base layer.
From a user perspective, storing $10 million on a native rollup would be as secure as keeping it on Ethereum directly.
The proposal, spearheaded by Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, introduces an "elegant and powerful execute precompile" that transforms native rollups into "programmable execution shards" — essentially reviving elements of the original Eth 2.0 sharding plan.
How They Work
Currently, Layer 2 networks use two main approaches for security: optimistic rollups, which assume transactions are valid until proven otherwise with a seven-day challenge period, and ZK-rollups, which use cryptographic proofs for faster withdrawals.
Native rollups would simplify this by providing Ethereum's base layer with a transaction list called a "trace." The execute precompile then uses Ethereum's execution engine to re-execute the computation and verify the transactions were processed correctly.
Later implementations will incorporate zero-knowledge proofs, which is when native rollups will demonstrate their full potential.
Key Benefits
The primary advantage is eliminating the need for complex proof systems and security councils, which currently allow small trusted groups to intervene when issues arise.
"Native rollups don't risk being drained due to a problem with the proof system and can safely get rid of security councils, improving their decentralization," says Alex Hook, researcher at 2077 and Untronfi CEO.
"Their funds on a native rollup are as secure as Ethereum with no trust assumptions added," Hook explains, highlighting the user security benefits.
Challenges to Overcome
Despite these advantages, native rollups introduce "fully secure and decentralized scaling at the cost of significantly increased protocol complexity," according to Hook.
The current design would require Ethereum nodes to re-execute transactions for verification, creating a potential bottleneck that seems contrary to rollups' purpose of moving execution off the slower Ethereum base layer.
Drake acknowledges this limitation, describing the first version as a "stepping stone." Ladislaus suggests it may initially work best for optimistic rollups since "optimistic rollups only need to call the precompile to settle a fraud-proof challenge."
The long-term vision involves Ethereum block builders generating ZK-proofs with nodes verifying them, eliminating re-execution requirements. "Ideally, proving a ZK-EVM block for Ethereum at some point can be done on a Macbook Pro," Ladislaus adds.
Technical Compatibility Issues
Current rollups have modified their versions of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), creating compatibility challenges with Ethereum's execution engine. Standardization will likely be necessary before rollups can upgrade to native versions.
This represents a positive development, as EVM-compatible rollups currently must update frequently to match Ethereum's hard forks — a security risk that can introduce bugs. Native rollups would update automatically with L1 hard forks.
Hook notes this would create "less dev friction" since "today, most L2s detach from the L1 spec in some way or form, and devs always have to keep these differences in mind."
Data Availability Concerns
Data availability remains a challenge on Ethereum's roadmap. Native rollups require publishing state witnesses, consuming significant data blob capacity in an already constrained environment. However, upcoming forks will increase blob capacity — doubling in the next update and increasing 2-4x in the fast-tracked Fusaka fork later this year.
Ladislaus clarifies that native rollups must either use Ethereum data availability (as rollups) or alternative sources like Celestia or EigenDA (as optimums). Native validiums, which are ZK-rollups using alternative data availability, aren't possible.
Implementation Timeline
Though still in early development, with Drake's proposal published in January and only two community calls held, support is growing rapidly. Multiple Layer 2 networks voiced support during January's sequencing call.
"Optimism is willing to support based sequencing and native execution. It's wartime," stated co-founder Ben Jones. Base's Jesse Pollak added, "We need to scale and connect the Ethereum ecosystem and based sequencing and native execution feel like the tools to do it."
Ladislaus interprets this enthusiasm as demonstrating "a certain urgency and 'product-market-fit' for such services offered by Ethereum."
The proposal won't appear in the upcoming Pectra or Fusaka hard forks, meaning implementation awaits at least until "Glamsterdam," the fork following Fusaka. Drake estimates 18 months for the first version, though Succinct co-founder Uma Roy believes the ZK technology component could be ready within that timeframe.
Native vs. Based Rollups
A related concept, "based rollups," uses Ethereum validators as decentralized sequencers, enabling synchronous composability — immediate interoperability across the ecosystem.
Many rollups will likely become both based and native — dubbed "ultra-sound" rollups. "Based rollups enable superpowers of synchronous composability," explains Ladislaus. "They are a bit of a harder sell because rollup teams have to give up current sovereignty over sequencing, but ultimately there are strong reasons to become based and native."
Not all rollups can achieve this status, particularly those using different virtual machines like Eclipse (SVM), Starknet (Cairo), and Movement (MoveVM). MegaETH, which prioritizes speed through centralized sequencing and alternative data availability, is also unlikely to pursue the ultra-sound designation.
Final Thoughts
Native rollups represent a significant evolution in Ethereum's scaling approach, potentially solving the blockchain trilemma of security, decentralization, and scalability without compromising on trustlessness. By shifting verification to the base layer itself, they eliminate complex security assumptions that have long been a point of vulnerability for Layer 2 networks.
While technical challenges remain—particularly around implementation complexity and data availability—the enthusiastic industry response suggests native rollups address a critical need in the ecosystem. The potential combination of both native and based approaches into "ultra-sound" rollups could fundamentally reshape how blockchain applications interact, enabling a more seamless, secure user experience across the Ethereum landscape.
As development progresses toward Glamsterdam and beyond, native rollups may prove to be the missing piece that finally delivers on Ethereum's original vision: a fully decentralized, highly scalable platform that maintains the security guarantees that have made it the foundation of the web3 ecosystem. For users and developers alike, this promises a future where Layer 2 solutions no longer require security trade-offs to achieve their scaling benefits.