Arbitrum will collect 10% of net protocol revenue from Robinhood Chain and other Layer 2 networks built on its technology stack, with 8% flowing to the DAO treasury and 2% to the Developer Guild. The revenue-sharing model, called the Arbitrum Expansion Program, applies to sequencer profits from chains settling outside Arbitrum One or Nova. Robinhood Chain, the highest-profile chain under this model, processed 4 million transactions in its first week of mainnet operation.
Arbitrum will collect 10% of net protocol revenue from Robinhood Chain and other Layer 2 networks built on its technology stack, Offchain Labs announced July 8.
"Every chain that leverages Arbitrum's technology and settles outside of Arbitrum One or Nova will contribute 8% to the DAO treasury and 2% to the Developer Guild," Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs, said.
The revenue-sharing arrangement, called the Arbitrum Expansion Program, applies to sequencer profits — the fees generated by the entity ordering and processing transactions on the chain. If a chain adopts Timeboost, Arbitrum's mechanism for capturing maximal extractable value, those revenues could also fall under the sharing arrangement. Robinhood Chain, the highest-profile chain operating under this model, processed 4 million transactions during its first week of mainnet operation, with Uniswap integrated as a day-one partner providing immediate DeFi liquidity infrastructure. Chainlink provides oracle infrastructure for price data feeds, while BitGo handles institutional custody and Chainalysis monitors compliance through its Know Your Transaction platform.
The model creates a direct value accrual mechanism for ARB token holders, tying compensation to ecosystem-wide revenue growth rather than one-time grants. For Robinhood, which launched its chain using Arbitrum's Orbit framework, the arrangement means a portion of its transaction fee revenue flows back to the Arbitrum ecosystem — a structural cost of building on shared infrastructure rather than deploying on a general-purpose L2 like Arbitrum One.
Robinhood Chain is a Layer 2 built on Arbitrum's Orbit framework, settling transactions on Ethereum using EIP-4844 blob data lanes. The chain processes blocks at approximately 100 milliseconds and batches thousands of transactions into single Ethereum postings, bringing individual transaction fees to single-digit cents. Unlike most Orbit chains, Robinhood Chain has no native protocol token — gas fees are paid in ETH, meaning Robinhood does not capture token-issuance value from its own network. The chain launched its public testnet on Feb. 10, 2026, before transitioning to a full public mainnet.
The competitive landscape mirrors Optimism's Superchain model, which collects revenue from chains like Base, Coinbase's Layer 2. Arbitrum's Expansion Program is a direct response, ensuring that the proliferation of Arbitrum-based chains feeds value back into the ecosystem rather than benefiting Offchain Labs alone. Robinhood's evolution from deploying tokenized assets on Arbitrum One in 2025 to launching its own dedicated chain sets a template that other fintech companies could follow. For ARB holders, the revenue-sharing model introduces a concrete value accrual mechanism tied to ecosystem growth — every new chain that launches on the Arbitrum stack feeds revenue back into the DAO treasury that ARB holders govern.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
