Arbitrum

The fourth episode of Arbitrum's *Arbitrum Everywhere* series features Anthony Sassano, founder of The Daily Gwei. **Key Discussion Points:** - How Arbitrum integrates into Ethereum's long-term scaling strategy - The impact of upcoming Ethereum upgrades on the broader ecosystem - Arbitrum's role in strengthening Ethereum's infrastructure This follows the previous episode with Offchain's CEO, which explored institutional adoption through platforms like Robinhood. [Watch the full episode](link in original post)

Arbitrum is preparing to launch **multidimensional gas**, a technical upgrade designed to increase network capacity and scalability. The Layer 2 solution emphasizes that strong execution infrastructure is driving enterprise adoption. The upcoming gas mechanism aims to provide more flexibility for onchain operations. **Key points:** - Multidimensional gas coming soon to Arbitrum - Focus on enabling programmable economies to scale - Businesses selecting Arbitrum for reliable execution - Upgrade will unlock additional network capacity

Arbitrum Foundation has opened applications for its **Mentorship Program**, an 8-week initiative starting April 13th designed to help early-stage teams launch on the Arbitrum platform. **Program highlights:** - 15 selected teams receive dedicated mentorship from ecosystem leaders including Robinhood Chain, Pendle, GMX, and Fhenix - Structured support covering product strategy, go-to-market design, network architecture, and fundraising preparation - Concludes with Demo Day featuring investor presentations - Top 3 teams share **$100K in non-dilutive awards** The program targets teams at MVP, pre-seed, or seed stage across AI, DeFi, and other onchain verticals. Applications close April 7th. This follows the recent Open House NYC Buildathon, which awarded $60K in prizes to winners including Tilt Protocol, Fangorn Network, and EqualFi. [Apply here](https://tally.so/r/aQdj2W) | [Program details](https://blog.arbitrum.foundation/introducing-the-arbitrum-mentorship-program-access-capital-and-strategic-support/)

Arbitrum's new dynamic pricing system has delivered significant results during recent network stress tests. **Key Performance Metrics:** - Fee spikes reduced by up to 98% during peak demand - Handled 2.4x more demand with 15% lower fees - Fee volatility decreased by approximately 17x compared to other networks **How It Works:** The system moves beyond single gas pricing to track real network bottlenecks across compute, storage, and history growth. This approach enables more predictable costs during high-traffic periods. **Business Impact:** Predictable fees allow businesses to forecast costs accurately, manage risk effectively, and scale operations with confidence. The upgrade supports reliable system design for applications operating onchain. Full technical details and data: [blog.arbitrum.io/predictability-at-peak-demand](https://blog.arbitrum.io/predictability-at-peak-demand/)

Developers are actively building on the **Robinhood Chain Testnet**, which focuses on infrastructure testing and onboarding. Robinhood is backing serious teams through a **$1M sponsorship** of Arbitrum's Open House program. **Key developments:** - Testnet enables contract deployment, bridging, and tokenized asset flow testing - Builders can access workshops, mentorship, and technical guidance - The chain runs on Arbitrum's platform, offering custom gas tokens and fee control - Follows Robinhood's 2,000+ Stock Tokens launch on Arbitrum One for EU users The testnet represents **Phase 1** of Robinhood's roadmap to migrate from shared rails to dedicated Layer 2 infrastructure. Phase 2 will bring mainnet launch with production-ready tokenized stocks, 24/7 trading, and self-custody features. Start building: [robinhood.com/chain](http://robinhood.com/chain)

Arbitrum Foundation is hosting an **in-person Open House in New York City** from March 6-8, 2026. This selective 3-day program targets founders ready to deploy on-chain applications. **What founders get:** - Direct collaboration with Arbitrum teams and ecosystem builders - Product feedback and technical guidance - Hands-on support for shipping projects This follows their online Buildathon that started January 29, which offered workshops, mentorship, and $60k in prizes. The NYC event is more exclusive and focused on teams closer to launch. Applications are open now at [luma.com/openhouse-newyork](https://luma.com/openhouse-newyork?utm_campaign=oh-nyc-founder-house&utm_content=sponsor-fh&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter).

Variational has become one of the leading perpetual trading platforms on Arbitrum, processing over **$136 billion in total trading volume** with **$1.09 billion in open interest** across hundreds of markets. The platform's growth demonstrates how Arbitrum's infrastructure - including fast confirmations, deep liquidity, and predictable costs - enables decentralized perpetual exchanges to compete with centralized platforms. Variational has maintained an average of **22,000+ weekly users** since launch, leveraging Arbitrum's scaling capacity to deliver exchange-level performance for on-chain derivatives trading.

A $3 million transaction settled on Arbitrum in seconds with total gas costs under $25, demonstrating the network's enterprise-grade capabilities. **Key Performance Metrics:** - Settlement time: ~250 milliseconds - Transaction cost: <$25 (compared to ~$20 for legacy wire transfers that take hours or days) - Zero platform fees for users The transaction showcases Arbitrum's infrastructure scaling with both transaction size and volume. The network currently supports: - $7.8B+ in stablecoin market cap - $74B+ in 30-day transfer volume - 7.75M+ stablecoin holders Platforms like Rise Pay have processed $340M+ in lifetime USDC/USDT withdrawals on Arbitrum, utilizing programmable payment flows for lending, trading, collateral, and settlement operations. The demonstration proves that blockchain-based payment rails can handle institutional-scale transactions with predictable costs and near-instant settlement times.

Rise, a global payments platform, has processed over **$340 million in lifetime USDC and USDT withdrawals** on Arbitrum, demonstrating the network's viability as a payment rail. The platform leverages Arbitrum's infrastructure to offer: - **Zero transaction fees** for users - **~250 millisecond settlement times** (compared to hours or days for traditional wire transfers) - **Programmable payment flows** for automation Traditional wire transfers typically cost around $20 per transaction and can take hours to days to settle. By using Arbitrum as its underlying infrastructure, Rise eliminates these friction points while maintaining the security and reliability needed for financial transactions. The integration showcases how Layer 2 solutions are moving beyond speculation into practical, high-volume payment applications. The combination of near-instant settlement, negligible costs, and programmability positions blockchain infrastructure as a competitive alternative to legacy payment systems. [Read the full technical details](https://blog.arbitrum.io/rise-global-payments/)

**Morpho has crossed $750M in RWA deposits**, with syrupUSDC leading at $166M on Arbitrum. The milestone demonstrates growing institutional adoption of tokenized assets in DeFi. Businesses are gravitating toward Arbitrum's infrastructure for its: - Reliability and consistent uptime - High transaction throughput - Low operational costs Tokenization continues to establish itself as a legitimate bridge between traditional finance and crypto markets, with real-world assets finding their footing on-chain through platforms that prioritize technical fundamentals over speculation.