LG Teams Up With Arbitrum to Build a Layer-2 Network for Onchain Smart TV Ads

LG Electronics is pushing further into crypto infrastructure, partnering with Arbitrum to develop a layer-2 blockchain aimed at modernizing the digital advertising stack. LG's blockchain R&D team has launched an Arbitrum-based network to support an onchain advertising platform that lets participants place, buy, sell, and manage digital ads. The company says the design is intended to reduce reliance on traditional intermediaries across the ad supply chain. LG has completed a pilot program with a Japanese advertising agency and is weighing a broader market release later this year. Arbitrum pointed to the initiative in a June 11 post. Layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum run on top of Ethereum to boost transaction capacity and lower costs, a profile seen as better suited for high-volume workflows like ad transactions. Arbitrum co-founder Steven Goldfeder told Fortune the approach can remove the need for "manual interventions," allowing market operations to be handled automatically via software. Samuel Byungsun Park, head of LG's blockchain research department, said the company is "evaluating whether this approach can deliver meaningful value to advertisers, publishers and audiences." The news lifted Arbitrum's ARB token, with CoinGecko showing about a 5% gain following the announcement. LG plans to draw on LG Ad Solutions, its advertising unit, which serves a global smart TV installed base of roughly 216 million devices, including 49 million in the U.S., giving the effort a sizable potential audience. The project also extends LG's longer-running experimentation with distributed ledger technology. LG CNS launched the Monachain enterprise blockchain in 2018, while LG shut down its Art Lab NFT marketplace last year. LG joins a growing list of large companies building blockchain infrastructure for business use, including Samsung's supply-chain ledgers, JPMorgan's JPM Coin, and Mastercard's stablecoin settlement initiatives. The trend has increasingly favored public and layer-2 networks over closed, permissioned ledgers. The partnership also points to steady enterprise interest in crypto infrastructure, even as blockchain ceded attention to AI at CES 2026. LG's Arbitrum-built ad network stands out as a real-world test of moving ad buying and selling onchain at scale. With a completed pilot and a massive smart TV footprint, the initiative could become a key indicator for how quickly onchain advertising can move from concept to mainstream deployment if LG proceeds with a full launch later this year.