GnosisDAO has approved the transition of Gnosis Chain from an autonomous Layer 1 (L1) network to a rollup in the Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ), with transaction validation using ZK-proofs.
GIP-153 was supported by holders of 123,158 $GNO; 115 voted against, and 151 abstained. 54 participants took part in the vote, Gnosis Chain reported in an X post. Turnout was 123,425 $GNO — exceeding the 75,000 quorum.
According to the proposal, the Gnosis Chain validator set will be retired, and the network will settle transactions on Ethereum. This will make Gnosis Chain a Layer 2 (L2) solution that relies on Ethereum validators for settlement.
The initial launch is scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027, pending the readiness of the necessary EEZ technology.
The upgrade will allow smart contracts native to Gnosis Chain to call Ethereum and use the result within the same transaction. They will gain access to the assets and liquidity of the Ethereum mainnet in a "user-optimized" environment. According to the proposal, existing L2s do not yet support such capability.
Gnosis Chain Will Be the First Launched Implementation of EEZ.
EEZ is a framework for building Ethereum-centric rollups, developed by Gnosis and ZisK, with financial backing from the Ethereum Foundation.
The initiative aims to unify the fragmented Ethereum L2 ecosystem: smart contracts across different rollups will be able to perform operations synchronously without bridges. This is intended to eliminate one of the main scaling trade-offs of Ethereum. Dozens of L2 networks increase throughput but fragment liquidity, infrastructure, and user activity across separate blockchains.
Gnosis Chain will become the first deployed implementation of EEZ and will retain existing applications, balances, and the xDAI gas token.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin previously expressed concerns about centralized sequencers and trust-based aggregation mechanisms in bridges. He called them potentially vulnerable elements in the architecture of some L2 networks. "The original concept of L2 and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense, and we need a new path," Buterin wrote in a February 3 X post.
According to L2Beat, 22 Ethereum rollups secure $27.82 billion. Including validiums, optimistic rollups, and other scaling networks, the tracking platform monitors a total of $34.88 billion in secured value.
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EEZ Could Reduce Reliance on Vulnerable Infrastructure: Standard Chartered
According to Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, EEZ could reduce reliance on blockchain bridges and increase activity within the Ethereum ecosystem.
"EEZ will allow for less need for bridges, where hacks are common, and increase the utility of assets across EVM networks," he wrote in a May 28 report published by Cointelegraph.
"Both are likely to lead to higher levels of activity within the Ethereum ecosystem."
Kendrick stated that EEZ could enhance asset composability: smart contracts across different participating networks will be able to interact within a single transaction.
Magazine: Ethereum's EEZ Could Pull Other Blockchains Into Its Orbit
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