EthCC Cannes Special Report: 10 Industry Trends Revealed by Taiko Based Rollup Summit

As global developers gather in Paris for EthCC 2025, Taiko—the first based rollup scaling solution on ETH, successfully held its second Based Rollup Summit in Cannes, France in early July, continuing to explore the future of ETH scaling. Core figures from the ETH Foundation, Celo, SSV Network, Boundless, and other ecosystem participants engaged in in-depth discussions about based rollup technology, preconfirmation mechanisms, and the continuously evolving ETH ecosystem. Here are 10 key points from the summit: 1. Preconfirmations Are Everywhere—Even Buying Coffee Taiko's Chief Operating Officer Joaquin Mendes opened the summit with a relatable example, emphasizing that preconfirmations are not an unfamiliar concept but a mechanism we use daily. "Preconfirmations have always existed, even when you buy a cup of coffee." Mendes elaborated on the working principles of preconfirmation mechanisms and how they can make transactions on Taiko smoother and faster, laying the groundwork for understanding their critical role in ETH scaling. 2. The Future of ZK: Solving User Needs Over Technical Competition Boundless CEO Shiv Sankar shared his perspective on the future of zero-knowledge technology, emphasizing that creating user value matters more than technological competition. "The key is understanding what users truly need—and then meeting those needs with ZK technology." He pointed out that Web3's main competitors are traditional tech giants like Amazon. The real challenge lies in understanding user behavior and creating products they are willing to pay for. 3. URC Integration Makes Validator Onboarding Easier SSV Network CEO Alon Muroch introduced the Universal Registry Contract (URC) and explained how SSV can lower the barrier for validator registration through programmatic integration, facilitating participation in based rollup services. "Most transactions now occur on L2, not on the ETH mainnet. This presents a massive opportunity for validators and rollups." SSV clients have integrated URC, enabling validators to register quickly without complex operations, whether managing 10 or 10,000 nodes. 4. Why Can't ETH Simply Shorten Block Time, and Why Are Preconfirmation Mechanisms Important? Taiko CEO Daniel Wang addressed a common question: If the goal is a faster user experience, why not directly reduce ETH's block time to 1-2 seconds? "Taiko aims to compress block time to under 2 seconds. But some ask why ETH doesn't do this itself." He noted that ETH currently has over 100,000 validators, and sub-second consensus would impose extreme hardware and synchronization requirements, potentially compromising decentralization and accessibility. Therefore, based preconfirmation is a more realistic solution aligned with the ETH spirit. 5. Defining Success Metrics for Based Preconfirmation Multiple summit participants proposed key indicators for measuring based preconfirmation success: For instance, a based rollup in operation with preconfirmation functionality integrated into L1 proposer, with at least 20% of staked assets choosing to participate. Reduced transaction fees and improved user experience were also considered core signals of viability. 6. Building for Enterprise and Privacy ETH Foundation Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stanczak emphasized that strategic focus for mainstream adoption should prioritize enterprise implementation and privacy protection. "We're not directly building products for users. End-users will access through Web2 platforms, but the underlying infrastructure must be a truly trustworthy blockchain." He believes supporting enterprise participation and promoting compliant collaboration is key to penetrating global mainstream markets. 7. ETH's Story Needs Better Storytelling Celo CEO Marek Olszewskii raised a thought-provoking question: "Are we attracting the wrong crowd?" He suggested that to attract institutional investors and ordinary users, ETH needs a clearer, more compelling narrative—not just a "smart contract platform" but a unique value-generating asset ecosystem. 8. Horizontal Scaling Is ETH's Only Future ETH Foundation researcher Justin Drake explicitly stated that vertical scaling for ETH has reached its limit, and the next step must be horizontal expansion. "We must scale horizontally; we have no alternative. Even being a second faster is not enough." He believes solutions like shared sequencing and cheaper SNARK verification will enable rollups to settle in every interval, helping ETH move beyond its "adolescence". 9. Booster Rollup: A New Scaling Paradigm Taiko Co-founder and CTO Brecht Devos introduced the new Booster Rollup concept, highlighting its differences from traditional approaches. "Most contracts are deployed on L1, but each rollup can directly connect to the mainnet." This means L1 contracts can be directly invoked on L2, enabling automatic scaling without sacrificing composability. 10. True Scalability Means Internet-Level Availability At the summit's conclusion, Avail's Business Lead Kyle Rojas, OpenZeppelin's Gustavo, and Luban Co-founder Harry Gao discussed the fundamental question: What are we scaling for? "Can we truly scale to internet-level scale? Can we support the user experience people have become accustomed to?" They unanimously agreed that genuine blockchain scaling is not just about increasing TPS, but about establishing a globally available system that maintains decentralization, censorship resistance, and security. Finally Beyond technical insights, Taiko's Based Rollup event featured interactive experiences where attendees could play blockchain games built on Taiko technology, demonstrating the creativity and vitality of blockchain innovation beyond its "hardcore" aspects. From preconfirmation mechanisms to Booster Rollup, the cutting-edge practices Taiko is driving are sketching a truly scalable, implementable, and globalizable new future for ETH—and this is just the beginning.