Arbitrum’s Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP) Grants Awarded
The voting for the first round of grants in Arbitrum’s STIP has concluded, with 29 projects set to receive a total of 49.6 million ARB tokens, worth around $40 million. The grants aim to support and incentivize the development of applications on the Ethereum Layer 2 network.
The largest grant recipient is GMX, a perpetual trading protocol, which will receive 12 million ARB tokens ($15 million). Decentralized exchange Camelot received the most votes, while liquid staking solution Lido Finance missed out on a grant.
All proposals met the required quorum in the final hours of the grant distribution process.
Perpetual protocols secured the majority of grants, accounting for 44% of the total. This category includes GMX, MUX Protocol, Vertex Protocol, and Perennial, which enable traders to speculate on future crypto asset prices using non-expiring contracts.
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) were the second-largest sector recipient, receiving 15% of the grants. Camelot, Kyber Network, Trader Joe, and Balancer were among the leading DEX projects.
Close Calls and Missed Opportunities
Nearly 100 projects submitted proposals for funding. Of these, 29 projects received grants, while another 28 achieved the required quorum but fell short of the funding cut-off. These projects had requested approximately 24.5 million ARB tokens ($19.6 million), including PancakeSwap, Wormhole, Gains Network, and Synapse Protocol.
Some notable projects that failed to secure enough votes for a grant include Lido Finance and Curve Finance. Speculation suggests that voters were hesitant to support Lido Finance due to concerns about its centralizing influence over the Ethereum staking ecosystem.
Hot Take: Perpetual Protocols Dominate Grants, Lido Finance Misses Out
The first round of grants from Arbitrum’s Short-Term Incentive Program (STIP) has been awarded, with perpetual trading protocols emerging as the biggest beneficiaries. GMX secured the largest grant, while decentralized exchange Camelot received the most votes. However, liquid staking protocol Lido Finance was among the notable projects that missed out on a grant. This has led to speculation about concerns regarding its impact on the Ethereum staking ecosystem. Overall, the grant distribution aims to further develop and incentivize applications on the Ethereum Layer 2 network, promoting innovation in the crypto space.
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