ZetaChain token holders have voted overwhelmingly to close the project’s Layer 1 blockchain and transfer ZETA to Solana.
Proposal 68 passed on Sunday with 99.4% support, according to ZetaChain’s governance portal. Turnout was 58%, above the 40% quorum requirement, while opposition and abstentions each accounted for 0.3% of votes.
The decision marks a significant change for a project that raised $27m three years ago to help connect different blockchain networks.
ZetaChain’s developers have increasingly focused on Anuma, an artificial intelligence application launched in February. The team says it no longer needs to operate its own blockchain and plans to move Anuma and the ZETA token to Solana.
According to figures reported by ZetaChain, Anuma has more than 300,000 users and has processed one million requests across 35 AI models. Its encrypted memory system works between models, while ZETA holders can lock up their tokens to receive credits for use within the AI application.
“The application layer is what Solana’s AI stack still lacks: an app people use every day, with memory that belongs to them and travels across models, apps, and agents,” the ZetaChain team said in a post explaining the vote.
The proposal also highlighted the resources required to maintain a Cosmos SDK-based blockchain. “As a Cosmos SDK chain, ZetaChain inherits every upstream advisory and patch, and each one has to be coordinated across dozens of independent validators,” the migration document said.
“AI tooling is making such vulnerabilities easier to find, as the August 25 patch showed, so there will be more.”
Last month, Cosmos Labs revealed attacks affecting six Cosmos EVM chains, although ZetaChain was not among them. The attackers converted stolen assets worth about $5.7m. The Block reported that a researcher had identified the vulnerability months earlier, but testers had incorrectly concluded it could not be exploited on live networks.
No date set for blockchain closure
The vote does not immediately terminate ZetaChain. The network will remain active while contributors finalise the migration process.
Under the proposal, ZETA will become a native Solana SPL token on a one-for-one basis, keeping its ticker and total supply. Existing vesting schedules will also remain unchanged. The plan does not cover ZETA held on Ethereum and BNB Chain.
A further proposal will set the block height for a balance snapshot and establish the shutdown block. It will also explain how users can claim their tokens and withdraw assets connected to other chains.
ZetaChain said that proposal would not be put to a vote until exchanges had confirmed how they would manage the swap. No firm date has been announced.
Staking ZETA will continue for now. However, following an announcement on 17 September, the team said it was still considering how staking and rewards would operate on Solana.
Blockchain.com and Jane Street Capital were among the investors in ZetaChain’s August 2023 funding round. At that time, the project was preparing a network designed to let developers use assets from blockchains including Bitcoin and Ethereum within the same application. Its mainnet launch was announced the following January.
The price of ZETA fell by about 2.5% in the 24 hours covered by The Block’s ZetaChain Price page.
