Ethereum R1 debuts as token-free layer-2 rollup backed by donations

Ethereum developers launch a new layer-2 solution, the Ethereum R1. Unlike other L2 solutions, this project will not feature any token and depends solely on donations. The project’s devs even commented on the launch: “General-purpose L2s should be commodities — simple, replaceable, and free from centralized dependencies or risky governance. Ethereum R1 is our answer to that call. The roll-up grounded in credible neutrality, decentralization, and censorship resistance.” Ethereum’s transaction fees dropped to its lowest in five years in April ETH developers claimed that most current L2s work more similarly to new L1 projects than scaling solutions with private allocations, opaque governance, and centralized control. Lately, users have also raised concerns about how Ethereum L2 projects have drifted from the main interests of the base layer. The Ethereum R1 is a way to address all those issues, with the project team emphasizing that it will neither have venture funding nor any pre-mined token allocations or a governance token. The network had started to lay ground for new L2 projects much earlier. In March 2024, they released the Dencun upgrade, which reduced fees for its existing L2 scaling solutions. However, its base layer revenue had dwindled by nearly 100% by September of that year. Moreover, transaction fees on its base layer have continued to sink, reaching a five-year low of $0.16 per transaction in April 2025, primarily driven by reduced demand for block space. Some analysts have hinted that L2 growth incentives caused the base layer revenue declines, asking the network to reconsider its options. Ethereum’s dominance and demand is picking up In the past few months, the demand and relevance among new users for the ETH network have dropped. However, according to Growthepie, there was a 62% rise in active addresses week-on-week and another 57% surge in Layer 2 dominance. Recently, ETH had the highest market sentiment with 82%, while Solana and Bitcoin followed at only 3.6% and 2.7% respectively. In addition, Loookchain reported that crypto whales have been rushing to purchase ETH. In the last few hours, they acquired 5,362 ETH for over $7.2 million. One trader with the address ‘0xDdb4’ received a loan from Aave, about $3.44 million USDC from Aave, and purchased 1,856 ETH. Another whale, ‘0xf84d’, borrowed $1.64 million USDC, topped it up, and bought 1259 ETH with $2.34 million USDC. The other trader, ‘0x69D0’, took up 2,250 ETH worth around $4.12 million from the Binance crypto exchange. Ethereum flashes bottom signal as key metric hints at major rebound ahead Ethereum price was on a bullish path yesterday, May 1, after crossing above $1,850 for the first time in more than three weeks. The gains come amid chatter that ETH may have hit a local bottom, with key on-chain metrics supporting this hypothesis. ETH value today trades at $1,841 with a modest 2.56% gain in 24 hours. The uptrend coincides with a 60% spike in trading volumes as the market eagerly awaits whether a breakout above the psychological level of $2,000 will happen next. Ethereum has traded below the $2,000 level for most of the past two months. The price hit a low of below $1,400 on April 9. It had made something that amounted to a run to $1,550 and higher by April 22, though following a broad market lift on Bitcoin, it regained momentum. The ETH price, however, dipped again on April 30, falling to $1,736 within two hours. ETH price simply had more forced closures during this dip, topping $67 million compared to Bitcoin’s $64 million. Of the total $291 million, $48 million was on long positions, per Coinglass data . Such liquidations often lead to a rapid drop in price, ruining leveraged traders and short-term sentiment. Following this, Ethereum’s short-term chart has formed a head and shoulders pattern. This technical formation is usually connected to trend reversals and how traders will assess the upcoming price movement. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot