Gnosis Chain Abandons Validator Set to Settle on Ethereum

Gnosis Chain, a proof-of-stake blockchain, is abandoning its validator set and settling to Ethereum. The decision was made by GnosisDAO in a recent vote, which also approved the unlocking of approximately 350,000 GNO tokens.

The shift marks a strategic direction change for Gnosis Chain, which began as xDai, a stablecoin-denominated Ethereum sidechain. It switched to proof-of-stake in December 2022 and has since held a large validator set above 100,000 at the time of its merge.

However, fees have only covered a small fraction of the minimal cost of security, leaving the DAO treasury to fund the rest through GNO issuance. This dilutes non-stakers by about 2.3% annually, compared to sub-1% on Ethereum.