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Ethereum's Challenge: How to Address Value Leakage in the Modular Stack?
Original Author: @shmula
Original Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: This article discusses Ethereum's role evolution in technologies such as Rollup, L2, and L3. As projects launch their own chains through Rollup as a Service (RaaS), the team's focus gradually shifts to product, users, and tokens, moving away from alignment with Ethereum. The author uses the metaphor of the "abandoned mother" to describe how Ethereum is becoming the "mother" of projects that are diverging from it, with ETH as an asset being diluted in this process. The author poses the question: If Ethereum does not wish to become this kind of "mother," how should it respond to this change?
The following is the original content (slightly rephrased for clarity):
The Ethereum community has spent a lot of time discussing whether Rollup, L2, and L3 have extracted value from Ethereum L1. In the past 24 hours, @ameensol, @haydenzadams, @wmougayar, @siobh_eth, @TrustlessState, and others have been deeply involved in this discussion.
My view is: Any behavior that moves transactions and activities away from Ethereum L1 essentially constitutes a value extraction behavior.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, I believe that in the long run, this will indeed affect the asset of ETH.
Let me explain from two perspectives: one is a comparison to Toyota, and the other is a real-world Rollup project I advised.
While working at Toyota, I learned a principle from my lean mentor called Genchi Genbutsu (現地現物), which means "go and see for yourself." Do not rely solely on dashboards or second-hand information; go and experience things firsthand. This concept deeply influenced how I analyze ecosystems like Ethereum.
Genchi Genbutsu teaches you to avoid the abstraction trap.
Data is certainly helpful, but without firsthand real experiences, data is incomplete.
I have been involved in the launch of several Rollup projects and witnessed the same transformation every time. And the interesting part starts here.
Here, I want to introduce a concept: the "Orphaned Mother."
In philosophy, this term refers to disciplines such as physics, mathematics, and economics, which were all originally born out of philosophy.
Philosophy nurtured them, but its "children" grew up and moved away from it, eventually leaving it as an abandoned mother.
With each new Rollup, L2, L3 that emerges, Ethereum gradually transforms into that "abandoned mother."
A few years ago, I provided advice for a Rollup project focused on a specific domain. The team members were all staunch Ethereum believers—I had met them back in 2017 at the ETH San Francisco event.
Initially, they were all idealists.
At that time, they were using Rollup-as-a-Service providers like @gelatonetwork, @alt_layer, @conduitxyz, or @Calderaxyz. These companies were all excellent and served their customers well.
The whole process was very simple and could be done in less than 30 minutes: you would have your own chain.
From that moment on, everything started to change.
After launch, their mindset shifted. They were no longer just builders but had become entrepreneurs.
Their focus turned to product, users, community, and growth. They were fully committed to their own chain and token.
As for staying consistent with Ethereum? It was no longer a top-ten priority.
This is not meant to criticize them but to reflect the reality of the situation.
When you operate your own chain, your mindset changes. You optimize your flywheel, your incentives, your token.
Ethereum became that abandoned mother.
Returning to Genchi Genbutsu—go and see for yourself.
Launch your own Rollup, use a RaaS, try to develop it, issue your own token. Experience it firsthand, and you will notice how your mindset shifts from ETH-maxi to token founder. You will feel this change.
Let me summarize:
(1) Launching your own chain will transition you from an Ethereum-aligned builder to a business owner.
(2) This owner mindset makes ETH optional.
(3) Don't just take my word for it, go verify it yourself.
This is neither good nor bad, it just is. But if Ethereum wants to avoid becoming the "abandoned mother" in a modular stack, it needs to positively embrace this dynamic.
In this model, ETH as an asset will indeed be diluted. The question is: How do we respond?
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Mixin has launched USTD-margined perpetual contracts, bringing derivative trading into the chat scene.
The privacy-focused crypto wallet Mixin announced today the launch of its U-based perpetual contract (a derivative priced in USDT). Unlike traditional exchanges, Mixin has taken a new approach by "liberating" derivative trading from isolated matching engines and embedding it into the instant messaging environment.
Users can directly open positions within the app with leverage of up to 200x, while sharing positions, discussing strategies, and copy trading within private communities. Trading, social interaction, and asset management are integrated into the same interface.
Based on its non-custodial architecture, Mixin has eliminated friction from the traditional onboarding process, allowing users to participate in perpetual contract trading without identity verification.
The trading process has been streamlined into five steps:
· Choose the trading asset
· Select long or short
· Input position size and leverage
· Confirm order details
· Confirm and open the position
The interface provides real-time visualization of price, position, and profit and loss (PnL), allowing users to complete trades without switching between multiple modules.
Mixin has directly integrated social features into the derivative trading environment. Users can create private trading communities and interact around real-time positions:
· End-to-end encrypted private groups supporting up to 1024 members
· End-to-end encrypted voice communication
· One-click position sharing
· One-click trade copying
On the execution side, Mixin aggregates liquidity from multiple sources and accesses decentralized protocol and external market liquidity through a unified trading interface.
By combining social interaction with trade execution, Mixin enables users to collaborate, share, and execute trading strategies instantly within the same environment.
Mixin has also introduced a referral incentive system based on trading behavior:
· Users can join with an invite code
· Up to 60% of trading fees as referral rewards
· Incentive mechanism designed for long-term, sustainable earnings
This model aims to drive user-driven network expansion and organic growth.
Mixin's derivative transactions are built on top of its existing self-custody wallet infrastructure, with core features including:
· Separation of transaction account and asset storage
· User full control over assets
· Platform does not custody user funds
· Built-in privacy mechanisms to reduce data exposure
The system aims to strike a balance between transaction efficiency, asset security, and privacy protection.
Against the background of perpetual contracts becoming a mainstream trading tool, Mixin is exploring a different development direction by lowering barriers, enhancing social and privacy attributes.
The platform does not only view transactions as execution actions but positions them as a networked activity: transactions have social attributes, strategies can be shared, and relationships between individuals also become part of the financial system.
Mixin's design is based on a user-initiated, user-controlled model. The platform neither custodies assets nor executes transactions on behalf of users.
This model aligns with a statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, 2026, titled "Staff Statement on Whether Partial User Interface Used in Preparing Cryptocurrency Securities Transactions May Require Broker-Dealer Registration."
The statement indicates that, under the premise where transactions are entirely initiated and controlled by users, non-custodial service providers that offer neutral interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers or exchanges.
Mixin is a decentralized, self-custodial privacy wallet designed to provide secure and efficient digital asset management services.
Its core capabilities include:
· Aggregation: integrating multi-chain assets and routing between different transaction paths to simplify user operations
· High liquidity access: connecting to various liquidity sources, including decentralized protocols and external markets
· Decentralization: achieving full user control over assets without relying on custodial intermediaries
· Privacy protection: safeguarding assets and data through MPC, CryptoNote, and end-to-end encrypted communication
Mixin has been in operation for over 8 years, supporting over 40 blockchains and more than 10,000 assets, with a global user base exceeding 10 million and an on-chain self-custodied asset scale of over $1 billion.
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