LG Wants to Put the $700 Billion Ad Industry On-Chain With Arbitrum

LG Electronics is building a blockchain network for placing and selling ads, the company told Fortune on June 11. The South Korean device maker worked with Arbitrum to develop its own layer-2 chain for the platform.

The project emerged from LG’s dedicated blockchain research lab, which piloted the system with an unnamed Japanese ad agency. A commercial rollout is under evaluation for later this year.

Why LG Electronics Built a Blockchain for Advertising

The platform gives advertisers and publishers a shared database of ad inventory, according to Fortune. It also records how audiences interact with each placement.

That common ledger could replace the manual reconciliation that still settles many digital ad deals.

The prize is substantial. Dentsu forecasts digital ad spend at $740 billion in 2026. That is about 73% of a global media market set to top $1 trillion for the first time.

Samuel Byungsun Park leads LG Electronics’ blockchain research department. He said LG is evaluating whether the approach delivers meaningful value to advertisers, publishers, and audiences.

Historically, LG has tested Web3 in waves. The company previously unveiled its digital asset wallet Wallypto and filed an NFT trading TV patent, both tied to its consumer device business.

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Corporate Chains Shift From Renting to Owning

LG joins a growing list of firms building their own ledgers rather than renting block space.

Stripe incubated Tempo, a payments chain that raised $500 million. Meanwhile, Robinhood is working with Arbitrum on its own tokenized-equity chain, and Circle is developing the Arc network.

However, Arbitrum’s enterprise wins have not lifted its token. Arbitrum (ARB) traded near $0.083 on Thursday, up 5% in 24 hours yet down 80% over the past year.

Arbitrum cofounder Steven Goldfeder argued the model can automate ad sales without manual intervention. Still, he warned that owning a chain does not fit every company.

“I am very opinionated when someone asks me, ‘Should I launch a blockchain?’ For many people, the answer is yes, but probably for most people, the answer is no,” Goldfeder said in comments to Fortune.

LG committing depends on what the pilot proved about cost and speed. The decision on a full market launch should land later this year.