Arbitrum’s $40M Grant Splash: GMX Triumphs, Lido’s Unexpected Sideline

• Arbitrum finalizes its $40 million Short-Term Incentive Program, benefitting 29 projects.
• GMX emerges as the largest beneficiary, while DeFi giant Lido Finance misses out.
• Perpetual protocols dominate the grant distribution, accounting for 44% of the total grants.

Arbitrum announces its first grant winners, with GMX securing the lion’s share. As the Ethereum Layer 2 network advances, some prominent projects find themselves sidelined.

GMX Leads the Pack in Arbitrum’s Inaugural Grant Round

With the conclusion of Arbitrum’s Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP) voting, 29 projects are poised to share the 49.6 million ARB token jackpot, translating to roughly $40 million. The perpetual trading protocol, GMX, stands out, having been green-lit to obtain a whopping 12 million ARB, equivalent to $15 million. Despite decentralized exchange Camelot raking in the most votes, liquid staking giant Lido Finance was notably absent from the grant recipients’ list. The grant distribution witnessed a surge of activity towards its closing, with all proposals successfully reaching the required quorum.

Perpetual Protocols Reign Supreme

Perpetual protocols, often termed “perps”, emerged as the prime beneficiaries in this grant distribution, gobbling up 44% of the entire grant pool. This insight is courtesy of Ouroboros Research, the investigative arm of the cryptocurrency hedge fund, Ouroboros Capital. Leading the perpetual protocols segment were GMX, MUX Protocol, Vertex Protocol, and Perennial. These platforms empower traders to speculate on forthcoming cryptocurrency asset prices via evergreen contracts. Coming in as the runner-up were DEXs, which grabbed 15% of the grant distribution, steered by industry leaders like Camelot, Kyber Network, Trader Joe, and Balancer.

The Tight Races and the Left-Outs

An impressive 100 projects tossed their hats into the ring to vie for funding. Of these contenders, 29 emerged victorious. However, another 28 came tantalizingly close, obtaining the essential quorum with over half the votes but failed to reach the 50 million ARB mark set for funding. These projects, which had hoped for a slice of the 24.5 million ARB pie ($19.6 million), included notable names such as PancakeSwap, Wormhole, Gains Network, and Synapse Protocol. The remaining projects, unfortunately, couldn’t muster enough votes to secure grants. Among the non-recipients was the esteemed Lido Finance, sparking debates that voters might have hesitated due to Lido’s potential centralizing impact on Ethereum’s staking landscape. Another prominent absentee was DeFi heavyweight Curve Finance.

Conclusion

Arbitrum’s inaugural grant distribution underscores the dynamism and competitive spirit within the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem. While GMX’s triumph sets a precedent, the unexpected exclusion of titans like Lido Finance and Curve Finance serves as a testament to the unpredictability of the decentralized finance landscape. As the Ethereum network evolves, such grant programs will play a pivotal role in shaping its future, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration.