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Arbitrum

Arbitrum ARB

About

What Is Arbitrum (ARB)?

Arbitrum is an Ethereum layer-two (L2) scaling solution. It uses optimistic rollups to achieve its goal of improving speed, scalability and cost-efficiency on Ethereum. Arbitrum benefits from the security and compatibility of Ethereum. Another benefit is the higher throughput and lower fees compared to Ethereum. That is made possible thanks to moving most of the computation and storage load off-chain.

Arbitrum’s native token is called ARB and is used for governance. Offchain Labs, the developers behind Arbitrum, announced the shift to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure — the Arbitrum DAO. ARB holders can vote on proposals that affect the features, protocol upgrades, funds allocation and election of a Security Council.

Arbitrum has an ambitious roadmap for 2023, which includes: Launching its own layer-three solution called Orbit; Enabling developers to deploy programs written in popular programming languages like Rust, C++, and more using Stylus; Expanding its validator set to include more independent institutional validators; Moving its protocol to layer two with Arbitrum One.

On March 16, 2023, Arbitrum announced their highly anticipated airdrop of ARB. The token will be airdropped to early users and DAOs building on Arbitrum, with 12.75% of the total supply to be distributed. Recipients were rewarded on a point-based system depending on their interaction with the Arbitrum network until a cutoff date of March 1, 2023. The token generation event is on March 23, 2023.

Who Are the Founders of Arbitrum?

Arbitrum is developed by Offchain Labs, a New York-based development company. Its founders are Ed Felten, Steven Goldfeder and Harry Kalodner, former Princeton University researchers with years of experience in computer science, cryptography and blockchain.

Ed Felten is a computer science professor at Princeton and served as President Obama’s Deputy CTO. He is the co-founder and Chief Scientist of Offchain Labs.

Steven Goldfeder is a computer scientist and entrepreneur who received his Ph.D. from Princeton. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs.

Harry Kalodner is a computer scientist and Ph.D. candidate at Princeton. He is also the co-founder and CTO of Offchain Labs.

In 2021, Offchain Labs announced that it raised $120 million in its latest Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, valuing it at $1.2 billion. Other prominent investors include Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital, Mark Cuban and more

What Makes Arbitrum Unique?

Arbitrum uses optimistic rollups to stand out from other scaling solutions for Ethereum. It claims to offer several advantages over other optimistic rollup solutions, such as:

Compatibility: Arbitrum supports unmodified EVM contracts and transactions, meaning that any existing Ethereum DApp can run on Arbitrum without any code changes.

Scalability: Arbitrum can handle thousands of transactions per second with low fees and fast finality, while maintaining the security guarantees of Ethereum.

Flexibility: Arbitrum allows developers to deploy programs written in popular programming languages like Rust, C++, and more using Stylus, its upcoming EVM+ equivalence feature.

Decentralization: Arbitrum does not rely on any centralized operator or sequencer to order transactions. Instead, it uses a decentralized network of validators who stake ARB tokens and earn fees for securing the network.

Arbitrum also has a vibrant ecosystem of DApps, wallets, tools and partners that make it one of the leading scaling solutions for Ethereum.

Some of the protocols that are available on the network include: GMX (GMX), Treasure (MAGIC), Camelot (GRAIL), Radiant Capital (RDNT), Vela Exchange (VELA), ZyberSwap (ZYB), Dopex (DPX), PlutusDAO (PLS), TridentDAO (PSI), Jones DAO (JONES) and more.

The growth of the Arbitrum ecosystem can be seen from its total value locked (TVL) metric. According to DeFiLlama, Arbitrum's TVL reached a peak of $3.2 billion in November 2021 and currently stands at around $1.85 billion as of this writing. This makes it the highest TVL among all other Layer 2 ecosystems.

How Many Arbitrum (ARB) Coins Are There in Circulation?

ARB is the native governance token of Arbitrum. It will launch on March 23rd 2023, distributing 12.75% of the total supply of ARB tokens to eligible recipients and DAOs.

The utility of the ARB token is to enable decentralized governance of the Arbitrum ecosystem. ARB holders govern the Arbitrum network by voting on governance proposals for the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova chains. They can also influence how funds of the DAO treasury will be used. Governance proposals can include upgrades to the chain, changes to network parameters, allocation of grants and bounties, integration of new features and more.

ARB does not work as a gas fee token like ETH does on the Ethereum network. Instead, the fees on Arbitrum are paid in ETH or any other ERC-20 token supported by DApps. This means that ARB holders do not need to spend their tokens to use Arbitrum services, but rather can stake them and earn fees for securing the network.

The total supply of ARB tokens is fixed at 10 billion. The token allocation is as follows: Arbitrum DAO treasury: 42.78% (4.278 billion), Offchain Labs teams and advisors: 26.94% (2.694 billion), Investors: 17.53% (1.753 billion), airdrop to users: 11.62% (1.162 billion), airdrop to DAOs: 1.13% (113 million).

How Is Arbitrum Secured?

Arbitrum derives its security from the Ethereum network, which provides consensus and finality for Arbitrum transactions. In other words, Ethereum guarantees the validity of the rollup’s off-chain computation and data availability behind the computation.

