Nvidia Halts Arbitrum Announcement Amid Crypto Exclusion Policy

Arbitrum (ARB), a leading Ethereum Layer 2 network hosting several decentralized AI platforms, was poised to announce a major partnership with Nvidia. The deal would have positioned Arbitrum as Nvidia’s exclusive Ethereum collaborator for its new Ignition AI Accelerator—an offshoot of the Inception program offering infrastructure and mentorship to promising AI startups.

But the momentum came to a halt. According to a statement shared with CoinDesk, Nvidia requested a pause on the announcement without providing any specific reasons. This move highlights Nvidia’s ongoing aversion to crypto, a stance reflected in its Inception program's strict disqualification of cryptocurrency-related projects.

Nvidia’s discomfort with crypto isn’t new. In 2018, CEO Jensen Huang referred to the aftermath of the ICO boom as a “crypto hangover,” after Ethereum’s price crash left the company with excess GPU inventory. Nvidia later paid a $5.5 million fine over its crypto-related revenue disclosures. In 2023, CTO Michael Kagan stated, “Crypto doesn’t bring anything useful for society,” contrasting it sharply with artificial intelligence, which Nvidia has fully embraced.

At Nvidia’s 2024 Graphics Technology Conference, CEO Huang shared the stage with NEAR co-founder and Transformer model author Illia Polosukhin, but their conversation remained focused on AI. While Huang mentioned “programmable money,” the comment appeared rhetorical rather than a signal of support for crypto.

Despite occasional optimism from the blockchain community, Nvidia continues to officially exclude crypto projects from its flagship programs. With the Ignition partnership announcement on hold and no change in policy, Nvidia’s position remains firm: the AI leader sees little future for crypto in its innovation ecosystem.