The Arbitrum Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAOUSD) has taken a significant step forward. The organization has approved a substantial investment of over $200 million in ARB tokens to bolster the gaming sector of the Ethereum layer-2 network. This decision marks a significant milestone in the organization’s journey and aligns with a notable increase in key network metrics, indicating a surge in community adoption.
The Arbitrum community has always been at the forefront of innovation. On June 7, they passed a proposal to fund the gaming ecosystem using resources from the Arbitrum Foundation. This initiative, known as the Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP), will allocate 225 million ARB tokens, valued at approximately $222 million, over a span of three years.
The GCP is not just a funding program; it’s a comprehensive plan to stimulate user engagement across various gaming communities, including Arbitrum, Orbit, and Stylus. A dedicated team, overseen by a council of five experts in gaming, venture capital, data analysis, and DAO governance, will manage the program. The operational budget of the team is capped at $25 million, with any additional expenses requiring approval from the DAO.
The GCP Council is a group of trusted professionals elected by the DAO. Their diverse backgrounds span across gaming, venture, grant allocation, web3 technology, and DAO relations. This group functions as a braintrust, offering their accumulated knowledge to empower the GCP Core Team.
The majority of the funds are earmarked for publishers. New and early-stage developers can apply for grants of up to 500,000 ARB. However, established developers seeking funding must seek investments with value-sharing components such as tokens or equity. The remaining funds will be used to support infrastructure-related bounties and operational costs.
The Arbitrum network has seen a significant surge in activity, according to data from Growthepie. Over the past month, there has been a 30% increase in daily active addresses, reaching 710,000. This growth has positioned Arbitrum ahead of other layer-2 networks. Data from DeFiLlama confirms that Arbitrum is currently the largest Ethereum Layer 2 solution, dominating the market with a total value locked (TVL) of over $4 billion.
However, competition is fierce in the blockchain world. The Coinbase-backed Base network is emerging as a strong competitor. Its recent growth has pushed the total value of assets locked on it to over $8 billion, surpassing Optimism. Additionally, Base averages 29 transactions per second, the highest among Ethereum layer-2 networks, according to L2beats data.
In conclusion, the recent developments in the Arbitrum community signify a promising future for the Ethereum layer-2 network’s gaming sector. With substantial funding and a dedicated team, the Gaming Catalyst Program is set to revolutionize the gaming ecosystem. As the blockchain world continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these developments unfold and shape the future of gaming.
