Arbitrum’s Rewards For Active Delegates Program Gains Momentum With Operational And Compliance Milestones

In Brief

OpCo has launched and is actively managing the RAD program to incentivize delegate participation, enhance voting transparency, and provide public insights into Arbitrum DAO governance.

OpCo, the operational arm of the Arbitrum ecosystem, has provided an update on its Rewards for Active Delegates (RAD) program, which launched on January 1st and will run through December 31st. Unlike previous initiatives administered by the Arbitrum Foundation, OpCo manages this program directly, requiring delegates to complete KYC/KYB verification and sign a grant agreement—a one-time compliance process for participants.

The program’s structure includes quarterly budget reviews, with the first set to conclude by March 31st, and semi-annual transparency reports, the first scheduled for publication by July 1st. Delegates can also expect monthly reward calculations for any votes cast or program adjustments, while quarterly updates will detail budget reviews and changes.

Operationally, OpCo has made significant progress since taking on RAD. The team published a delegate application thread, engaged SEED as program manager, and shared SEED’s scope of work and compensation publicly. A compliance flow was established using Sumsub for KYC and Provenance for KYB, and a grant agreement template was created with external counsel. Additionally, a multisig wallet was set up with signed legal agreements, and OpCo formalized a legal agreement with the Arbitrum Foundation to transfer funds to its control. As of January 29th, 38 delegates had applied, 24 completed compliance, 7 were in progress, and 4 had not started, representing over 200,000 voting power.

Regarding rewards, retroactive payments for November and December 2025 have been calculated and published on the forum, with disbursement expected to delegates’ wallets by the end of January. Since no votes occurred in January, no rewards will be distributed for that month. The update underscores OpCo’s ongoing efforts to streamline program operations and maintain transparency for the Arbitrum delegate community.

RAD: Incentivizing Delegate Participation And Enhancinng Governance Transparency

The Rewards for Active Delegates (RAD) program is designed to incentivize delegates based on their voting activity and the transparency of their voting rationale, representing the first initiative in a series of proposals under the broader DAO Incentive Program (DIP 2.1). Within this framework, a delegate is defined as an entity with voting power that participates in proposal decisions, with the program specifically emphasizing voting engagement and providing publicly accessible insights to facilitate sentiment analysis on why proposals succeed or fail.

The RAD program has three primary objectives. The first is to increase active voting power by encouraging greater participation over time. The second is to reduce voter apathy, measured by the proportion of active voting power relative to total delegated power, which should rise as delegates engage consistently. The third goal is to generate meaningful, publicly available data that supports sentiment analysis, enabling stakeholders to understand the reasoning behind votes and gain insights into DAO decision-making dynamics.

Success for RAD is defined by sustained delegate participation, the onboarding of new delegates into the voting process, and the creation of a transparent feedback loop. Even when a proposal does not pass, the program allows proposers and the community to gauge sentiment across the DAO through publicly shared reasoning, promoting accountability, clarity, and a deeper understanding of governance outcomes.