Perpetual Trading Protocol GMX Bags Biggest Chunk of $40M Arbitrum Grant

Several projects built on the Arbitrum blockchain have bagged a cumulative stash of $40 million in ARB tokens as part of a short-term incentives program (STIP) round that ended late Thursday.

A tally shows 29 Arbitrum projects pitched their product and services to token holders over the past week, hoping to win votes for a chunk of the 50 million ARB tokens, worth nearly $40 million at current prices.

The STIP is a one-time distribution and grantees cannot convert ARB rewards to other tokens or participate in any governance activities. The proposal for the grant was floated and approved earlier in September.

Perpetual trading protocol GMX bagged the most rewards at 12 million ARB, worth just over $10 million, followed by Gains Network at 7 million ARB.

Ether staking powerhouse Lido Finance was among the surprise duds, failing to win approval amid concerns that it could control a third of all staked ether tokens.

These projects are now expected to use the tokens to provide increased rewards for users that support those protocols, such as by supplying liquidity or using services, in a move that may attract funds to the blockchain as traders hunt for investment strategies.