These dates allow for a brief moment of systemic reflection. From what I’ve read, these past years have shown both strengths and some weaknesses, and I believe it’s important to keep both in view. A system can only improve when it is able to see itself clearly.
What stands out most to me is not only the structure that has been built, but the potential in how people think and act together. Not as a traditional “team,” but as something more resilient: a distributed network of thought, effort, and intention.
DAOs do not grow by pretending everything is perfect, but neither by ignoring what has already been achieved. They grow by recognizing what works, accepting what does not yet fully work, and choosing to move forward together.
Defining who we are, what we want, and where we are going is not simple; it takes time, and it is important that reflection does not turn into paralysis. Building must remain in the foreground, while in parallel we sustain deep, respectful, and non-dramatic analysis. We are creating something so new that, in many ways, it is defining itself as it goes.
Most importantly, this search for identity should build rather than destroy: there should be space to imagine and project forward, without stopping progress — without haste, but without pause.
I wish us a year in which we not only climb the steps toward our goals one by one, but also gain greater clarity about the wall on which that ladder rests, so that we can climb it together with conviction.
I’m grateful to everyone who contributes to Arbitrum DAO — both in visible ways and through the quieter work that sustains proposals, debates, and decisions.
I hope to continue sharing conversations — and work — in 2026.
Happy holidays to everyone!