Ethereum’s New Interop Layer Aims to Reunify L2s and Reshape Cross-Chain Activity

Fragmentation across Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks has become a growing concern, pushing the Ethereum Foundation to propose a new direction. Scaling has delivered faster transactions and lower fees, but it has also complicated the user experience. Bridges, chain-specific wallets, and scattered liquidity continue to slow activity across the ecosystem. The proposed Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL) aims to bring these parts back together and restore a more unified experience.

Ethereum Foundation Reveals EIL, Targeting Simpler and Safer Cross-L2 Transactions

In a Tuesday blog post, the Ethereum Foundation explained that the EIL is meant to restore Ethereum to a single, unified chain. Rollups have improved throughput and costs, but they’ve also introduced hurdles for everyday users. 

EIL makes Ethereum’s rollups feel like a single, unified chain by enabling users to sign once for a cross-chain transaction without adding new trust assumptions.

Ethereum Foundation

Moving assets between chains often requires added trust assumptions, complex bridges, relayers, and tools that depend on each network. EIL seeks to change that by reducing the number of steps required for cross-chain activity.

EIL is designed to enable users to perform cross-L2 actions directly from their wallets with a single signature. No intermediaries, no additional trust layers. It builds on ERC-4337 account abstraction and follows the principles outlined in the Trustless Manifesto, placing more control in users’ hands rather than in external services.

The Ethereum Foundation compared EIL to the role HTTP played in the early days of the Internet. Before HTTP, people interacted with isolated servers; once the protocol arrived, browsers could move more freely across the web. EIL aims to set a similar standard for Ethereum’s expanding collection of rollups by providing wallets with a consistent way to interact across chains.

An overview from the Foundation points to several issues EIL is meant to address:

• Too many bridges make cross-chain movement costly and risky.
• Wallets feel disconnected, each tied to specific rollups.
• Liquidity spreads thin across networks, slowing activity.
• Users rely on extra trust assumptions from relayers and solvers.
• Added steps to introduce more points of failure.

These issues have slowed L2 adoption despite recent technical gains. EIL aims to simplify interactions without altering how individual rollups operate.

Ethereum Users Rally Behind EIL to Cut Fees and Bridge-Heavy Workflows

Rather than reshape existing L2s, EIL acts as a universal adapter. Each rollup continues to run as it does today, but EIL adds a shared communication layer. Users would no longer need to switch between interfaces or wallets for routine tasks. Their smart wallet becomes the central point for cross-chain activity.

The proposal has received positive feedback on X, where many users have expressed fatigue with the constant bridging and the fees associated with it. Community sentiment shows a clear desire for solutions that reduce unnecessary steps while preserving Ethereum’s trust-minimized approach.

EIL Proposal Puts Pressure on L2 Intermediaries as Wallets Take the Lead

Some platforms may not welcome this shift. Services that currently handle L2 interactions—such as relaying, solving, or cross-chain tools—could see a sharp drop in activity if EIL is widely adopted. Wallet-driven interactions would replace many outsourced processes, reducing the need for third parties.

Many intermediaries were created to address earlier limitations in L2 usability. Now, EIL may resolve the very issues that made those services necessary. Some projects could lose a large share of their traffic if the proposal becomes standard. Those affected may need to rethink their models or risk fading as users move toward simpler wallet-based flows.

EIL is still a proposal, but support appears strong. Community members have welcomed the idea of a more unified Ethereum environment, while developers back efforts to reduce friction without adding new trust risks. By returning more control to users and lowering reliance on intermediaries, EIL could reshape how activity moves across Ethereum’s growing Layer 2 network.