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11 min read • Published on 8 Jun 2026

Governance Review #97

Avatar of Manuel Gonzalez

Manuel Gonzalez

Governance Representative

New Rules, New Routes.

Governance Review #97 publication thumbnail

TL;DR

In Optimism, governance is moving into a major restructuring phase. The Foundation proposed narrowing governance around protocol upgrades and accountable management, pausing the Citizens’ House indefinitely, and deprecating several governance bodies as the ecosystem shifts further toward OP Stack and OP Enterprise. The Security Council Cohort B election process also continued with an updated quorum calculation aimed at better reflecting active governance participation.

In Arbitrum, governance activity focused on transaction ordering, revenue distribution, and operational coordination. The DAO is evaluating proposals to automate the Timeboost proceeds split, replace Timeboost with Priority Gas Auctions on Arbitrum One, and continue the Nova migration process after its minimization decision. OpCo also reported progress across hiring, RAD, OAT elections, transparency reporting, and broader DAO coordination.

In ZKsync, governance discussions centered on institutional growth and organizational continuity. Matter Labs proposed a major 804M ZK allocation to support Prividium, ZK Stack, Airbender, and institutional onboarding efforts, while the ZKsync Association announced board leadership changes aimed at strengthening oversight and operational capacity.

Elsewhere, Starknet saw continued ecosystem activity around staking education, Bitcoin-backed assets, bridge security tooling, and decentralized AI compute infrastructure.

Active Votes

ZKsync: 1 vote

Optimism: 1 vote

Optimism

Optimism Announces Major Governance Restructuring Ahead of Season 10

The Optimism Foundation published Governance Update #12, outlining a significant shift in the Collective’s governance model as Season 9 comes to a close.

The update proposes narrowing the scope of governance to protocol upgrades and accountable management, reflecting Optimism’s transition from a single chain ecosystem toward the broader OP Stack and OP Enterprise vision. As part of this restructuring, the Foundation plans to pause the Citizens’ House indefinitely, citing declining participation and a changing stakeholder landscape. Upcoming proposals are also expected to deprecate the Grants Council, Milestones and Metrics Council, and Developer Advisory Board, while transferring treasury management responsibilities to the Foundation. Additionally, Head of Governance Lavande announced she will transition to a seat on the Foundation Board at the end of June.

Optimism re-open Security Council Election Process

The Optimism Foundation announced that the Security Council Cohort B election will continue through June 10 following an update to the governance voting process.

To better reflect active governance participation, the Foundation adjusted the calculation of votable supply by excluding voting power held by top delegates that have never participated in governance and received their delegations several voting cycles ago. The change only affects the quorum calculation and does not impact delegate voting rights, candidate eligibility, or how votes are counted.

The election will determine six members of Security Council Cohort B, who will serve 12-month terms overseeing protocol upgrade execution, emergency response procedures, and key governance security functions. The update comes as Optimism continues refining its governance framework and participation mechanisms alongside broader governance reforms announced at the close of Season 9.

Arbitrum

Arbitrum Proposes Automating Timeboost Revenue Distribution

The Arbitrum Foundation introduced a proposal to automate the distribution of Timeboost proceeds between the DAO Treasury and the Arbitrum Developer Guild (ADG).

Under the proposal, future Timeboost auction revenue on Arbitrum One and Nova would be automatically split on-chain, with 97% directed to the DAO Treasury and 3% allocated to the ADG, as originally approved when Timeboost was adopted. The proposal would also transfer the ADG’s share of previously accumulated proceeds, eliminating the need for recurring governance votes to distribute funds and streamlining the long-term management of Timeboost-generated revenue.

Arbitrum Extends OAT Election Application Deadline

OpCo announced a one-week extension to the application and nomination period for the 2026 Oversight and Transparency Committee (OAT) elections.

The OAT serves as the primary oversight body for OpCo, helping ensure transparency, accountability, and strategic alignment across the DAO’s operational activities. Following the extension, candidates and nominators now have until June 12, 2026 to submit applications before the election process moves into the eligibility review and voting stages.

Arbitrum Proposes Replacing Timeboost with Priority Gas Auctions

Offchain Labs introduced a proposal to sunset Timeboost on Arbitrum One and Nova and replace it with a Priority Gas Auction (PGA) transaction ordering mechanism on Arbitrum One.

The proposal argues that while Timeboost successfully introduced MEV revenue generation and improved transaction fairness, its auction-based design created barriers to participation and limited adoption among some market participants. Under the new model, transaction ordering would be determined by per-transaction priority fees through a permissionless auction system, while an anti-starvation mechanism would help ensure that low-fee transactions continue to be included in a timely manner. Revenue generated through priority fees would be split between the DAO Treasury (97%) and the Arbitrum Developer Guild (3%), mirroring the current Timeboost revenue allocation.

OpCo Reports Progress on Hiring, Operations, and DAO Coordination

OpCo published its June 2026 update, highlighting progress across staffing, operational development, and coordination efforts within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Since the previous update, OpCo hired both a Director of Finance and Treasury and a Head of OpCo, completing its active recruitment efforts. The update also notes continued work on DAO strategy, oversight of programs such as RAD and Firestarters, coordination with Arbitrum Aligned Entities (AAEs), and preparations for the upcoming OAT elections. Additionally, OpCo reported ongoing collaboration with Entropy on treasury management and incentive alignment initiatives, while continuing to expand its role as the DAO’s operational coordination layer.

Arbitrum Publishes Migration Guidance Following Nova Minimization Decision

The Arbitrum Foundation published a FAQ outlining the next steps for developers and users following the DAO’s decision to transition Arbitrum Nova into a minimized, maintenance-oriented state.

