Observations and personal opinions from Nothing Research Partner 0x_Todd. The following content does not constitute any investment advice.

Today, while researching L2, I found that L2BEAT's standards are quite strict.

Among the top 10 L2s, there are not many that have reached Stage 1, and even those like Base, OP, and Unichain have been tagged; if they do not rectify within 53 days, they will drop back to Stage 0. Of course, they all use OP Stack, so being tagged together is normal.

Among the top 5, only Arbitrum remains strong, considered the backbone of Stage 1 in L2...

Vitalik originally proposed a three-step "auxiliary wheel" roadmap (Stage 0 → Stage 1 → Stage 2), but L2BEAT has transformed Vitalik's ideas into a concrete and measurable checklist (proof of usability, exit window, time lock, security committee design, etc.).

Specifically, what Stage an L2 is in ultimately depends on a core question: who can veto or change the state?

In Stage 0, the core team (or low-threshold multi-signature) can override the proof system.

In Stage 1, only a supermajority security committee (≥ 75% signatures) can overturn it; all others (including the core team) must go through the proof system.

In Stage 2, the proof system itself is the final arbiter; the security committee can only intervene to fix provable on-chain vulnerabilities.

Especially in Stage 1, L2BEAT has quantified the requirements:

≥8 members in the security committee, with at least half being external members

≥7 days of upgrade time lock ("exit window")

≥5 external validators

So I specifically looked into the current situation of Arbitrum's security committee. Besides the foundation members, there are also L2BEAT co-founder Bartek Kiepuszewski, and representatives from security or governance organizations like OpenZeppelin, Immunefi, Gauntlet, etc., totaling 12 members.

Normal upgrades are conducted via a 9/12 multi-signature. Then, the Arb committee divides the members into 6+6, with half being re-elected each year.

After Arb Bold (Bounded Liquidity Delay) officially launched in February this year, the contract now supports anyone staking to participate, submit/challenge assertions, which essentially completes the last task of Stage 1.

This is what makes Arbitrum one of the few true Stage 1 L2s.