Arbitrum Bridge Latam @ Devconnect 2025 - Final Report

DAO Programs & Initiatives Domain Allocator Offerings (prev Questbook)
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Final Report — Arbitrum Bridge Latam @ Devconnect 2025

1. Executive Summary

Project Name:

Arbitrum Bridge Latam @ Devconnect 2025

Questbook Application:

https://www.questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=67d8021646da2f90cc325521&chainId=10&proposalId=68e6c196fb7e884efa70f5f9&isRenderingProposalBody=true

Website / Social Links:

Website: https://seedgov.org/

Twitter: https://x.com/SEEDGov

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seed-gov

Project Overview & Achievements:

Arbitrum Bridge LATAM was an institutional-focused activation at Devconnect Buenos Aires, comprising a closed-door C-level executive dinner and a curated 3-hour session in ArbiVerse. The initiative aimed to bridge Arbitrum with key institutional actors in Latin America, including banks, fintechs, payment infrastructure providers, regulators, and Web3 teams exploring real-world integrations.

Impact on the Arbitrum Ecosystem:

This event helped Arbitrum gain early institutional traction in Latin America by giving regulators, financial institutions, and ecosystem teams a shared point of reference. Instead of a series of disconnected conversations, the activation brought everyone into the same context around what Arbitrum is, what it can enable, and where it realistically fits in the region. As a result, follow-up conversations were grounded in a concrete, local experience, making it easier to continue discussions and positioning Arbitrum as a known and credible actor in ongoing institutional conversations.

Role of the Grant:

This grant made it possible to execute Arbitrum Bridge LATAM as a focused institutional pilot rather than a generic community event. It covered the core pieces needed to do this properly: production, venue and logistics, content programming, and targeted institutional outreach.

Just as importantly, the funding gave the team the room to be deliberate about curation. Time and resources were invested in selecting the right participants, coordinating speakers, shaping the agenda, and following up with institutional stakeholders. That work is what allowed the event to bring the right people into the room and facilitate conversations focused on real problems and opportunities.

2. Performance Against KPIs

The private dinner exceeded the participation target set in the original grant, convening more senior institutional leaders than initially planned. Around the tables were executives from organizations that play a central role in operating financial and payment infrastructure across the region: banks, payment processors, large-scale fintechs, and regulatory bodies, as well as core Arbitrum ecosystem entities, including Offchain Labs (Steven Goldfeder, A.J. Warner, Brendan Ma, and Austin Ballard), Arbitrum Foundation (David Garcia), Entropy (Brick), and OpCo (Pedro Breuer and Tamara Benetti). Overall, the entire evening was designed to encourage deeper discussions instead of surface-level networking.

The activation inside ArbiVerse was executed as a curated, closed-door institutional session. The agenda covered the intersection between on-chain assets and real-world payment flows, how stablecoins can unlock liquidity and usability in emerging economies, and institutional-grade assets on-chain. The President of Argentina’s CNV participated in the last panel of our activation, which was covered on the Argentine government website, aligning with the grant’s intended institutional engagement outcomes. Attendance was reviewed and approved on a participant-by-participant basis to ensure relevance to institutional adoption and real-world integrations. In total, 211 participants were approved through this process, and 52 ultimately checked in and attended the sessions. While this fell short of the original 80-attendee target, the curated approach intentionally prioritized seniority and relevance over raw volume, resulting in a high-signal room aligned with the grant’s institutional objectives. Please note that several participants from Arbitrum and the broader Arbitrum ecosystem attended the session without being registered through the formal check-in process.

Lastly, in line with the partnership discussion KPI, the event initiated multiple strategic conversations involving Offchain Labs and Arbitrum Foundation representatives. These discussions focused on institutional use cases, infrastructure considerations, and potential long-term collaboration pathways, directly aligned with Arbitrum’s LATAM institutional adoption thesis.

3. Qualitative Impact & Community Feedback

Key Non-Quantitative Outcomes:

Arbitrum Bridge LATAM delivered strong qualitative outcomes. Feedback from participants highlighted the relevance of the content, the quality of the curation, and the value of having regulators, institutions, and ecosystem builders in the same room. The event generated sustained follow-up conversations after Devconnect, validating both institutional interest and the team’s ability to operate as a facilitator between Arbitrum and regional stakeholders.

