Arbitrum DAO Votes on BoLD Protocol Upgrade to Enhance Security

Highlights:

• The BoLD protocol replaces the centralized validators of Arbitrum chains with permissionless validation.
• This upgrade adds security by enforcing a 13-day deadline for disputes to be resolved.
• If approved by the DAO, the implementation is slated for February 2025.

The Arbitrum DAO has supported the BoLD protocol upgrade to enhance the security and capabilities of the chain. The Bounded Optimistic Liveness Dispute (BoLD) protocol eliminates the need for a centralized entity to authorize the validation process; instead, anyone can participate in the process. The proposal, which is currently out for voting, aims to improve the network’s resistance to the slow processing of transactions and other forms of attacks.

LIVE: Proposal to activate Arbitrum BoLD is up for a final vote.

BoLD is a new dispute resolution protocol enabling permissionless validation.

If approved, anyone can participate in validation and defend against malicious claims to an Arbitrum chain’s state.…

— Arbitrum Governance (@arbitrumdao_gov) January 9, 2025

Supporting two chains, Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova, Arbitrum is a major scaling solution for Ethereum layer 2. With a TVL of $17.7 billion, Arbitrum One supports Ethereum compatible smart contracts. Nova, on the other hand, with a total value locked of $43 million, targets high throughput applications. The upgrade will be implemented on both chains but will bring in different systems depending on the needs of each chain.

Enhancing Decentralization and Dispute Resolution with BoLD

The BoLD protocol is proposed to overcome the drawbacks of the current validator system. In the current model, a limited number of parties are authorized to validate transactions and manage disputes. This model has the disadvantage of delay and centralization. Through the BoLD protocol, the maximum time given for resolving a dispute is 13 days, with an additional 2 days for a grace period.

The new system allows anyone to authenticate transactions and challenge assertions. This is because decentralization minimizes the chances of delays in attacks and also improves the overall performance of the network. BoLD aims at asserting the deterministic occurrence of certain Layer 2 (L2) states without necessarily considering certain validators. This mechanism guarantees the proper handling of the cases in a way that everybody gets to know what is going on.

A censorship timeout feature enhances the protocol even more. It prevents sequencer failures or attempts to block certain messages which ensures the network’s stability during heavy traffic. For instance, in December 2023, Arbitrum experienced a stall that lasted for 78 minutes as a result of high transaction throughput. The BoLD mechanism intends to avoid such disturbances.

Summary of the Arbitrum outage and high Ethereum gas prices:

– People are spamming inscription transactions on Arbitrum. These are transactions that submit some hex data on-chain (images and metadata mostly).

– My guess is this overwhelmed the sequencer itself, preventing L2… pic.twitter.com/deJn4yVsT1

— cygaar (@0xCygaar) December 15, 2023

Timeline and Community Involvement in the BoLD Transition

BoLD has been running on the Arbitrum testnet since April 2024. This phase helped to identify the efficiency and possibility of its application. Subject to approval, the protocol will go live on Arbitrum One and Nova at 5 PM UTC on February 12, 2025.

Arbitrum Nova will have a permissioned validator model because of the lower total value locked in the network. However, it will add Infura, a blockchain development company that offers infrastructure, to its validator whitelist. The addition of Infura as a validator increases the total number of active validators on the network improving the security level.

The BoLD protocol will ultimately replace Arbitrum’s current fraud-proof method in all its processes across the ecosystem. Orbit chains that are part of the wider network can also use the protocol for added security. This change is in line with Arbitrum’s vision of becoming a Stage 2 rollup as identified by L2Beat and minimizes the risks mentioned earlier.

The voting on the DAO will conclude on the 24th of January 2025, which will result in the integration of the BoLD protocol. This upgrade is a major step for blockchain in terms of scalability and security if approved.