Crypto20 August, 20262 min read
GnosisDAO Approves Gnosis Chain Transition to Ethereum Economic Zone Rollup
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GnosisDAO approved GIP-153 to transition Gnosis Chain from standalone L1 to Ethereum Economic Zone rollup. Transition settles directly to Ethereum via a ZK-proven EEZ rollup.
7 outlets told this the same way.
GnosisDAO backs EEZ shift
GnosisDAO approved GIP-153 to give Gnosis Chain a governance mandate to transition from operating as a standalone layer-1 network into a ZK-proven “Ethereum Economic Zone” rollup that settles on Ethereum rather than continuing with its independent Layer 1 model. The proposal passed with 123,158 GNO voting in favor, according to the Snapshot vote, and Gnosis Chain reported the decision cleared the 75,000 GNO quorum with 123,425 GNO in turnout. Gnosis Chain said the initial launch is targeted for late 2026 or early 2027, contingent on the EEZ technology being ready, while the plan keeps gas paid in xDAI.
The governance vote also sets up a change in security and settlement, because the proposal framework describes retiring the validator set and relying on Ethereum validators for settlement finality. In the same direction-setting approval, GnosisDAO’s move is framed as a shift toward an Ethereum rollup roadmap rather than an immediate technical migration, with implementation milestones and final launch planning still ahead.
Token unlock and governance math
The approval is also tied to token economics, with the plan described as unlocking approximately 350,000 staked GNO, which CryptoSlate said is equivalent to roughly 27% of the token’s circulating supply. CryptoSlate reported that GnosisDAO did not approve funding or a completed technical design, and that the first EEZ version is targeted for around December 2026 or January 2027, depending on required infrastructure being ready. In the governance tally, Gnosis Chain reported that GIP-153 passed with 123,158 GNO in support, 115 against, and 151 abstaining across 54 voters, with turnout totaling 123,425 GNO.
The proposal’s architecture is described as replacing the staking subsidy with network fees as the economic base, and it says the model is difficult to sustain because fee revenue covers only a small part of the chain’s security costs. CryptoSlate added that once the validator set is retired, the staking subsidy would end and Gnosis intends to link GNO to revenue generated by the rollup, while the exact mechanism remains unresolved.
Composability, sequencers, and timing
Supporters of the EEZ framework say it targets fragmented liquidity by enabling smart contracts across participating networks to execute synchronously without requiring conventional bridges for every interaction. Cointelegraph reported that the update would enable Gnosis Chain-native smart contracts to call Ethereum and use the result in the same transaction, and it described the capability as “optimized” for consumers and “not currently available on existing L2s.” But the first version is also described as incomplete on execution safeguards, because CryptoSlate said the transition comes with a decentralization trade-off and that Gnosis Ltd. is expected to operate the sequencer that initially orders transactions and produces blocks.
In the governance discussion, Crypto.news quoted Friederike Ernst saying, “In the first version, there will be no forced inclusion, but this will be added asap,” while also noting the statement is a development commitment rather than an implemented safeguard. Across the sources, the timeline remains conditional, with the EEZ plan targeting late 2026 or early 2027 and the first production instance described as depending on required EEZ technology being ready.