Status Network Evaluation

DAO

Date: 2026-02-20 Bead: beads-hub-607 — “DAO Phase 2: Extend to Status Network (gasless L2)” Status: Evaluation complete — prep work done, not yet deployed

Network Details

Property Value
Network Name Status Network Testnet
Chain ID 1660990954 (0x6300b5ea)
RPC Endpoint https://public.sepolia.rpc.status.network
Currency Symbol ETH
Block Explorer https://sepoliascan.status.network
Bridge https://bridge.status.network
WebSocket RPC Contact Status team on Telegram
Stack Linea zkEVM rollup (L2 on Sepolia)

Faucet Info

EVM Compatibility Assessment

Verdict: COMPATIBLE ✅

  • Built on Linea zkEVM stack — full EVM bytecode compatibility
  • Solidity 0.8.20 and 0.8.28 both supported (docs show ^0.8.24 in examples)
  • Standard EVM opcodes supported; Linea zkEVM has minor limitations on some precompiles but nothing affecting our contracts (B4MAD.sol, MyVestingWallet.sol)
  • Hardhat + ethers.js deployment workflow works (confirmed by their docs)

Aragon OSx Support

Verdict: NOT SUPPORTED ❌

Aragon OSx does not have official deployments on Status Network. This means:

  • No pre-deployed DAOFactory, PluginRepoFactory, etc.
  • We would need to deploy the full Aragon OSx framework ourselves (complex, not recommended)
  • Recommendation: Use our own lightweight DAO contracts (B4MAD.sol) instead of Aragon OSx on Status Network, OR wait for Aragon to add support

Pros vs Base (Sepolia)

Factor Status Network Base Sepolia
Gas fees Gasless (zero gas for users) ✅ Low but non-zero
User onboarding No gas needed = frictionless ✅ Need to acquire ETH first
Spam protection RLN (rate-limiting nullifiers) ✅ Standard gas-based
Aragon OSx Not supported ❌ Supported ✅
Ecosystem maturity Very early, small ecosystem ⚠️ Large, established ✅
Block explorer Basic (Blockscout-based) Robust (Basescan)
Developer tooling Minimal, growing Extensive
Native integrations Status Wallet, Keycard, Waku Coinbase Wallet
Public funding model Native yield + DEX fees → builder funding ✅ None built-in
Target audience Social apps & games General purpose

Cons / Risks

  1. No Aragon OSx — must use custom DAO contracts or deploy Aragon framework ourselves
  2. Early stage — testnet only info available, mainnet details TBD
  3. Small ecosystem — fewer users, fewer composable protocols
  4. Faucet requires mainnet ETH — 0.01 ETH on mainnet to use faucet
  5. WebSocket RPC not publicly available — need to contact team
  6. Unknown block finality characteristics — zkEVM proving times may vary

Deployment Readiness Checklist

  • Network details documented
  • Hardhat config added (statusTestnet network in hardhat.config.js)
  • EVM compatibility confirmed
  • Aragon OSx support — NOT AVAILABLE (blocker for Aragon-based DAO)
  • Testnet ETH acquired (faucet requires 0.01 mainnet ETH — needs manual step)
  • Contract compilation tested on Status Network
  • Contract deployment tested
  • Block explorer verification workflow tested

Recommendation

Status Network is a strong candidate for Phase 2 due to gasless transactions, which aligns perfectly with a community DAO where we don’t want members to worry about gas. However, the lack of Aragon OSx support is a significant consideration.

Recommended approach:

  1. Complete Phase 1 on Base Sepolia with Aragon OSx
  2. Deploy our custom B4MAD.sol contracts (non-Aragon) on Status Network testnet as a parallel experiment
  3. Monitor Status Network ecosystem growth and Aragon support
  4. If gasless UX proves valuable, consider Status Network for mainnet DAO

Changes Made

  • Added statusTestnet network config to hardhat.config.js in b4mad-dao-contracts
  • Created this evaluation document