Arbitrum, the largest layer-2 network on top of Ethereum, has awarded its biggest-ever developer grant to Lotte Group, the multibillion-dollar South Korean conglomerate known for its vast portfolio of shopping malls, media companies and entertainment properties. According to Offchain Labs, the developer behind Arbitrum, the grant cements Arbitrum as the main blockchain infrastructure provider for Caliverse, Lotte’s metaverse gaming platform.

Offchain Labs shared the news at CES 2025, the technology tradeshow happening this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. A representative for the company declined to disclose the exact size of the grant “at this stage.” It was technically awarded by the non-profit Arbitrum Foundation, which periodically doles out grants in $ARB tokens to help spur development in the Arbitrum ecosystem.

“Lotte is Arbitrum Foundation’s largest grant recipient to date. And we’re proud to be working with partners so closely aligned with our vision,” said John Park, Head of Korea at The Arbitrum Foundation.

Lotte’s Arbitrum integration could signal renewed interest from traditional companies in building blockchain-based virtual worlds—the “metaverse” concept that earned mainstream buzz a few years ago but has since become less top-of-mind for many technologists and investors. Lotte first showed interest in releasing metaverse-related products in 2022 and announced that it was entering a “strategic partnership” with Arbitrum last year.

Caliverse is mainly a venue where the South Korean megacompany experiments with emerging tech trends like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and crypto. Caliverse users can explore virtual worlds featuring differing kinds of media content and futuristic shopping experiences. The app currently features content from a grab-bag of big brands, ranging from 7-Eleven to the Tomorrowland music festival. Much of the content on Caliverse comes from fashion and beauty companies like Givenchy, MCM, and L’Occitane.

Users can currently shop for those brands or experience concerts and other kinds of media within the Caliverse app. The new integration with Arbitrum means that blockchain users will be able to pay for certain services using crypto, and systems like in-game transactions could start running on-chain.

The Arbitrum blockchain has become a popular choice among gaming platforms, with the network experiencing a 72% year-over-year growth in 2024 for gaming, according to Offchain Labs. According to a press release the company shared with CoinDesk, Arbitrum currently hosts 119 game titles and 23 gaming-focused blockchains through its Arbitrum Orbit stack, a customizable toolkit that lets developers create their own blockchains based on Arbitrum’s technology.

“Arbitrum’s blockchain is the ideal home ground for Lotte Caliverse, delivering industry-leading 250ms block times that ensure high-quality performance within virtual worlds and gaming experiences,” said Steven Goldfeder, the co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs. “With Arbitrum now powering Lotte Caliverse, in-game transactions will be seamlessly integrated on-chain and will eliminate transaction latency, providing users with a smooth, consumer-friendly experience that sets a new standard for Arbitrum-based interactions in virtual worlds.”

Read more: Trading Platform Robinhood, Layer-2 Arbitrum Team Up To Offer Swaps To Users

Real Vision’s chief digital assets analyst Jamie Coutts says that a nascent but soaring crypto sector could continue its upward trend for a few more months.

Coutts tells his 32,100 followers on the social media platform X that he thinks crypto artificial intelligence (AI) agents will continue to perform well in the coming months.

Crypto AI agents are protocols built to autonomously perform tasks on behalf of users such as interacting with blockchains and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, trading and managing portfolios.

Says Coutts,

“The last big crypto hype cycle was from November 2020 to May 2021, around six months. Subsectors like DeFi, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) around six-12 months.

Interest in AI agents in crypto took off in November 2024. Based on history, this trend is expected to last at least another four months, but probably longer.

AI agents are not like the others – they unlock potential for every established and new use case.”

The Real Vision analyst, however, says that crypto AI agents could face a severe correction after reaching the cycle top.

“There will be many scams (tread carefully/position size), and as with every hype cycle, the dump will be massive, but I suspect this move still has a way to go.”

According to the cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinGecko, some of the AI-focused crypto projects that rank among the top 100 digital assets by market cap include Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) and ai16z (AI16Z).

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance is a me ging of various decentralized AI platforms whose goal is to speed up the advancement of decentralized Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI).

Virtuals Protocol is a platform that aims to enable the co-ownership of AI agents.

Meanwhile, the ai16z crypto project is designed to leverage AI-driven insights to direct investments in blockchain projects.

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Virtual Protocol’s price surge highlights growing interest in decentralized gaming, as ReadyGamer promises to merge AI, blockchain, and autonomous worlds into the gaming landscape.

Having experienced a major pump in the last few days, Virtual Protocol (VIRTUAL) continues to garner attention, reflecting increased investor confidence in the token and its ecosystem. The introduction of ReadyGamer, a joint venture with Sovrun that intends to incorporate AI, blockchain, and autonomous worlds into Web3 gaming, further underscores the growing market interest in VIRTUAL.

VIRTUAL has increased by 5.55% over the last day, and it is now trading at $3.88. Its 24-hour trading volume has reached $408.28 million, and its market capitalization has increased to almost $3.88 billion. This upward trend predates the ReadyGamer announcement, driven by rising expectations of Virtual Protocol’s ability to transform digital interactions and gaming ecosystems.

The ReadyGamer project seeks to provide a cutting-edge gaming platform by leveraging Virtual Protocol’s GAME architecture. The initiative combines dynamic AI systems, blockchain-secured transactions, and autonomous virtual environments to empower gamers with greater control and participation. Sovrun, with its expertise in decentralized systems, complements Virtual Protocol’s technology, positioning the two companies to tap into the growing demand for player-driven and immersive ecosystems.

Sovrun, formerly BreederDAO, brings deep expertise in blockchain gaming and on-chain ecosystems. The company specializes in fostering virtual economies and enabling players and creators to build autonomous worlds. Its collaboration with Virtual Protocol strengthens the foundation for innovation in decentralized gaming.

While VIRTUAL‘s price spike has captured attention, industry experts suggest ReadyGamer’s long-term potential could overshadow the current market momentum which is yet to be seen.