The use of optimistic rollups means Arbitrum executes transactions on the rollup outside of Ethereum, and bundle multiple transactions in a batch before submitting it to mainnet. As the term “optimistic” suggests, the off-chain transactions are assumed to be valid and no proof-of-validity is submitted. In case of a dispute, there is a time period after the rollup is submitted where anyone can challenge the transaction by submitting a fraud proof.

Where Can You Buy Arbitrum (ARB)?

ARB can be purchased on numerous centralized exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, KuCoin, Bybit, Kraken, Bitfinex and more. It is also available for trading on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap V3 (Ethereum), Uniswap V3 (Arbitrum) and SushiSwap (Arbitrum).

Keep track of ARB live prices in real-time with the CMC mobile app.

AI Analysis

Analyzed on March 1, 2026

What is the Arbitrum (ARB) cryptocurrency good for? What are its main use cases?

Arbitrum (ARB) is a cryptocurrency that powers the Arbitrum network, a decentralized, layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. The main use cases of ARB include:

  1. Governance: ARB is used for voting on proposals to upgrade the Arbitrum protocol, ensuring the network remains secure, efficient, and aligned with the community's interests.
  2. Incentivizing validators: ARB is used to incentivize validators to secure the Arbitrum network, ensuring the integrity and availability of the layer 2 solution.
  3. Dispute resolution: In the event of a dispute on the Arbitrum network, ARB is used to incentivize honest validators to resolve the dispute and maintain the network's integrity.
  4. Fee payment: ARB can be used to pay for transaction fees on the Arbitrum network, although other cryptocurrencies like ETH can also be used.
  5. Staking: ARB can be staked to participate in the validation process, helping to secure the network and earning rewards in the form of additional ARB tokens.
  6. Liquidity provision: ARB can be used to provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) built on the Arbitrum network.
  7. Decentralized applications (dApps): ARB can be used as a native asset within dApps built on the Arbitrum network, enabling a wide range of use cases, such as gaming, social media, and more.

The Arbitrum network's main benefits include:

  • Scalability: Arbitrum enables faster and cheaper transactions compared to the Ethereum mainnet.
  • Low latency: Arbitrum's rollup technology allows for faster transaction processing times.
  • High throughput: Arbitrum can process a large number of transactions per second, making it suitable for high-demand applications.

By using ARB, users and developers can participate in the Arbitrum ecosystem, contribute to its security and governance, and benefit from the network's scalable and low-latency infrastructure.

Answered by llama-3.3-70b-versatile (groq)

What blockchain does Arbitrum use? Is it its own blockchain or built on top of another?

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution built on top of Ethereum (Layer 1). It does not operate as an independent blockchain but rather as an optimistic rollup, which processes transactions off-chain and submits them to Ethereum for final settlement.

Key Points:

  1. Layer 2 on Ethereum – Arbitrum inherits Ethereum's security and decentralization while improving scalability and reducing gas fees.
  2. Optimistic Rollup – It uses fraud proofs to ensure transaction validity, allowing for faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum's base layer.
  3. EVM Compatibility – Arbitrum is fully compatible with Ethereum's EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), meaning developers can deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts with minimal changes.

Arbitrum vs. Other L2s:

  • Arbitrum One (original version) and Arbitrum Nova (a more scalable variant) are both built on Ethereum.
  • Unlike Ethereum sidechains (e.g., Polygon PoS), Arbitrum does not have its own native blockchain but relies on Ethereum for security.

Summary:

Arbitrum is not its own blockchain but a Layer 2 scaling solution that enhances Ethereum's capabilities. It leverages Ethereum's security while providing faster and cheaper transactions.

Answered by mistral-small-latest (mistral)

Is Arbitrum programmable? Does it support smart contracts or decentralized applications?

Yes, Arbitrum is a programmable Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution that fully supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). It is designed to be EVM-compatible, meaning developers can deploy and interact with smart contracts on Arbitrum just as they would on Ethereum.

Key Features of Arbitrum for Smart Contracts & dApps:

  1. EVM Compatibility – Arbitrum is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to use existing Ethereum tools, languages (Solidity, Vyper), and frameworks (Hardhat, Truffle, Foundry).
  2. Optimistic Rollup Technology – Arbitrum uses Optimistic Rollups to achieve high throughput and low gas fees while maintaining security via fraud proofs.
  3. Smart Contract Support – Developers can deploy and interact with smart contracts on Arbitrum, including DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, DAOs, and more.
  4. Cross-Chain Interoperability – Arbitrum supports bridges (like Arbitrum Bridge, Hop Protocol, and LayerZero) to move assets between Ethereum and Arbitrum.
  5. Developer Tools & Ecosystem – Arbitrum has a growing ecosystem with tools like Arbitrum Orbit (for custom L2s), Arbitrum Nova (for high-throughput use cases), and integrations with major wallets (MetaMask, Ledger, etc.).

Popular dApps on Arbitrum:

  • DeFi: Uniswap, SushiSwap, GMX, Aave
  • NFTs: OpenSea, TreasureDAO
  • Gaming & Social: Friend.tech, Pudgy Penguins
  • Infrastructure: Chainlink, The Graph

How to Deploy Smart Contracts on Arbitrum:

  1. Use Existing Ethereum Tools – Compile and deploy contracts using Hardhat, Foundry, or Remix.
  2. Connect to Arbitrum RPC – Use Arbitrum’s RPC endpoints (e.g., https://arb1.arbitrum.io/rpc).
  3. Fund with ETH or ARB Token – