Scroll moves to cut costs after top protocol migrates to Optimism

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Scroll moves to cut costs after top protocol migrates to Optimism The downsizing follows a financial hit after Scroll's top protocol migrated to Optimism, draining nearly $160 million in TVL and $13 million in annualized fees. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Sheldon Reback Apr 14, 2026, 2:07 p.m. Make preferred on Layer-2 blockchain Scroll looks to cut costs. (Clay Banks/Unsplash) What to know : Scroll is moving to dissolve its decentralized Security Council and reducing DAO staff to cut costs. The downsizing follows a financial hit after Scroll's top protocol migrated to Optimism, draining nearly $160 million in total value locked and $13 million in annualized fees. According to one report, Scroll artificially inflated its network gas fees by 1,280 for a few days after the exit, extracting over $50,000 in excess costs. The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) behind Ethereum layer-2 network Scroll said it will propose a plan to dissolve its Security Council and transfer control of the network to an account managed by an internal team. The proposal announcement comes two months after Scroll’s top fee-generating decentralized application (dapp), crypto neobank Ether.fi, moved to Optimism’s OP mainnet. That saw roughly 300,000 user accounts and more than $160 million in total value locked move away from the network. In a governance update , a Scroll core contributor said the Security Council was simply too expensive. Scroll is laying off several contributors within the DAO and reducing the capacity of its operational committees. The handover is targeted for the next 10 days, pending support from the current council. “After evaluating the Security Council’s cost relative to its actual usage over the past quarters, we believe continuation is no longer justified,” the post reads. The project said all contract changes would be executed transparently and remain verifiable onchain. Adding to the network's turbulence, a recent surge in Scroll's network fees appeared to be artificially manufactured rather than a sign of organic demand. Over six days in early April, the network raised the amount it charges to publish data to the Ethereum mainnet by a factor of 1,280, creating the illusion of a massive spike in 30-day chain fee momentum, according to analysis from L2BEAT . The adjustment forced users to pay over $50,000 in excess transaction fees for data posting that ordinarily would have cost roughly $280. The extreme, temporary repricing was rolled back on April 9. Ether.fi’s migration moved around $13 million in annualized fees away from Scroll, according to DeFiLlama data , and trimmed the network’s TVL to around $23 million. Ethereum News More For You JPMorgan CFO warns stablecoins risk becoming ‘regulatory arbitrage’ play By Helene Braun | Edited by Sheldon Reback 18 minutes ago During the bank's earnings call on Tuesday, JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum warned that stablecoins could become a tool for regulatory arbitrage unless they are held to the same strict oversight and consumer protection standards as traditional bank deposits. What to know : JPMorgan Chase’s chief financial officer warned that stablecoins could become a form of regulatory arbitrage if they offer bank-like products without being subject to equivalent banking rules. The bank supports clearer U.S. oversight of digital assets, including stablecoins and yield-bearing products, but argues that consistent regulation across banks and crypto... Read full story Latest Crypto News JPMorgan CFO warns stablecoins risk becoming ‘regulatory arbitrage’ play 18 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: Ethereum (ETH) price rises 5.4% 50 minutes ago XRP Ledger adds zero-knowledge proofs targeting institutional privacy gap 1 hour ago From DeFi to deep space: How SkyMapper and Avalanche are securing the world's telescope records 1 hour ago Bitcoin rises to one-month high above $75,000 as analysts eye major breakout 1 hour ago Tether introduces crypto wallet to bring stablecoin and bitcoin payments directly to users 1 hour ago Top Stories Visa throws its weight behind Stripe’s Tempo blockchain 1 hour ago Bitcoin passes halfway point in halving cycle as price gains trail prior cycles 1 hour ago Deutsche Börse takes 1.5% stake in crypto exchange Kraken for $200 million 3 hours ago Strategy's STRC sees record-breaking trading day, may surpass that on Tuesday 4 hours ago Nikita Bier says crypto has had a rough year, hints at building something new as X Money launch nears 7 hours ago Here are key bitcoin price levels to watch as the rally gathers steam 5 hours ago