Offchain Labs co-founder Ed Felten revealed that since the launch of Arbitrum’s mainnet in August 2021, not a single fraud proof has been submitted. This is due to the built-in security feature of Arbitrum, which allows a layer-1 verifier contract to determine the validity of fraud-proof submissions. Felten explained that malicious validators risk losing their entire stake if their fraudulent actions are noticed and disputed by others. Currently, there are approximately 12 permissioned validators participating in the fraud-proof game. However, Arbitrum is planning to introduce a new iteration of fraud proofs called the “BOLD” protocol, which will provide faster guarantees for challenges. The BOLD protocol will defeat adversaries within eight days, regardless of the number of stakes they sacrifice. Felten also mentioned that Arbitrum’s fraud proof feature will soon be permissionless, allowing anyone to contribute to ensuring the correctness of the chain during challenges.
