According to CoinDesk, several projects built on the Arbitrum blockchain have received a total of $40 million in ARB tokens as part of a short-term incentives program (STIP) round that concluded late Thursday. A total of 29 Arbitrum projects presented their products and services to token holders over the past week, aiming to secure votes for a portion of the 50 million ARB tokens, valued at nearly $40 million at current prices. The STIP is a one-time distribution, and grantees are not allowed to convert ARB rewards to other tokens or participate in any governance activities. The grant proposal was submitted and approved earlier in September.

Perpetual trading protocol GMX received the highest rewards at 12 million ARB, worth just over $10 million, followed by Gains Network at 7 million ARB. Ether staking giant Lido Finance was among the unexpected failures, not gaining approval due to concerns that it could control a third of all staked ether tokens. The projects are now anticipated to use the tokens to offer increased rewards for users who support those protocols, such as by providing liquidity or using services. This move may attract funds to the blockchain as traders search for investment strategies.