ARB eyes recovery as Arbitrum taps agentic DeFi revolution with $1M grant

Top crypto projects seem to reposition themselves as the market consolidates before a potential bull run.

The Arbitrum team is turning to on-chain automation and artificial intelligence amid efforts to rescue ARB from its underperformance, which saw 100% of ARB holders at a loss in March 2025.

According to the latest announcement, the Arbitrum Foundation and Ember have partnered to launch Trailblazer 2.0 – a $1 million grant initiative to fund DeFi agents using the blockchain’s native agentive framework – VibeKit.

Trailblazer 2.0 is beyond a grant round. It zeroes in on agentic financing, a promising industry where bots handle liquidity, yield, and multiple functions with reduced user input.

The blog reads:

With Trailblazer 2.0, we’re doubling down on the ideas and builders that can leverage DeFi by supporting performance DeFi agents and direct contributions to Vibekit with funding.

The move could trigger utility-backed catalysts and revive investor interest to lift ARB from its prevailing downtrends.

Understanding Trailblazer 2.0

The latest initiative builds on the initial Trailblazer AI grant program, which committed another $1 million to launch multiple AI projects on the Arbitrum blockchain.