Gnosis Chain to Become Ethereum Rollup and Retire Independent Validator Set

Gnosis Chain moves to Ethereum settlement

GnosisDAO has approved a plan to transition Gnosis Chain from a standalone Layer 1 blockchain into an Ethereum-settled rollup. A Layer 1 is an independent blockchain network, while a rollup is a scaling solution that processes transactions and then records them on a main network like Ethereum for security.

This strategic shift will retire the network's independent set of validators—the participants who verify transactions—and move its security to the Ethereum mainnet. The change aims to allow Gnosis to connect directly with Ethereum contracts and liquidity.

Main effects on GNO tokens and users

• Approximately 350,000 GNO tokens will be unlocked when the independent validator set is retired.
• Treasury-funded staking rewards will end once the transition is complete.
• The xDAI token will remain the gas token, which is the asset used to pay for transaction fees on the network.
• Users and developers will not need to migrate to a new chain, as wallet addresses and balances will stay the same.

Details of the GIP-153 proposal

The approved proposal, known as GIP-153, states that Ethereum validators will replace Gnosis's own validator set to provide security. At launch, Gnosis Ltd will operate a centralized "composer" to order transactions and submit them for settlement. While the proposal acknowledges this makes the network less decentralized, it is described as a deliberate choice to improve efficiency and security integration.

The technical plan includes "synchronous composability," which allows a contract on Gnosis to call a contract on Ethereum within a single atomic transaction. At the start, this feature will only work in one direction, from Gnosis to Ethereum, with two-way communication planned for later.

Why the network is changing its security model

The decision follows a period where transaction fees on Gnosis Chain were too low to pay for its large validator set. To maintain security, the GnosisDAO treasury had to fund rewards by issuing new GNO tokens. This process diluted the value for token holders who were not staking their assets by about 2.3% per year.

The proposal intends to link GNO tokens to future fee revenue from network activity, although the exact method for this has not yet been decided. Possibilities include fee sharing or token buybacks.

Planned timeline for the transition

The first block under the new "Ethereum Economic Zone" framework is targeted for December 2026 or January 2027. Developers expect to add bidirectional communication and real-time zero-knowledge proving systems—advanced methods for verifying transaction accuracy—during the course of 2027.

Sources

• The Defiant