ZetaChain holders vote to shut down Layer 1 and move ZETA to Solana

ZetaChain token holders voted Sunday to shut down the project's Layer 1 blockchain and move ZETA to Solana. The project raised $27 million three years ago to help connect competing networks. The vote on Proposal 68 ended at 10:58 a.m. ET with 99.4% in favor, according to the project's governance portal. Participation was 58%, above the 40% quorum, while opposition and abstentions each accounted for 0.3%. ZetaChain's developers plan to focus on Anuma, a private AI app launched in February. The developers say they no longer need their own blockchain to pursue the app and will move it to Solana with the ZETA token. The project reports more than 300,000 Anuma users and 1 million requests across 35 AI models. Anuma's encrypted memory system works across models, and ZETA holders can lock tokens in exchange for credits to spend on AI. The ZetaChain team said Solana's AI stack lacks an application layer with user-controlled memory that can work across models, apps and agents. In the migration proposal, the team said maintaining a Cosmos SDK chain requires coordinating upstream advisories and patches across dozens of independent validators. The proposal also said AI tools are making vulnerabilities easier to find, citing an August 25 patch. Last month, Cosmos Labs disclosed attacks against six Cosmos EVM chains, but not ZetaChain, and the attackers sold stolen funds for about $5.7 million. The shutdown will not happen immediately because contributors still need to determine the conversion details. Under the proposal, ZETA would become a native Solana SPL token at a one-for-one rate while retaining its ticker and total supply. Vesting schedules would remain unchanged, and the plan excludes ZETA on Ethereum and BNB Chain. A second proposal will set the balance-snapshot block height and shutdown block and provide instructions for claiming tokens and withdrawing connected-chain assets. ZetaChain says it will not put that proposal to a vote until exchanges confirm their swap arrangements, and it has not provided a firm date. ZETA staking continues in the meantime, while the team is still exploring how staking and rewards would work on Solana. Blockchain.com and Jane Street Capital were among the investors in ZetaChain's August 2023 funding round. ZetaChain's mainnet launch was announced the following January. The price of ZETA fell about 2.5% over the past 24 hours, according to The Block's ZetaChain Price page.