Forkast Launches Trader Vs.​ Trader Tournament on Arbitrum with $3,500 Prize Pool

Arbitrum has launched **Earn**, a new feature on the Arbitrum Portal that simplifies DeFi yield farming across multiple chains. **Key Features:** - Cross-chain token swaps powered by [LiFi Protocol](https://lifi.tech) - Unified access to yield opportunities from multiple protocols - Single interface for managing vaults across different platforms **Supported Protocols:** - Aave - Morpho - Pendle - Additional protocols available Users can now access yield-generating opportunities without manually bridging assets or navigating multiple platforms. The integration streamlines the process of moving funds between chains and deploying them into various DeFi protocols. [Learn more about Earn](https://blog.arbitrum.io/portal-earn/) | [Start using Earn](http://portal.arbitrum.io/earn)

The Arbitrum Foundation is launching **Open House London**, starting May 25th with a 3-week remote Buildathon program offering **$115K in prizes**. **Program Details:** - Open to early-stage teams worldwide - Focus areas include payments, DeFi, RWAs, privacy, AI agents, and consumer applications - Technical workshops on building with Arbitrum Platform - Product guidance and go-to-market mentorship - Ecosystem connections with industry leaders **Competition & Accelerator:** Top teams advance to an in-person Founder House in London - an accelerator providing product refinement support, launch preparation, and access to capital opportunities. **Sponsors:** - OpenZeppelin (Arbitrum Stylus support) - Robinhood ($1M funding across 4 regions) - Alchemy (enterprise infrastructure) The program aims to help founders transform ideas into onchain products on the Arbitrum Platform. [Register for Buildathon](http://openhouse.arbitrum.io/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=oh-london-buildathon)

**Global financial institutions are experiencing a fundamental shift as markets transition to software-based operations.** - Investment banks in New York, FX providers in London, and asset managers in Tokyo are witnessing improved capital flow efficiency - Assets now interoperate natively across different platforms and jurisdictions - The programmable economy is creating standardized financial infrastructure on a global scale This development represents a continuation of the broader trend toward onchain capital movement and market convergence, building on momentum from earlier in 2026.

Variational, a perpetuals platform on Arbitrum, has reached $220B in cumulative trading volume since launching in early 2025. The platform is now expanding beyond crypto to offer onchain trading of traditional commodities including gold, silver, copper, and oil. The expansion represents a significant step toward programmable markets, bringing traditional commodity trading onchain. The team recently announced a funding raise to support this growth. **Key metrics:** - $220B+ cumulative trading volume - Launched early 2025 on Arbitrum - Now one of crypto's largest perps platforms

Arbitrum is expanding its platform capabilities with three native technologies that enable new business models: **Key Technologies:** - **Stylus** - Enables Rust/WASM development on EVM, allowing performance-sensitive systems to stay offchain while verifying trust boundaries onchain - **Timeboost** - Powers advanced trading systems with optimized execution - **Arbitrum Chains** - Enables custom infrastructure for specific use cases **Target Applications:** - Stylus-powered applications leveraging WASM performance - Timeboost-based trading systems for high-frequency operations - WASM-native financial tooling - Cross-chain liquidity applications This builds on Arbitrum's broader "programmable economy" vision, where recent integrations include Coinbase's x402 for AI agent payments, Syndicate's SyndDB for hybrid infrastructure, and EdgeX's $800B+ trading platform. The platform has seen $78M in USDT inflows in one week and supports over $211B in trading volume across traditional and crypto markets.