Participant Feedback / Testimonials:

  • Pedro Breuer - OpCo’s OAT Committee: SEEDGov leveraged the Devconnect event in Buenos Aires to host a dinner that introduced local fintech industry leaders and government officials to members of the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, and the OpCo. This was not only a prime opportunity for the Arbitrum team to gain insights into the local industry and its potential, but also to build brand awareness and positioning among key stakeholders looking to integrate the technology. The dinner was followed by a series of talks in the lead-up to Arbiverse, where participants shared insights regarding the Latam market, RWA, and regulation. This is a clear example of how DAO-managed event funding can deliver a concrete, meaningful impact through the coordinated efforts of the AAEs

  • Brick - Entropy Advisors: The Arbitrum Bridge C-Level Dinner was well organised and hosted at a venue that met the expectations of an institutional-grade event. The primary value of the evening was the exceptionally high caliber of attendees, including senior leaders from regulation, fintech, e-commerce, and other sectors. The event structure was also strong, with no redundant programming: a brief networking window at the outset was followed by a well-timed transition into dinner.

    SEED demonstrated a strong understanding of participants, both on Arbitrum’s side as well as with respect to attendees from the regional ecosystem, and did an excellent job of facilitating introductions between relevant parties to spark meaningful conversations. I personally left the event with several new contacts that present strong potential for future partnerships for Arbitrum, and the event delivered precisely on its stated objectives.

    The main area for improvement relates to pre-event communication. It wasn’t entirely clear where within the venue the event would be held, nor what the exact agenda would entail.

    Participation at the Arbitrum Bridge LATAM – Inside ArbiVerse event was solid, especially considering the early start time ahead of the main ArbiVerse event. The event ran smoothly and adhered to the published schedule. Presentations covered relevant and timely topics, with a focus on nuances specific to the South American region. The organisers ensured speakers were well briefed in advance and were set up efficiently ahead of each session. Overall, the event was well executed. However, it resulted in fewer actionable next steps compared to the C-Level Dinner due to its format and nature.

  • Tamara Benetti - OpCo Head of Operations: Overall, the experience was very positive. Ahead of the event, some of the briefing materials could have been clearer and shared earlier; however, all the necessary details were ultimately provided, and it was easy enough to understand who would be attending. The group itself was amazing: a really thoughtful mix of regulators, fintechs, and banks, which made the discussions particularly valuable. The dinner and overall facilitation were handled very well. The team clearly put a lot of effort into making everyone feel comfortable and included, ensuring that people connected easily and always had someone to engage with.

Social & Community Visibility:

Additional Coverage:

4. Financial Summary

Budgeted vs. Actual Spend (by Category)

Venue & Rentals + Private Dinner + Contingency Budget

Costs related to the C-level dinner were allocated to venue rental and catering at Palacio Duhau, including the full private room rental, dinner service, and additional dietary requirements.

  • Approved: USD 5,483

  • Actual Spend: USD 6,308.21

Event Production, Staging & A/V + Catering + Arbitrum Swag

The ArbiVerse activation production costs were executed as a single consolidated expense, based on a quote provided by Arbitrum Foundation, covering event production, staging and A/V, catering, and Arbitrum-branded materials.

  • Approved: USD 10,000

    • Event Production, Staging & A/V: USD 6,000

    • Catering (Collaborative Forum): USD 2,000

    • Arbitrum Swag: USD 2,000

  • Actual Spend: USD 10,000

Comms & Materials (Branding, Assets)

Branding and documentation expenses included printed banners and professional event photography.

  • Approved: USD 2,500

  • Actual Spend: USD 1,673

Partnership Coordination & OpEx

This line item covered the team’s facilitation fee and operational coordination required to execute the event (curation, outreach, speaker and stakeholder coordination, agenda design, logistics management, and end-to-end execution).

