Arbitrum Co-Founder Backtracks? Post States "Arbitrum is not Ethereum" in Response to Vitalik's Roadmap Controversy

**Key Update: Off Chain Labs Co-Founder Clarifies Arbitrum-Ethereum Relationship Amid Vitalik’s Recent Comments** On February 4th, Steven Goldfeder—co-founder of Off Chain Labs (the team behind layer-2 network Arbitrum)—took to social media to outline core points about Arbitrum’s ties to Ethereum: 1. **Arbitrum ≠ Ethereum**: He stressed Arbitrum and Ethereum are close allies with a five-year symbiotic relationship, not the same entity. 2. **L1-L2 Alignment**: Goldfeder pushed back on the idea that a scaled layer-1 (L1) conflicts with a thriving layer-2 (L2) ecosystem, noting no L2 team he’s aware of opposes L1 scaling. Off Chain Labs actively supports Ethereum’s L1 development, he added, by acquiring and continuously funding Prysm to ensure it has sufficient resources for ongoing work. 3. **L2’s Institutional Edge**: While agreeing with Vitalik’s take that “The Rollup story evolves with time,” Goldfeder argued Ethereum’s best bet for winning large institutions remains L2s. “Ethereum having L2s is a superpower—one that lets it serve institutions other L1s simply can’t,” he stated. 4. **TPS Proof During Volatility**: Last Saturday’s market turmoil saw Arbitrum and Base peak at over 1,000 TPS each, while Ethereum’s L1 hit just 40 TPS. “Ethereum L1 can’t handle that volume directly—and that’s exactly why L2s exist,” he noted. “L1 will never scale to the point where L2s are unnecessary.” 5. **Past Contradiction Note**: Notably, Goldfeder tweeted on January 3, 2025, that “Arbitrum is actually Ethereum”—a post still visible as of this update. **Context from Vitalik**: BlockBeats previously reported that Ethereum founder Vitalik tweeted yesterday that as L1 scaling and L2 development slow, the original vision for Layer 2 and its role in Ethereum is no longer tenable, requiring a new development path and positioning.