Arbitrum Foundation’s proposal to deploy Orbit chains beyond Ethereum opens for initial vote

Arbitrum ARB +3.14% DAO, the governance body overseeing the Arbitrum Layer 2 network, is currently holding a vote on whether to extend its Orbit chains to networks beyond Ethereum.

The proposal made by the Arbitrum Foundation is undergoing an initial "temperature check" vote on Snapshot and will conclude on August 1, 2024.

The foundation proposed growing its Arbitrum expansion program, previously limited to blockchains deriving security from Ethereum — typically Layer 2 blockchains.

The existing program permits entities to fork the Arbitrum codebase and launch EVM-compatible Orbit Chains. These are customizable blockchains developed using Arbitrum’s software stack . Developers can tailor the chain to specific needs, choosing elements like transaction throughput, gas token, governance, and more. They can be configured to settle directly on Ethereum.

If the latest proposal is approved, it would allow new Orbit chains to launch on diverse blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Binance Smart Chain, and Cosmos.

The latest proposal noted that there's interest from projects keen to develop Orbit chains outside of Ethereum, prompting the foundation to revisit its existing limitations. The suggested change could lead to more Orbit deployments, enhancing revenue for ArbitrumDAO and its ecosystem.

Orbit chains share 10% of their profits to the Arbitrum ecosystem, promoting a reciprocal financial model that benefits the project.

It also suggested that this change could bolster the prevalence of the Ethereum Virtual Machine and its upgraded version, Stylus (EVM+).

Preliminary results on the vote indicate robust support for the expansion, with over 99% of the votes backing the deployment of Orbit chains across various blockchain networks.