The update confirms that the network has entered a 90-day migration window running through September 2, during which developers are encouraged to migrate applications, integrations, and liquidity to Arbitrum One while existing infrastructure remains fully operational. After this period, Nova will transition to a lower-cost operating model featuring a passive DAC, reduced infrastructure requirements, and maintenance-only support. The FAQ also provides guidance on fund withdrawals, bridging options, and migration paths for applications and assets currently deployed on Nova.

RAD Transparency Report Highlights Delegate Participation and Program Spending

OpCo published the first biannual transparency report for the Rewarding Active Delegates (RAD) program, providing an overview of participation, operations, and spending since the initiative launched.

The report notes that 39 delegates have enrolled in the program, with most remaining eligible for rewards, and details several operational updates including changes to eligibility requirements, adjustments to the program manager compensation model, and the handling of a reporting error that affected April rewards. Financially, RAD has distributed over 1 million ARB in delegate incentives to date, while maintaining its current reward budget structure for the coming quarter. The report also highlights the program’s role in incentivizing governance participation and supporting delegate engagement across Arbitrum DAO votes.

OpCo Publishes Second Transparency Report Covering DAO Operations

OpCo published its second biannual transparency report, outlining its activities between November 2025 and April 2026. The report highlights OpCo’s growing operational role across the DAO, including oversight of treasury management recommendations, administration of programs such as RAD and the Watchdog, hiring efforts for key leadership positions, and coordination between Arbitrum-aligned entities. The update also provides an overview of OpCo’s finances, reporting approximately $1.15M in total expenses since its creation, alongside progress on governance processes, delegate engagement, and operational consolidation across the ecosystem.

ZKsync

ZKsync Association Announces Changes to Board Leadership

The ZKsync Association announced a rotation of its Board of Directors as the organization approaches the two-year anniversary of the ZK token launch.

As part of the transition, Thomas Bernardini stepped down as Chairperson and Tamara Rubey formally concluded her involvement following a leave of absence that began in 2025. The Association appointed Anamaria Fuiorea as the new Chairperson and Fiona Brennan as Treasurer, bringing additional experience in regulatory compliance, risk management, corporate governance, and digital assets. According to the announcement, the changes are intended to maintain operational continuity while strengthening the Association’s oversight and administrative capabilities for the next phase of ZKsync’s development.

Matter Labs Requests 804M ZK Allocation to Advance Institutional Adoption Strategy

Matter Labs submitted a draft Token Program Proposal requesting a 12-month allocation of 804 million ZK tokens, distributed through twelve monthly capped minters of 67 million ZK each, to fund development, business development, and ecosystem growth initiatives tied to its institutional-focused roadmap.

The proposal centers on expanding Prividium, ZKsync’s privacy-preserving infrastructure for financial institutions, alongside continued investment in the ZK Stack, Airbender proving technology, and institutional onboarding efforts. To address accountability concerns, the allocation would be released monthly, remain revocable by governance at any time, and be subject to ongoing reporting requirements. Matter Labs argues the funding would help convert a growing pipeline of institutional partners into live deployments while supporting the long-term growth of the ZKsync network.

Starknet

Atlas Staking Publishes Step-by-Step STRK Staking Guide

Atlas Staking published the third article in its Starknet staking education series, offering a beginner-friendly walkthrough for delegating STRK on Starknet.

The guide explains how users can move STRK into a Starknet-compatible wallet, choose a trusted staking interface, evaluate validators, delegate tokens, and monitor staking rewards over time. It also continues promoting Atlas Staking’s validator and early delegator NFT campaign, positioning the article as both an educational resource and an onboarding tool for new Starknet stakers.

Atlas Staking Explains Bitcoin Staking Strategies on Starknet

Atlas Staking published the next article in its Starknet education series, focusing on how Bitcoin-backed assets can be used within the Starknet ecosystem.

The guide explains how BTC derivatives such as WBTC and LBTC can give users Bitcoin exposure while enabling access to Starknet DeFi strategies, alongside STRK staking through validators like Atlas. The article positions Starknet as a potential Bitcoin yield layer, combining BTC-backed assets, low-cost transactions, and STRK staking into a broader portfolio strategy.

Developer Introduces CrossGuard Security Analyzer for Starknet Bridges

Drozdisme, a community contributor, introduced CrossGuard, an open-source static analysis tool designed to identify security issues in Starknet bridge implementations.

Unlike traditional smart contract analyzers that inspect contracts in isolation, CrossGuard analyzes both the Ethereum and Starknet sides of a bridge simultaneously, allowing it to detect issues related to cross-chain messaging, payload encoding, access controls, and message replay protections. The tool is currently available as open source and the developer is seeking feedback from teams building bridge infrastructure on Starknet to expand its detection capabilities and improve future versions.

Developer Open Sources Smainer, a Decentralized AI Compute Marketplace on Starknet

Gu5a90, a community developer announced the open-source release of Smainer, a decentralized compute marketplace built on Starknet that connects users seeking AI compute resources with node operators willing to rent out hardware.

The project uses Starknet smart contracts to coordinate job execution and payments between participants, aiming to create a privacy-focused alternative to centralized AI infrastructure. According to the announcement, the network is designed to support use cases such as AI chatbots, model training, and decentralized applications, while allowing node operators to earn rewards by contributing computing resources. Most of the codebase is now publicly available, with additional components expected to be released in the future.

Quiet Corner

Some ecosystems saw no meaningful governance developments this week.

  • Everclear
  • Hop
  • Lisk
  • Polygon
  • Scroll
  • Wormhole
  • Uniswap

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

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