ethereum is broken, but composability will fix it

Ethereum was supposed to be the world’s computer.

Instead, it became a collection of isolated islands. DeFi protocols that can't talk to each other, NFTs stuck in their ecosystems, games that require you to start from scratch every time, and Layer 2s (L2s) that fragment everything.

This isn't what we signed up for.

We need to make Ethereum composable. It's going to change how crypto works.

The blockchain composability revolution is just getting started

Building on Ethereum is like trying to build a house where the electrical system can't connect to the plumbing, and the plumbing can't connect to the heating system.

Everything works in isolation. Nothing works together.

Composability changes this: it makes protocols work like Lego blocks. You can combine any piece to build something new. When protocols start working together, magic happens.

E.g. Uniswap + Aave + Compound = yield strategies that didn't exist before.

Lens protocol + Mirror + Superfluid = creator economies that weren't possible.

Why current composability sucks (and why that's about to change)

Today's composability has three big problems:

It's too slow: When you compose protocols, every interaction has to wait for the slowest piece. Using three protocols together? More wait time.

It's too expensive: Composing protocols means multiple transactions, which means multiple gas fees.

It's too risky: When protocols are tightly coupled, a single failure can bring everything down.

Composability makes an entire ecosystem exponentially more valuable.

• 1 protocol = 1 use case

• 2 composable protocols = 4 possible combinations

• 3 composable protocols = 8 possible combinations

• 10 composable protocols = 1,024 possible combinations

Each new composable protocol multiplies the value of every existing protocol.

This is why Ethereum dominates despite high fees and slow speeds. Composability creates network effects that are almost impossible to compete with.

The infrastructure problem (and solution)

The current blockchain infrastructure wasn't built for composability. It was designed for isolated applications that occasionally require interaction.

Ethereum's scaling solution created a new problem: fragmentation. L2s and L3s that were supposed to scale Ethereum instead turned it into a collection of isolated islands again.

Real composability needs infrastructure that understands chains that want to work together and optimises for that from day one.

That means:

Unified coordination that makes protocols across different chains work as smoothly as protocols on the same chain.

Sovereignty without isolation - chains can maintain their independence while participating in a larger, composable ecosystem.

Credibly neutral infrastructure that all chains can trust without giving up control.

This is exactly what Espresso is building. They're reimagining how Ethereum's many chains can work together as one unified, composable ecosystem.

Measuring success: new metrics for a new paradigm

Traditional metrics miss what makes composability valuable. Take for example TVL (Total Value Locked). It doesn't capture cross-protocol value creation.

How about transaction count? It ignores composable interactions that do more with fewer transactions.

Surely user growth must be a better metric? No. It misses users who get value from protocol combinations, not individual protocols.

We need new metrics like:

Integration velocity: measures how fast new protocols achieve meaningful integrations.

Composability depth: average number of protocols in successful user interactions.

Value multiplication: how much more value gets created through composition vs isolation.

Developer leverage: how much faster teams can build using existing composable primitives.

These metrics will show which ecosystems are winning the composability race.

How Espresso is making Ethereum composable again

Espresso started building composability infrastructure because Ethereum's fragmentation was a huge issue.

We realised that scaling Ethereum created a new problem. Layer 2s and Layer 3s solved throughput but broke composability.

We ended up with isolated chains that couldn't talk to each other efficiently.

Espresso's solution is elegant: a confirmation layer that enables chains to quickly and credibly confirm each other's state transitions.

The Espresso approach:

• Credibly neutral infrastructure that all L2s and L3s can trust

• Fast cross-chain confirmations that enable real-time composability

• Sovereignty preservation so chains keep their unique features

• Permissionless participation so any chain can join the composable ecosystem

This is the foundation for an ecosystem where all applications can be open, composable, and permissionless—three of Espresso's main values.

Espresso is building the rails for Ethereum's composable future, and they're welcoming more L2s and L3s, first on Ethereum and then everywhere else.

Crosschain interop: the final boss

Single-chain composability was just a tutorial-level concept. The real game is crosschain composability: protocols on Ethereum work seamlessly with protocols on other chains.

This requires infrastructure that makes chain boundaries invisible to users and developers.

Think of universal asset availability. Unified user experience. Seamless liquidity flow. All these are possible.

When this works, "multichain" becomes meaningless. There's just the composable internet of value.

Who wins with composability? Who loses?

The composability revolution will create clear winners and losers:

Winners:

• Infrastructure that enables credibly neutral crosschain coordination

• Chains that embrace composability while maintaining sovereignty

• Protocols built with multichain composability as a core feature

• Ecosystems that unite many chains to work as one

Losers:

• Isolated protocols that refuse to integrate

• Infrastructure optimised for single-app usage

The advantage will compound quickly. Early winners in composability will become increasingly hard to compete with.

The composable future is inevitable

Apps will become like Lego blocks that work together automatically while users stop thinking about individual protocols and start thinking about outcomes.

Developers stop building everything from scratch and start composing solutions.

Value creation skyrockets because every new protocol makes every existing protocol more valuable.

Innovation speeds up because building new things gets easier.

A composable future is here, and Espresso is already building it on Ethereum.

If you want to know more about Espresso and how their confirmation layer is (seriously) saving the day, you can access their documentation here. Follow them on X to keep up with the caffeinated future they’re building!