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The AEP License

What do I need to know about the Orbit license?​

Nitro is currently licensed under a Business Source License, similar to DeFi protocols like Uniswap and Aave, among others, with an “Additional Use Grant” to ensure that everyone can have full comfort using and running nodes on all public Arbitrum chains.

The Additional Use Grant also permits deployment of the Nitro software in a permissionless, zero-cost fashion, as a new blockchain provided that the chain settles to either Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova. L3s that settle to Arbitrum One or Nova have no obligation to share revenue with the Arbitrum DAO and remain first class members of the Arbitrum ecosystem. As an expansion of this license, the Arbitrum Expansion Program (AEP) is a self-service licensing model that makes it easy for developers to build and customize L2s/L3s using Arbitrum’s technology alongside different parent chains.

Benefits:

  • Leverage battle-tested technology to permissionlessly deploy L2s/L3s that settle to any supported parent chain.
  • Governance freedom - Orbit chains are not required to be governed by the Arbitrum DAO.
  • Flexible licensing allows developers to modify chain configurations. Orbit chains are free to modify any part of the stack, including implementation of custom gas tokens, alternative DA integrations, novel sequencing mechanisms, account abstraction, altVMs, etc.
  • L3s that settle to parent chains other than Arb1 and Nova must contribute net chain revenue, where 8% flows to the DAO and 2% to the developer guild.