Protocols & Policy · Stablecoins
Arbitrum Foundation Offers ARB Incentives to Apps That Adopt USDG
Protocols with at least $1 million in stablecoins that make Paxos-issued USDG their primary stablecoin on Arbitrum may be eligible for incentives, and the first 10 to reach $10 million in USDG get 200,000 ARB each.
The Arbitrum Foundation has opened a program that offers incentives to crypto apps that build around one stablecoin. Under the Arbitrum Stablecoin Growth Program, announced in a blog post at 9:43 a.m. ET on Oct. 15, protocols with at least $1 million in stablecoin balances that make Global Dollar (USDG) their primary stablecoin on Arbitrum "may be eligible for performance based incentives from the Arbitrum Foundation as they grow" (source 1).
The program also carries a fixed prize. "The first 10 teams to reach $10M of USDG TVL, measured as a 30-day average, will each receive 200K ARB, in addition to the incentives and support above," the post says, from what it calls "a 2M ARB prize pool" (source 1). TVL, or total value locked, is the value of assets held in an app's contracts.
The post does not say how large the performance-based incentives are or how they are calculated. The only fixed amounts it gives are the 2 million ARB pool and the 200,000 ARB awards (source 1).
Who issues USDG
The post describes the stablecoin this way: "Global Dollar (USDG) is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd., a Major Payments Institution supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and by Paxos Issuance Europe Oy under the supervision of the FIN-FSA and in compliance with MiCA" (source 1).
Who can apply
The foundation says the program is "for stablecoin-centric protocols, such as lending, yield, AMMs or payments, that want to make Arbitrum their home" (source 1). It lists four conditions (source 1):
- "At least $1m in stablecoin balances at the time of application, verified on DefiLlama"
- "Stablecoins at the core of the product, with a live product and audited contracts"
- "A commitment to building on Arbitrum, with new deployments and token launches happening here"
- "USDG as the primary stablecoin on Arbitrum, with at least $1m of TVL moving into USDG"
Teams apply through an online form. "The Arbitrum team reviews every application and gets in touch with teams that are a fit," the post says, and participation "is subject to eligibility, approval by the Arbitrum Foundation and the Program Terms & Conditions" (source 1).
| Term | As published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum stablecoin balances | $1m at application, verified on DefiLlama | 1 |
| Stablecoin commitment | USDG as primary stablecoin on Arbitrum, at least $1m of TVL moving into USDG | 1 |
| Incentives | Performance based; teams "may be eligible" | 1 |
| Prize pool | 2M ARB | 1 |
| Prize award | 200K ARB each to the first 10 teams reaching $10M of USDG TVL, 30-day average | 1 |
| Approval | Arbitrum Foundation, subject to Program Terms & Conditions | 1 |
What teams may get
Beyond the incentives, the foundation says accepted teams "may also receive access to Arbitrum's support suite." That "may include marketing resources and co-marketing, introductions to ecosystem partners, integration and technical support, direct access to the ecosystem team, and potential access to incentives through the DeFi Renaissance Incentive Program (DRIP), as well as other perks" (source 1).
The pitch to builders is that they can skip launching a coin of their own. Protocols that make USDG "their preferred stablecoin, collateral or on-ramp asset on the Arbitrum Platform can access incentives and ecosystem support to help them grow, without the cost and complexity of issuing their own stablecoin," the post says (source 1). It adds that "launching and maintaining a stablecoin introduces additional operational, technical and business considerations" (source 1).
How this differs from the DAO proposal
The program is separate from a proposal posted on the ArbitrumDAO forum on Oct. 6, which asked the DAO to "bolster the DRIP budget with an additional 100M ARB" for USDG growth after Arbitrum joined Paxos's Global Dollar Network (source 2). That proposal seeks a DAO vote; the growth program is run by the foundation and open to applications now (sources 1, 2).
Sources
- Arbitrum, "Introducing the Arbitrum Stablecoin Growth Program," blog, Oct. 15, 2026: https://blog.arbitrum.io/stablecoin-growth-program/
- Entropy, "Adopting USDG as a Core Strategic Initiative for the ArbitrumDAO," Arbitrum DAO forum, Oct. 6, 2026: https://forum.arbitrum.foundation/t/adopting-usdg-as-a-core-strategic-initiative-for-the-arbitrumdao/31548
Holding the Corner.
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