The Arbitrum Foundation has completed nearly 3 years and 6 months, continuing to implement against its mandate to grow and nurture the Arbitrum ecosystem. The first six months of 2026 particularly defined what we’re calling Arbitrum’s institutional moment — the network became the #1 platform for RWA deployments, with Robinhood, LG, Mastercard, and PayPal each building or growing on Arbitrum.
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, the Arbitrum Foundation is pleased to share its progress update for H1 2026, highlighting key accomplishments and the work undertaken across multiple strategic mandates.
Scaling as a Top Blockchain Platform
Robinhood Chain’s mainnet launch stood out as the defining moment of H1, as the fintech giant chose Arbitrum for its blockchain infrastructure. Under the hood, the platform scaled alongside it:
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2.7B lifetime transactions, with 18% of that volume occurring in H1 alone
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$70B in average monthly stablecoin transfer volume
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Derivatives open interest up 434%
Institutional Participation & Ecosystem Growth
Robinhood, LG, Mastercard, and PayPal each expanded their footprint on Arbitrum in H1 2026, reinforcing the network’s position as the platform of choice for institutions building real-world financial infrastructure onchain.
Ecosystem building kept pace with the platform’s growth. Over 1,000 teams are now building across the ecosystem, generating $1.7B in cumulative ecosystem GDP. The Open House program scaled sharply—Buildathon projects grew 3x, and Founder House projects grew 2x. Three mentorship-program teams raised $1.2M in under a month, and the Foundation engaged 150+ institutional investors across 15+ capital markets events.
Strengthening the DAO’s Financial Position & Governance
The DAO’s financials reflected a maturing platform with multiple income lines – transaction fees, Timeboost, Arbitrum Expansion Program (AEP) licence fees, and treasury income – at 97% gross margins across revenue streams, $6.19M in total H1 income, and $125M in non-native treasury assets.
On the governance front, the Foundation continued to support DAO governance and proposal execution through H1, while stepping up during unforeseen events like the KelpDAO exploit and Tally’s wind-down. Key milestones included facilitating the March 2026 Security Council elections (six seats, eleven finalists), launching a new dedicated governance interface with Offchain following Tally’s wind-down, and ratifying a new DVP-based quorum model via onchain vote.
Wrap-Up
H1 2026 marked a defining chapter for the Arbitrum ecosystem, as traditional finance leaned further into blockchain infrastructure and Arbitrum solidified its position as the platform institutions choose. The Foundation remains committed to propelling this momentum further through H2 2026.
Read the full report here.