# ArbitrumDAO Accrued $6.19 Million in First-Half 2026 Income

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/33508
Published: 2026-10-16T21:46:35.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-16T21:46:35.000Z
Section: Business

> Brendan Ma said institutional representatives overseeing about €800 billion sought a clearer link between blockchain activity and investable value. Robinhood Chain licensing fees totaled $360,000 in July.

ArbitrumDAO accrued $6.19 million in income during the first half of 2026, while July licensing fees showed how chains built with Arbitrum technology can add to its revenue.

Brendan Ma, head of investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, said he met representatives of institutions overseeing about €800 billion in assets during 48 hours of closed-door discussions. He said the group wanted a clearer link between blockchain activity and value investors could own.

“There’s been business or ecosystem traction that has been divorced from any fundamental case,” Ma said.

The €800 billion figure describes assets managed by the institutions represented. It does not establish that participants invested in Arbitrum, bought Arbitrum (ARB) or committed to use its technology.

From Jan. 1 through June 30, ArbitrumDAO accrued income from Arbitrum One transaction fees, Timeboost, Arbitrum Expansion Program licensing fees and treasury income. Its collective gross margin on protocol revenue exceeded 97%.

The Expansion Program applies to qualifying chains that use Arbitrum technology and settle outside Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. Those chains return 10% of net protocol revenue to the Arbitrum ecosystem: 8% goes to the ArbitrumDAO treasury and 2% to the Arbitrum Developer Guild.

ArbitrumDAO’s income spans its core network and chains using its technology, alongside Timeboost and treasury income. Robinhood Chain is a dedicated Arbitrum chain that settles to Ethereum. The first-half total, July licensing fees and third-quarter network fees cover different periods and categories.

Robinhood Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built using the Arbitrum Platform, went live on public mainnet July 1, 2026. Expansion Program licensing fees totaled $360,000 that month, equal to 35% of ArbitrumDAO’s July income.

From July 1 through Sept. 30, Robinhood Chain processed 793.7 million transactions and users paid $51 million in network fees. A 12-day period from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10 accounted for 74% of those fees. The $51 million reflects fees paid by users on Robinhood Chain; it is separate from licensing income received by ArbitrumDAO.

ARB holders govern ArbitrumDAO and direct its assets and income. The reported figures therefore measure different things: first-half DAO income, July licensing fees and third-quarter network fees paid by Robinhood Chain users.