Base ended its revenue-sharing agreement with the Optimism Collective in February 2026, and the OP token dropped approximately 25%. Offchain Labs CEO Steven Goldfeder is using the moment to pitch Arbitrum's standardized 10% revenue share as the alternative to the model Base walked away from.
The OP token dropped approximately 25% after Base terminated its revenue-sharing agreement with the Optimism Collective in February 2026. Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, the company behind Arbitrum, is using the moment to draw a sharp contrast between his network's licensing strategy and the one Base just abandoned.
What Base stopped paying
Under the previous arrangement, Coinbase's network paid the Optimism Collective either 2.5% of sequencer revenue or 15% of net on-chain profits, whichever figure was greater. Since the partnership began, Base had contributed approximately 8,387 ETH, roughly $16.4 million.
As a result, Base accounted for the vast majority of revenue flowing into the collective. It was responsible for nearly 90-97% of the collective's total revenue at various points, so losing the contribution creates a real hole in the ecosystem's financial model, and the token price reflects that uncertainty.
Arbitrum's standardized cut
Goldfeder's counterproposal rests on fixed percentages. Where the Optimism Superchain model relied on variable, sometimes contested revenue-sharing arrangements, Arbitrum's Expansion Program offers a standardized 10% revenue share. It applies to qualifying Orbit chains and Layer 2s that build on Arbitrum's technology.
The fees then split two ways: 80% flows to the DAO treasury, while 20% goes to the Developer Guild. Goldfeder has also emphasized that Arbitrum offers free and permissionless licensing alongside the revenue-sharing model — builders can use the technology without paying anything, but the full benefits of the ecosystem program come with a clear cost structure.
Where builders go next
Because of this, the competitive dynamic between Arbitrum and Optimism is also worth monitoring. If Goldfeder's pitch of stable percentages, transparent on-chain flows and permissionless licensing resonates with builders choosing where to deploy, Arbitrum could attract chains that might otherwise have joined the Superchain.
Every chain that picks Arbitrum's Expansion Program over Optimism's model adds revenue to the Arbitrum DAO while simultaneously weakening the Superchain's network effects.
Source: Crypto Briefing
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
