It's our privilege to announce that for the first time, LINK Staking is going cross-chain via stake.link’s deployment to Arbitrum utilizing Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). Starting today, and marking another first for both stake.link and CCIP, users are able interact directly with Chainlink CCIP to bridge the stake.link protocol token SDL as well as the wrapped staked LINK (wstLINK) token from Ethereum mainnet to Arbitrum mainnet.

Arbitrum: A Natural First Step

Arbitrum, a Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, is designed to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain. It achieves this by allowing smart contracts and transactions to be executed offchain by periodically submitting transaction summaries to Ethereum mainnet. This strategy reduces congestion on Ethereum, minimizes transaction fees, and provides a pragmatic solution for developers and users who seek more scalable and cost-effective interactions with the Ethereum Network.

Arbitrum has seen significant adoption, holding the #4 spot in TVL according to DeFiLlama with over 1.5 million total ETH bridged, surpassing the amount of ETH bridged to all other Layer-2’s combined, and has processed over 500 million transactions as of mid-January 2024. Its robust grant program especially supports new protocols entering its network.

In response to an ever-changing landscape and the successful launch of Chainlink Staking v0.2, stake.link governance chose Arbitrum as the first non-Ethereum Mainnet home due to Arbitrum’s stability, activity, and deep liquidity.

Best put: Arbitrum is where the action is, and in order to deliver the most optimal cross-chain staking experience, it’s stake.link’s first expansion in our multichain journey.

Made Possible by Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, CCIP

Interoperability has been one of the more fraught sectors of the blockchain economy. According to Chainlink Labs, 5 out of 10 of the biggest Web3 exploits were bridge hacks that have totaled over $2.8B+ in lost funds.

Chainlink CCIP was selected due to Chainlink’s rigorous security-centric approach in the Web3 industry as well as the Risk Management Network that secures CCIP – a separate, independent network that continually monitors and verifies cross-chain operations for suspicious activity.

When bridging tokens to and from Arbitrum mainnet, stake.link users can have peace of mind that their tokens will be secured by the most reliable, decentralized, and secure interoperability solution in all of Web3.

Arbitrum CCIP Roadmap

stake.link is rolling out its CCIP implementation in stages, predominantly over 2024-Q1 and 2024-Q2. Once fully deployed to Arbitrum, users will be able to perform the following actions cross-chain:

• Bridge SDL, reSDL, wstLINK and LINK between Ethereum and Arbitrum

• Stake, lock, initiate withdraw, and withdraw SDL

• Claim stLINK and reSDL rewards (denominated in stLINK or wstLINK)

• Deposit LINK to the Priority Pool (and claim stLINK once staked)

• Participate in Liquidity Pool Incentive Programs

We’ve come a long way since early August 2021 when the concept of CCIP was first rolled out by Sergey Nazarov at SmartCon, and today, we bring to market the ability for users to utilize CCIP firsthand as well as gaining exposure to LINK staking outside of Ethereum.

We’ve seen time and time again how painful ETH gas fees can be – even up to today with community members noting how expensive it is to claim rewards from LINK staking. The future we envision at stake.link is providing Chainlink Web3 services across a flourishing multichain world that is poised to revolutionize the infrastructure of the capital markets industry and global finance. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and stake.link’s cross-chain journey has officially begun.

We thank our community, 15 member-node operators, and core contributors for the legwork that’s been put in getting us to this day.

Today, stake.link officially leads the way in going cross-chain.

Disclamer: This communication is directed only and persons outside the UK, and should not be acted on by any person located in the UK. Any persons located in the UK should make their own determination as to whether their participation in the stake.link protocol could be subject to UK regulatory requirements, and stake.link makes no claims (express or implied), and accepts no liability, in relation to the potential application of UK regulatory requirements to such persons or their activity.