Arbitrum Rejected by Nvidia, Faces 70% Price Drop

Arbitrum, a prominent Layer-2 (L2) network, had aspirations to join Nvidia’s Ignition AI Accelerator program. However, the chipmaker reportedly turned down the L2 network as part of its risk control strategy. Nvidia has a policy of avoiding crypto firms to maintain its AI-first brand identity, which was explicitly stated on the application page for the accelerator program. This decision has sparked discussions about the future of collaboration between traditional tech giants and the blockchain sector.

Arbitrum, Ethereum’s largest layer-two scaling solution, has been strategically attempting to rebuild its reputation amid an ongoing struggle to recover from an 85% price dip. The network has been taking steps to recover, including a token buyback initiative in March to strengthen its ecosystem and absorb supply shocks due to a massive token unlock event. For a time, the initiative worked, buoying ARB price 36% before the downtrend continued, bottoming out at $0.2420 on April 7.

Analysts have suggested that more interventions are needed with the token still over 70% below its December highs. Yogi, a well-known wallet maxi, said strategies like token buybacks lack long-term vision as they signal a slowdown in innovation. Similarly, a Messari Crypto researcher, Patryk, suggested that Arbitrum remains flexible and deploys funds into strategic areas over time rather than committing to a rigid framework such as token buybacks.

Arbitrum may have considered pivoting to Nvidia’s accelerator program for a competitive edge. Now that this plan has fallen through, Arbitrum faces an ARB airdrops proposal to incentivize early supporters. The network leads Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solutions, trailed by other players in the same space, including Optimism (OP).