Arbitrum, a leading Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution, has been excluded from Nvidia's Ignition AI Accelerator program due to the tech giant's recent policy explicitly excluding cryptocurrency-related projects from its Inception program. As Arbitrum scrambles to restore its reputation and avoid getting burned again from an 85% price plunge. Concurrent with this, they have been providing ARB airdrops to reward their early backers.
Arbitrum, which leads Ethereum's Layer-2 scaling solutions and tops TVL metrics among its peers, had initially planned to partner with Ethereum in Nvidia's Ignition AI Accelerator program. Nvidia’s new requirements have put a stop to those bigger aspirations.
"The following types of organizations do not qualify for membership: Consulting and outsourced development firms, companies associated with cryptocurrency, cloud service providers, resellers and distributors, and public companies," - Nvidia's application page.
The exclusion comes as Arbitrum continues to try to have a comeback amid fear from a recent 95%+ price drop. On April 7, ARB’s price bottomed out at $0.2420. Even after a 36% spike powered by reputation-rebuilding efforts, it remained well below its all-time high of $1.2384 from December 6, 2024.
To combat these challenges, Arbitrum announced a token buyback initiative in March, aiming to strengthen its ecosystem and absorb supply shocks resulting from a massive token unlock event. Though this initiative provided much-needed relief, analysts are now urging additional interventions. Not to mention the token is still more than 70% off its December highs.
"Nvidia recently explicitly excluded cryptocurrency-related projects from its Inception program," - Wu Blockchain.
Arbitrum’s newfound domination as the top Layer-2 solution is followed closely behind by other contenders such as Optimism (OP). Even with these growing pains, Arbitrum One is still the clear leader in top line TVL metrics, per data from L2Beats.
"I think projects will do this eventually. It’s just difficult to announce a concrete plan for the funds at the beginning of buybacks, like those that Arbitrum just announced. Remain flexible," - Patryk, Messari Crypto researcher.
