GnosisDAO approves Gnosis Chain for Ethereum Economic Zone

Gnosis Chain has received approval to transition to an Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) rollup, which will allow it to settle directly onto Ethereum rather than maintaining an independent validator set. This approval, recorded in a GnosisDAO vote, saw 123,158 GNO in support, 115 against, and 151 abstentions from 54 voters, exceeding the required 75,000 quorum.

The network's validator set will be phased out, and Gnosis Chain will operate as a layer-2 solution relying on Ethereum's validators for transaction settlement. The implementation is slated for late 2026 or early 2027, pending the readiness of the necessary EEZ technology. This move will enable Gnosis Chain-native smart contracts to seamlessly interact with Ethereum, accessing its assets and liquidity within an optimized environment for consumers, a feature not currently available on existing L2s.

The EEZ framework, developed by Gnosis and ZisK with funding from the Ethereum Foundation, aims to unify Ethereum's fragmented L2 ecosystem by allowing smart contracts across different rollups to execute simultaneously without the need for bridges. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin had previously expressed concerns about the centralized sequencers and trusted bridging mechanisms in some L2 networks, suggesting a new path forward.

Currently, 22 Ethereum rollups, including validiums and optimiums, have secured a combined total value of $27.82 billion, highlighting the growing interest in scaling solutions. The EEZ is anticipated to mitigate reliance on blockchain bridges, which are often vulnerable to hacks, and enhance the usability of assets within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, believes the EEZ could boost composability between assets, facilitating interactions between smart contracts on different participating networks within the same transaction.