LG and Arbitrum build blockchain ad platform for $679B market
In brief
- LG Electronics partners with Arbitrum to build blockchain-based ad platform
- Digital ad spend reached $679 billion in 2025, 68% of global market
- Blockchain system eliminates intermediaries and automates ad transactions
- ARB token gained 5.44% following the partnership announcement
- LG brings prior blockchain experience from Monachain and Wallypto projects
A Blockchain Play in Advertising
LG Electronics is working with Arbitrum to build the blockchain-focused advertising network. Digital ad spend reached $679 billion in 2025, making up 68% of worldwide ad spending. The scale of the market underscores why both companies see an opening for blockchain infrastructure.
The platform's core feature is straightforward. Arbitrum would provide advertisers and publishers a shared database of ad inventory and track customer interactions with advertisements. This shared ledger replaces the fragmented systems that dominate today's ad buying process. The result: a blockchain-based ad network would eliminate intermediaries and make ad buys more efficient.
"It means that you can basically run the market in an automated way in software," Arbitrum co-founder Steven Goldfeder told Fortune. "You don't need manual intervention."
LG's Blockchain History
LG isn't new to blockchain experimentation. LG CNS, a subsidiary of LG Corporation, launched an in-house blockchain called Monachain in 2018 for digital authentication, payments and supply chain management. More recently, LG Electronics developed a decentralized crypto wallet called Wallypto using the Hedera Hashgraph network during the 2022 NFT boom.
Those ventures didn't stick around. LG's NFT platform was shut down in June 2025, and Wallypto was terminated in September 2025. The advertising play represents another attempt to find a sustainable use case for blockchain technology within the company's portfolio.
Samuel Byungsun Park, the head of LG Electronics' blockchain research lab, framed the initiative cautiously. The company is still evaluating whether the approach can deliver value.
Market Response
The price of Arbitrum (ARB) gained 5.44% on Thursday following news of the new blockchain initiative. The move reflects investor interest in real-world applications for layer-2 networks beyond trading and DeFi.
Frequently asked questions
Why would a blockchain-based ad network be better than the current system?
A blockchain-based platform provides a shared database of ad inventory and automates transactions without intermediaries, making ad buys more efficient and reducing manual intervention. This transparency and automation could streamline the ad-buying process across the $679 billion digital ad market.
Has LG tried blockchain projects before?
Yes. LG CNS launched Monachain in 2018 for authentication and supply chain management. LG also developed Wallypto, a crypto wallet on Hedera Hashgraph, during the 2022 NFT boom. Both projects were later shut down—the NFT platform in June 2025 and Wallypto in September 2025.