  • Approved: USD 22,500

  • Actual Spend: USD 22,500

Financial Summary - Total Budget Overview

Category Approved Budget Actual Spend Variance
Venue & Rentals + Private Dinner + Contingency $5,483 $6,308.21 +$825.21
Event Production, Staging & A/V + Catering + Arbitrum Swag $10,000 $10,000 $0
Comms & Materials (Branding, Assets) $2,500 $1,673 -$827
Partnership Coordination & OpEx $22,500 $22,500 $0
TOTAL $40,483 $40,481.21 -$1.79

5. Future Plans & Continued Ecosystem Alignment

Following the successful execution of Arbitrum Bridge LATAM, the team has been actively building on the momentum generated during Devconnect Buenos Aires. The event catalyzed multiple strategic conversations with key institutional players across Latin America, spanning various sectors including payment infrastructure, retail operations, fintech platforms, and many others actors willing to adopt blockchain.

We are currently engaged in ongoing discussions with several institutions that participated in or were introduced through the event. These conversations cover a range of potential use cases, including:

  • Payment Infrastructure: Exploring opportunities with major payment platforms to leverage Arbitrum as a settlement layer for stablecoin transactions, potentially transitioning from closed-loop to open-loop systems that could position Arbitrum as a primary liquidity hub for regional payments.

  • Retail & Consumer Applications: Engaging with large-scale retail operators to evaluate stablecoin payment alternatives for consumer transactions, potentially integrating on-chain payments into existing mobile applications that serve millions of users.

  • Fintech Innovation: Working with leading fintech platforms to explore novel lending protocols built on Arbitrum Orbit, focusing on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and social collateral mechanisms that could address traditional credit exclusion challenges.

  • Blockchain Infrastructure: Discussing migration pathways for permissioned institutional blockchains to the Arbitrum Orbit stack, which could bring significant institutional adoption and use cases to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

  • Startup Ecosystem: Exploring the establishment of a Latin America-focused Arbitrum startup acceleration program to support regional Web3 innovation.

Due to the sensitive and confidential nature of these ongoing discussions, specific details regarding institutional names, deal structures, and technical implementation timelines have been shared privately with the grant reviewer. These conversations represent significant potential for institutional adoption and TVL growth, but require careful navigation of regulatory considerations, technical feasibility assessments, and internal stakeholder alignment within the participating institutions.

Continued Engagement with Arbitrum

Our commitment to the Arbitrum ecosystem extends beyond this single event. We view Arbitrum Bridge LATAM as the first in a series of initiatives designed to build institutional bridges between Arbitrum and Latin American markets. Our continued engagement strategy includes:

  • Ongoing Institutional Facilitation: Serving as a bridge between Arbitrum ecosystem entities (Foundation, Offchain Labs, core protocols) and regional institutional stakeholders, facilitating conversations and helping navigate the complexities of institutional adoption.

  • Regional Market Development: Continuing to build relationships with regulators, financial institutions, and infrastructure providers to position Arbitrum as a credible and viable solution for institutional use cases in the region.

  • Knowledge Sharing: Contributing insights from regional market dynamics, regulatory landscapes, and institutional requirements back to the Arbitrum ecosystem to inform product development and go-to-market strategies.

  • Community Building: Supporting the growth of the Arbitrum developer and institutional community in Latin America through continued engagement, content creation, and strategic partnerships.

Impact of the Grant on Securing Further Funding or Partnerships

The Arbitrum Bridge LATAM grant has been instrumental in establishing credibility and demonstrating execution capability, which has opened doors for additional conversations and potential partnerships. The event’s success, particularly the high-level institutional participation and regulatory engagement, has:

  • Validated the Approach: Demonstrated that a curated, institutional-focused model can effectively bridge Arbitrum with regional stakeholders, making it easier to secure follow-up meetings and advance conversations with institutions that participated.

  • Built Trust: The professional execution and strategic curation of the event have built trust with both Arbitrum ecosystem entities and regional institutions, creating a foundation for ongoing collaboration.

  • Generated Pipeline: The event directly generated a pipeline of institutional conversations that are now in various stages of development, from initial discovery to technical feasibility assessments.

  • Informed Strategic Planning: The learnings from this pilot are directly informing the development of a more comprehensive proposal for continued DAO support, which aims to establish a sustainable framework for institutional business development in the region.

The grant has effectively served as a proof of concept for institutional bridge activations, demonstrating both the potential impact and the operational requirements for scaling this approach across Latin America.

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