Arbitrum Foundation, the developer behind the namesake Ethereum Layer 2 scaling network, has announced a token airdrop in the coming week and the relinquishment of the governance of its networks to the community.

ARB token would airdrop on Thursday, March 23, according to the Foundation, alongside the adoption of DAO governance for the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, which launched today. The step aims to decentralize Arbitrum, placing the ARB governance token in the hands of the network’s users.

Specifically, Arbitrum developers are lauding the blockchain as the first L2 to have self-executing governance. The DAO votes on all on-chain actions and can execute on-chain decisions without relying on an intermediary or third party.

56% of the ARB token supply allocated to DAO community

Of a total supply of 10 billion ARB tokens, 56% would be transferred to the DAO, of which 12.75% would be distributed on March 23 per data taken on a snapshot on February 6, 2023, according to a Medium post.

The eligibility criteria for the airdrop, shared on gov.arbitrum.foundation, reportedly factored in the user base, meaningful distribution, and reserves for future DAO grants.

Steven Goldfeder, CEO and Co-founder of Offchain Labs, the initial developer of Arbitrum, remarked during the launch that: ‘‘we are extraordinarily excited for the official launch of The Arbitrum Foundation and DAO governance and to see Arbitrum One become the first EVM roll-up to advance to stage 1 decentralization, a tremendous milestone for both Arbitrum and Ethereum.’’

The Foundation also created the Arbitrum Security Council, a 12-member multisig of ”highly regarded community representatives,” for quick response in an emergency. 9 out of the 12 members are required to participate in the council, with their decisions subject to that of the Arbitrum DAO.

Arbitrum is the top L2 scaling solution, or roll-up, on the Ethereum blockchain with more than $3 billion in the total value locked (TVL), estimated at 55% market share, according to aggregator DeFiLlama. Abitrum One network surpassed the daily transactions on Ethereum on two consecutive occasions last month.