Base dominates Farcaster developer mindshare, but Arbitrum is stepping up with systematic funding across DeFi, gaming, infrastructure, and developer tools. The programs target teams that can demonstrate measurable impact on network activity

Arbitrum operates two funding models. Grants provide milestone-based payments for development work. Incentive programs distribute ARB tokens to users through your application—airdrops, rewards, liquidity mining. Both serve the same goal: more builders, more apps, more reasons for users to stay on-chain.

Arbitrum's programs cover audit costs, gas fees, and infrastructure expenses that you'd otherwise pay out of pocket.

$2,500 split weekly among top-performing Arbitrum Miniapps

This two-month program targets Farcaster Miniapp developers specifically. Scoring based on opens, adds, and on-chain transactions. Apps that make Arbitrum core to their functionality get bonus points. Low application friction, direct path to funding while you build.

If you're already building on Farcaster, this represents the fastest route to Arbitrum funding.

Questbook Grants: Community, Developer Tools: $800,000 for milestone-based grants in four topic domains: Community+Education, Developer Tools, Stylus, and New Protocol Ideas.

Arbitrum Audit Program $10M budget covering smart contract audits through approved third-party firms. Security reviews cost $15K-50K. If you're deploying contracts on Arbitrum, including Farcaster developers building complex applications, this covers that expense.

ArbiFuel Gas Sponsorship 1,000,000 sponsored transactions in your first year, capped at $10,000 per team. Eliminates gas friction for user onboarding. Particularly useful for wallet applications, payment tools, and any Miniapp requiring frequent transactions.

Trailblazer 2.0 $1M for autonomous DeFi agents built on Vibekit framework. Funding supports agent templates, trading strategies, and tooling extensions. Farcaster developers building trading or DeFi-adjacent applications qualify.

DeFi Renaissance Incentive Program (DRIP) 80M ARB distributed across 3-month seasons. Unlike previous programs that rewarded protocols, DRIP incentivizes specific assets and user behaviors. Run by Entropy with DAO oversight. Relevant for any application driving DeFi activity.

Alchemy-Arbitrum Grant Program $10M program supporting Orbit chain development. Up to $500K in Alchemy infrastructure credits per team, plus co-marketing support. Credits apply directly to platform usage. Relevant for teams building dedicated chains or complex infrastructure.

Arbitrum Gaming Ventures Program DAO-managed program funding games and gaming infrastructure. Provides grants, funding, and collaboration opportunities. Covers game development, gaming tools, and related infrastructure projects.

Arbitrum DAO Grant Program Milestone-based funding managed directly by the DAO. Open application process focused on adoption, infrastructure, and community building. Broadest scope, longest timeline.

Past performance indicates five factors matter:

Alignment with stated goals. Each program defines specific outcomes. The Miniapp rewards program measures opens, adds, and on-chain volume. Match your pitch to their metrics.

Demonstrated execution. Live demos, working prototypes, or existing traction significantly improve approval odds. Grant committees fund builders, not ideas.

Realistic budget requests. Specify exactly where funds go: development hours, audit costs, user incentives. Avoid mystery math. Most successful applications request partial funding for specific milestones.

Clear measurement framework. Explain which metrics you'll track and how you'll report progress. Grant programs increasingly demand ROI demonstration after burning significant capital on low-impact projects.

Concrete problem definition. Generic pitches fail. Explain the specific friction your application addresses and why Arbitrum users will adopt your solution.

Review previous grant recipients to understand selection patterns. DeFi protocols that increase trading volume consistently receive funding. Developer tools that reduce deployment friction get approved. Games that drive sustained user engagement qualify. Farcaster applications that generate meaningful on-chain activity have clear precedent.

The programs avoid funding duplicate solutions unless yours demonstrates clear differentiation. They also reject applications that could reasonably operate on any blockchain—Arbitrum-specific utility matters.

Most grants range from $10K-100K with milestone-based payouts. Larger amounts require extensive track records or strategic importance to the ecosystem.

Applications typically take 4-8 weeks for review. Successful teams often start with smaller grants and scale up based on delivery.

Interested in learning more about Arbitrum grants + incentives for Farcaster builders? Reach out to bfresh from Offchain Labs or ruminations from Quotient.