GnosisDAO members approved a proposal to transform Gnosis Chain from a standalone layer-1 network into a zero-knowledge-proven Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) rollup. The vote passed with 123,158 GNO in support, 115 against, and 151 abstentions from 54 voters, achieving a turnout of 123,425 GNO—exceeding the 75,000 GNO quorum requirement.
Under the approved plan, Gnosis Chain’s validator set will be retired, and the network will settle transactions on Ethereum, effectively operating as a layer-2 (L2) solution reliant on Ethereum’s validators for finality. The initial launch is scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027, contingent on the availability of the required EEZ technology.
The transition aims to enable native smart contracts on Gnosis Chain to interact with Ethereum and utilize its assets and liquidity within the same transaction. This capability, described as currently unavailable on existing L2 networks, would provide an environment optimized for consumer applications while maintaining access to Ethereum mainnet resources.
Gnosis Chain would become the first production instance of the EEZ framework, a rollup architecture developed by Gnosis and ZisK with funding from the Ethereum Foundation. The initiative seeks to unify Ethereum’s fragmented L2 ecosystem by allowing smart contracts across different rollups to execute synchronously without relying on bridges, addressing a key scalability trade-off where multiple L2 networks fragment liquidity, infrastructure, and user activity.
The proposal follows concerns raised by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about the vulnerabilities of centralized sequencers and trusted bridging mechanisms in some L2 designs. Buterin argued in a February post that the original vision of L2s within Ethereum no longer aligns with scaling needs, calling for a new approach.
According to L2Beat data, 22 Ethereum rollups currently secure $27.82 billion in value, with an additional $7.06 billion tracked across validiums, optimiums, and other scaling networks, totaling $34.88 billion.
Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, noted that the EEZ framework could reduce reliance on vulnerable infrastructure such as blockchain bridges, which have been frequent targets of hacks. Kendrick highlighted in a May report that the EEZ may enhance asset usability within EVM chains and foster greater composability, enabling smart contracts on different networks to interact seamlessly within the same transaction.
