The Arbitrum Foundation, which oversees the development and governance of the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum, has hired Brendan Ma as its first head of investment strategy — a newly created position.
Based in Dubai, Ma will lead efforts to grow the Arbitrum ecosystem through investments and partnerships with traditional finance institutions. He joins from web3 gaming platform Immutable, where he led investments, and previously worked at Goldman Sachs in Australia advising fintech and crypto clients. Ma told The Block he left Immutable four months ago and has just joined the Arbitrum Foundation.
“I’m joining the leadership team and excited to help shape our overall approach to investments and strategic relationships with long-term capital to grow the ecosystem,” Ma said. “My focus will include extending our reach across capital markets and the investment community, bringing the Arbitrum story to new institutional partners, and allocating capital where we can power the next phases of ecosystem growth.”
Ma’s appointment comes as Arbitrum sees increasing institutional adoption. Robinhood recently launched its suite of tokenized equities on Arbitrum and announced plans for a dedicated blockchain network using Arbitrum’s technology stack. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and WisdomTree have also brought their tokenized products onto the network.
“Crypto has entered its institutional era and this is an important moment for Arbitrum,” Ma said. “We have demonstrated the technical capabilities and ecosystem momentum that attract institutional deployment. Now we are ensuring we have the capital strategy, investment discipline and relationship infrastructure to accelerate what is already working. It is about converting momentum into compounding growth.”
On his specific responsibilities, Ma said he will focus on two areas — developing and deepening Arbitrum’s relationships across traditional finance, investors, and capital markets, and building the foundation’s investment strategy and deployment capability. As part of the leadership team, he reports to the foundation’s board, which provides strategic oversight and governance.
When asked how much the foundation is expected to invest from its treasury — currently worth over $1.5 billion — Ma said it’s “too early to disclose specifics,” but noted that the foundation will continue investing in opportunities that grow the Arbitrum ecosystem, “often through grants but also through strategic partnerships.”
Arbitrum is currently the second-largest Ethereum Layer 2 network, behind Base, with total value locked above $4 billion. Its ARB token is currently the 69th-largest cryptocurrency, trading at around $0.40, down more than 2% amid a broader market pullback in the past 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, according to The Block’s Arbitrum price page.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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