After ten years of existence and establishing a dominant market position, Ethereum is facing a profound debate about its core identity. The key question in this "battle for the soul" is: Should Ethereum's future be that of a high-performance execution layer that directly competes with emerging rivals, or should it consolidate its unique position as the world's most secure and decentralized settlement layer, serving its thriving Layer 2 ecosystem? Layer 2 refers to off-chain networks, systems, or technologies built on the underlying blockchain (often referred to as Layer 1), with the aim of expanding the underlying blockchain network. Relevant data shows that Layer 2 transactions account for 85%, but large amounts of funds still mainly remain on the Ethereum mainnet. Facing this contradiction, several founders, CEOs, and key builders within the Ethereum ecosystem shared their views with the cryptocurrency industry media Cointelegraph at the recent EthCC conference held in Cannes, including Tomasz Stańczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, and Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France.