Governance Call Recap (26 May 2026)
On Tuesday, the Arbitrum Foundation held a governance call to walk delegates through the proposal for continued Foundation funding through 2027. The session covered the Foundation’s mandate, the flywheel connecting Foundation spending to DAO revenue, the 2027 budget and funding ask, the track record since inception and the timeline for the vote.
The slides are available here: 26 May 2026 - Governance Call Deck - Google Slides
The recording of the call is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OkqCVMEDxAQPSoDN6F0FhY-vUMeYm9E9/view?usp=sharing
This post addresses the main themes raised both during and ahead of the call.
The choice of a one-year funding cycle rather than a multi-year ask has been a recurring point from delegates. The primary reason is to minimise the near-term draw on the DAO treasury during current market conditions. While a one-year cycle does limit the Foundation’s ability to commit to some longer-term arrangements, the Foundation considers this the appropriate balance given current market conditions.
The transition of Offchain away from Foundation funding has also been raised. All Arbitrum-Aligned Entities are separately funded. As Offchain becomes more active in DAO governance, it is moving to the same model. One transitional month of Offchain funding (January 2027) is included in this proposal. Offchain is not funded via the Foundation beyond that point.
Several delegates have asked about the size of the Foundation’s budget reduction, which is almost 60% below the 2025 run rate. It reflects three factors: changing marketing priorities, Offchain approaching the DAO for funding separately and cost efficiencies across the Foundation. These changes are expected to be sustainable and should not affect key initiatives or ecosystem growth.
A question deferred during the call concerned when DAO revenue will cover the Foundation’s operating costs. Any projection here would depend heavily on market conditions and the pace at which new DAO revenue sources scale. The medium to long-term goal of the Arbitrum Foundation, alongside all other AAEs, is to continue expanding the DAO’s revenue across multiple sources, including Arbitrum One and AEP fees, Timeboost, the ATMC endowment and new business lines that are expected to emerge over the coming months and years, while also being cost-conscious and ROI-focused. The Foundation remains focused on building toward a sustainable model through DAO governance.
Finally, it is worth emphasizing again that only the RWAs, stablecoins and ETH requested will be used to fund operating expenses, which are USD-denominated. The latest transparency report sets out the detailed breakdown across G&A, technical and marketing:
https://docs.arbitrum.foundation/assets/files/ArbitrumFoundationTransparencyReport2025-3ac117dd3203dbe7bca401cf951f0c14.pdf.
The 230m ARB requested will supplement the Foundation’s strategic ARB holdings, which also enable its capacity to support new and existing ecosystem growth initiatives. Funding to strategic partners and growth initiatives is almost always released against performance milestones. This keeps ecosystem spend tied to growth.