Key Takeaways
- • Brendan Ma, head of investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, says institutions managing about €800 billion in assets want a clear link between crypto network activity, revenue and investable value, according to CryptoSlate.
- • growthepie recorded $51 million in Robinhood Chain network fees between July 1 and September 30, with 74% of that total generated in a 12-day burst from August 30 to September 10.
- • Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built with Arbitrum technology, counted 793.7 million transactions and $591.4 million in application revenue in the quarter, while stablecoin supply grew from $102.3 million at launch to $1.07 billion.
- • Allocators are questioning how network activity translates into returns for the token holder, since ARB's documented function is governance voting on DAO proposals rather than a claim on network revenue.
- • Ma separates institutions that want to invest in crypto from those that want to build blockchain products, noting the latter can deploy infrastructure without holding tokens.
Summary
Brendan Ma, head of investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, told CryptoSlate that he met representatives of institutions managing about €800 billion in assets during 48 hours of closed-door meetings focused on crypto. According to Ma, private bankers and wealth managers repeatedly raised a single concern: network activity that has generated business or ecosystem traction without a clear fundamental case. He said allocators asked how that activity connects to the asset an investor can actually own.
Ma said institutions are drawn to networks building toward durable, sustainable revenues and a profit-and-loss profile that can support investment and reinvestment. He described the industry as maturing, with considerable work ahead to win institutional trust. He distinguished two groups: investors evaluating whether to allocate to and invest in crypto, who ask which infrastructure will power tokenization, and institutions seeking to build and deploy products on chain, who ask which assets to put on-chain. Stablecoins and Treasuries came first, he said, and the race is now underway across private credit, equities, commodities and hedge fund strategies.
Robinhood Chain serves as a current test case. The Ethereum layer-2 network, built with Arbitrum technology, opened to the public on July 1. In a October 9 quarterly report, growthepie counted 793.7 million transactions and $51 million in user-paid fees for July 1 through September 30, and separately measured $591.4 million in application revenue. The fee stream was concentrated, with a 12-day burst accounting for 74% of network fees. Stablecoin supply grew from $102.3 million at launch to $1.07 billion by quarter-end.
These figures leave allocators with two open questions: how much activity persists beyond the launch surge, and how revenue reaches the token being purchased. Arbitrum's governance documentation describes ARB as a token for voting on DAO proposals, so an investment case would need to explain how those rights link network economics to returns. Ma noted that institutions valuing the infrastructure could build on it without holding ARB. For an investment committee, sustained activity and a clear route from revenue to token-holder value would be more persuasive than partnership announcements alone. Ma predicts that within 12 months these institutions will be "very active, very knowledgeable" participants.
Ma said institutions are drawn to networks building toward durable, sustainable revenues and a profit-and-loss profile that can support investment and reinvestment. He described the industry as maturing, with considerable work ahead to win institutional trust. He distinguished two groups: investors evaluating whether to allocate to and invest in crypto, who ask which infrastructure will power tokenization, and institutions seeking to build and deploy products on chain, who ask which assets to put on-chain. Stablecoins and Treasuries came first, he said, and the race is now underway across private credit, equities, commodities and hedge fund strategies.
Robinhood Chain serves as a current test case. The Ethereum layer-2 network, built with Arbitrum technology, opened to the public on July 1. In a October 9 quarterly report, growthepie counted 793.7 million transactions and $51 million in user-paid fees for July 1 through September 30, and separately measured $591.4 million in application revenue. The fee stream was concentrated, with a 12-day burst accounting for 74% of network fees. Stablecoin supply grew from $102.3 million at launch to $1.07 billion by quarter-end.
These figures leave allocators with two open questions: how much activity persists beyond the launch surge, and how revenue reaches the token being purchased. Arbitrum's governance documentation describes ARB as a token for voting on DAO proposals, so an investment case would need to explain how those rights link network economics to returns. Ma noted that institutions valuing the infrastructure could build on it without holding ARB. For an investment committee, sustained activity and a clear route from revenue to token-holder value would be more persuasive than partnership announcements alone. Ma predicts that within 12 months these institutions will be "very active, very knowledgeable" participants.
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