Arbitrum DAO, the governance body overseeing the Arbitrum ecosystem, is currently voting on whether to extend its Orbit chains to networks beyond Ethereum. The proposal, initiated by the Arbitrum Foundation, is undergoing an initial “temperature check” vote on Snapshot and will conclude on August 1, 2024.
The foundation aims to expand its Arbitrum program, which has so far been limited to blockchains deriving security from Ethereum, typically Layer 2 blockchains. The current program allows entities to fork the Arbitrum codebase and launch EVM-compatible Orbit chains. These customizable blockchains, developed using Arbitrum’s software stack, can be tailored to specific needs, including transaction throughput, gas token, and governance, and can be configured to settle directly on Ethereum.
Should the latest proposal be approved, it will enable new Orbit chains to launch across different blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Binance Smart Chain, and Cosmos. This proposal was driven by interest from projects wishing to develop Orbit chains outside of Ethereum, prompting the foundation to reconsider its current constraints. This shift could result in an increase in Orbit deployments, thereby enhancing revenue for ArbitrumDAO and its ecosystem.
Orbit chains share 10% of their profits with the Arbitrum ecosystem, promoting a reciprocal financial model that benefits the project. The proposal also suggests that this expansion could bolster the prevalence of the Ethereum Virtual Machine and its upgraded version, Stylus (EVM+).
Preliminary results indicate strong support for the expansion, with over 99% of the votes backing the deployment of Orbit chains across various blockchain networks.
