Ethereum is transitioning from a monolithic blockchain to a modular ecosystem, where execution, consensus, settlement, and data availability are split across specialized layers. Monolithic blockchains (e.g. Bitcoin, early Ethereum) operate on a single layer, requiring every node to process execution, consensus, and data storage in one go. By contrast, modular architectures decouple these functions: separate execution layers (Layer 2 rollups), a consensus/settlement layer (the Ethereum base), ...

Ethereum is transitioning from a monolithic blockchain to a modular ecosystem, where execution, consensus, settlement, and data availability are split across specialized layers. Monolithic blockchains (e.g. Bitcoin, early Ethereum) operate on a single layer, requiring every node to process execution, consensus, and data storage in one go. By contrast, modular architectures decouple these functions: separate execution layers (Layer 2 rollups), a consensus/settlement layer (the Ethereum base), ...

Ethereum is often described as a “world computer” or a financial settlement layer, but a deeper perspective is to view it as a coordination substrate – a technology that fundamentally solves coordination problems by encoding rules and incentives in code. In game-theoretic terms, coordination requires credible commitments and focal points (Schelling points) so that disparate actors can align without direct trust. Blockchain-based smart contracts provide enforceable commitments: they are immuta...

Ethereum is often described as a “world computer” or a financial settlement layer, but a deeper perspective is to view it as a coordination substrate – a technology that fundamentally solves coordination problems by encoding rules and incentives in code. In game-theoretic terms, coordination requires credible commitments and focal points (Schelling points) so that disparate actors can align without direct trust. Blockchain-based smart contracts provide enforceable commitments: they are immuta...