ZetaChain, a cross-chain blockchain, is on track to retire its own layer 1 around Dec. 9: the vote on Proposal 70, which sets that date, has cleared quorum, with nearly every vote a yes. The proposal names the chain’s final block, 20,755,000, and the mechanics of moving the ZETA token to Solana. “After the halt no transactions are processed and the chain is not restarted,” the proposal reads.
Voting ends Nov. 7 at 11:12 a.m. ET, and passing takes a 40% quorum and more than 50% yes. As of 4:48 p.m. ET on Thursday, 256.1 million ZETA had voted yes and about 420 ZETA no, according to the chain’s public tally. Under the Cosmos SDK’s tally code, quorum is measured against all bonded tokens, and 379.9 million ZETA was bonded at the time. That puts turnout at about 67.4%, well past the quorum, by Unchained’s math. Stakers can still vote no until the close.
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What ZETA Holders Need to Do
To qualify, a wallet must hold 10 ZETA or more when the snapshot is taken. Claims run through a ZetaHub portal that opens Dec. 9, but only once security firm Hacken has published its review of the Solana program that distributes the new tokens and the claim system. A holder connects the address that held ZETA, then signs a message pointing to the Solana wallet they want paid. Claiming is free and needs no SOL. ZETA would keep its ticker and convert one-for-one into a Solana SPL token, with no outside bridge involved.
Staked ZETA doesn’t need to be unstaked: the snapshot counts delegated ZETA, ZETA in the 21-day unbonding period and unclaimed rewards. Staking rewards stop at the halt block.
Wrapped ZETA and ZETA deposited in liquid-staking pools sit in smart contracts that no holder’s key controls, so those balances can’t be claimed through the portal. The proposal tells holders to “unwrap and exit pools before the snapshot.” ZetaChain says exchange balances convert without customers doing anything, and each exchange will announce its own timing. ZetaChain’s cross-chain service is already offline: it stopped accepting inbound transfers in June and shut off withdrawals on July 1.
Why ZetaChain Is Leaving Its Own Chain
Holders backed the move in principle on Sept. 20, when 99.44% of votes on Proposal 68 were yes. In that proposal, ZetaChain wrote that “running our own L1 no longer helps us build private AI,” and that each upstream Cosmos SDK patch needs dozens of validators to apply it. ZetaChain now focuses on AI: Anuma, a private AI app it says has signed up over 300,000 users since February, and ZetaLabs, an app built on Anuma’s technology that goes live Dec. 9 with ZETA as its token.
Ethereum layer 2 Blast said in October it is shutting down, and the DATA Network, the blockchain formerly known as Story, plans to shut down its chain and rebuild on Sui.
If voters reject Proposal 70, Proposal 68’s approval stands and ZetaChain says it would return with new terms.
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