TL;DR

In Optimism, governance is becoming more selective in capital allocation, with the Grants Council approving only a small share of requested funds and prioritizing projects with clear OP Mainnet impact. This points to a more disciplined approach as the remaining Season 9 budget is deployed.

In Arbitrum, the focus remains on execution and DAO operations. OpCo continues to expand its role across programs and treasury-related initiatives, while Security Council elections enter their final phase, reinforcing the DAO’s emphasis on security and accountability.

In ZKsync, governance is centered on evaluating incentive mechanisms, with the staking pilot approaching its end and expected to inform future participation and token utility decisions.

Elsewhere, Uniswap advances operational transparency through financial reporting, while Scroll experiments with retroactive incentives to drive ecosystem growth, reflecting a broader trend of structured operations paired with targeted experimentation.

Optimism

Cycle 50 Grants Council Report

Optimism’s Grants Council shared its Cycle 50 update, continuing a highly selective approach to Season 9 funding. Of the three applications reviewed, only Gamma Strategies was approved, receiving 300,000 OP, while the others were either declined or remain under review. The Council continues to emphasize strong alignment with OP Mainnet and clear ecosystem impact as core criteria.

Funding demand remains significantly higher than allocations. This cycle saw over 4.4M OP requested, with just a fraction granted. Several applications were filtered out earlier in the process, including through AI-assisted screening. With just over 3M OP remaining in the Season 9 budget, the Council is clearly taking a more measured, conservative stance on distribution.

Arbitrum

OpCo Update April 2026

Arbitrum’s OpCo shared its April update, highlighting ongoing efforts to operationalize the organization and expand its internal team. A new Director of Finance and Treasury has been hired and will start in mid-May, while recruitment for a Head of OpCo continues. The search for legal counsel has slowed, reflecting lower near-term legal needs.

On the operational side, OpCo continues to take on a more active role across DAO programs. This includes overseeing RAD reward distributions, coordinating Security Council election budgeting, and working with Entropy and the Arbitrum Foundation on initiatives such as the Code of Conduct and the Watchdog program. At the same time, OpCo remains involved in shaping DAO-wide strategy and refining incentive mechanisms tied to a 10M ARB allocation as it prepares for its next election cycle, which starts in May.

Arbitrum Security Council Elections Enter Final Voting Phase

Arbitrum has opened the Member Election phase for its March 2026 Security Council elections, marking the final stage of the process. Delegates can now vote for their preferred candidates, with the top six set to join the Security Council. Voting will run until May 3, with full voting power available during the first week and gradually decreasing afterward to encourage early participation.

Of the 16 initial candidates, 11 have advanced to this final round after meeting the nomination and compliance requirements. The Security Council plays a critical role in the ecosystem, holding authority to respond to emergencies and protect the protocol, making this election one of the most important governance processes within the DAO.

ZKsync

ZKnomics Staking Pilot Season 1 End Date Reminder: May 8th

ZKsync has reminded users that Season 1 of its ZKnomics Staking Pilot will conclude on May 8, 2026, after which no further rewards will be distributed. Participation remains open until the end date, allowing token holders to continue staking and earning rewards during the program’s final phase.

Following the conclusion, the program admin will evaluate Season 1 results and determine next steps, including whether to launch a second season. A detailed report with findings and recommendations is expected shortly after the program ends.

Uniswap

[RFC] Stable Application for Canonical Uniswap V3 Deployment

A new proposal requests that the Uniswap DAO recognize Stable as a canonical deployment within the Uniswap V3 framework. The deployment is already live and operational, with trading routed through the Stable Swap frontend, meaning no additional technical work is required beyond updating the official registry.

Stable positions itself as a USDT-native Layer 1 focused on payments and stablecoin settlement, offering low fees, sub-second finality, and high throughput. If approved, the proposal would extend Uniswap’s reach into a more payments-oriented ecosystem, potentially attracting liquidity from fintechs, institutions, and stablecoin-focused users.

Uniswap DAO Publishes Draft 2025 Corporate Tax Return

Cowrie has shared a draft of the Uniswap DAO’s 2025 U.S. corporate tax return (DUNI), opening it up for community review before filing. The DAO has elected to be taxed as a corporation, with the return due by April 15, along with any required tax payments.

The document should be read alongside the DAO’s year-end financial statements, providing a full picture of revenue and expenses. Contributors are also reminded that any payments received from DUNI in 2025 must be reported individually as personal income, regardless of whether they were paid in tokens or USD.

Scroll

Scroll Financial Freedom BD Pilot

Alex Soto has created a proposal that explores a second iteration of the Delegate Contribution Program, shifting toward a retroactive, results-based model for business development. The pilot would allow verified delegates to act as BD agents, sourcing and engaging potential ecosystem partners aligned with Scroll’s “financial freedom” vision, with rewards distributed based on outcomes rather than upfront funding.

Framed as an experiment rather than a final decision, the initiative requests 40,000 USDT over eight weeks to test whether retroactive incentives can effectively coordinate ecosystem expansion. Beyond generating a pipeline of partnerships, the proposal aims to clarify whether Scroll should lean into building its own products or focus on orchestrating a broader network of external tools and integrations.

Quiet Corner

Some ecosystems saw no meaningful governance developments this week.

• Everclear
• Wormhole
• Hop
• Lisk
• Starknet
• Polygon

As always, if we missed something important, feel free to reach out. We’re happy to dig deeper.

Upcoming Events

Arbitrum

• OpCo Operations - Office Hours - on 14.04 at 15:30 UTC.
• Open Discussion of Proposals Governance Call - on 14.04 at 16:00 UTC.

Scroll

• Weekly DAO & Governance Call - on 15.04 at 14:00 UTC.
• Scroll DAO Office Hours - on 17.04 at 14:00 UTC.

ZKsync

• Standing ZKsync Proposal Review Call - on 15.04 at 15:30 UTC.

Hop

• Hop Community Call - on 15.04 at 17:00 UTC.

Discuss with L2BEAT

Join us every Friday at 3 pm UTC for our weekly Governance Office Hours to discuss proposals, ecosystem direction, and high-level governance strategy.