Arbitrum's Numbers Show Users Are Coming Back Onchain

Strong Margins and Broad Revenue Mix

The Arbitrum DAO generated $6.19 million in income during the first half of 2026, according to an unaudited report published by the Arbitrum Foundation on September 2. Income accrued across four lines: Arbitrum One transaction fees, Timeboost, Arbitrum Expansion Program licensing fees, and treasury income.

The collective gross margin on protocol revenue exceeded 97%, up from more than 90% for full-year 2025. In addition to that income, the DAO held $125 million in non-native treasury assets, excluding $ARB, at June 30, 2026.

Brendan Ma, Head of Investment Strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, said the figures show Arbitrum's revenue streams became more diversified in the first half of 2026, adding that demand is being driven by the convergence of traditional finance and onchain finance.

Network Activity Points to Returning Users

The Arbitrum Foundation's Bi-Annual Progress Update shows the network processed 478 million transactions between January 1 and June 30, representing roughly 18% of its 2.7 billion lifetime total. Average monthly stablecoin transfer volume topped $70 billion, while the number of stablecoin holders rose 40% to 10.5 million.

Growth was also pronounced in real-world assets, with more than 2,000 tokenized assets deployed on Arbitrum, the highest count among comparable blockchains. Open interest in derivative trading on Arbitrum surged 434% over the December 2025 to June 2026 period, peaking at $1.5 billion.

The early momentum from Robinhood Chain is also worth noting. Robinhood Chain launched on Arbitrum's technology stack on July 1, 2026, and in its first month generated $360,000 in Expansion Program licensing fees, accounting for 35% of the DAO's total income for July. The Arbitrum Expansion Program requires chains built on Arbitrum's technology that settle outside Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova to return 10% of net protocol revenue to the Arbitrum ecosystem. Ma said July results indicate third-quarter revenue will be more than 40% higher than in the second quarter.

Robinhood Chain collected $3.75 million in transaction fees on September 1, its largest single-day total since mainnet went live, putting the two-month-old network ahead of both Ethereum mainnet and Coinbase's Base on a same-day fee basis. The September 1 result was not a one-off spike; it was the fourth straight day the network set a new record, according to DeFiLlama.

Sources:
Arbitrum Foundation H1 2026 Progress Update (PR Newswire)
Robinhood Chain fees hit record $3.75M as Arbitrum collects its 10% cut (Cryptopolitan)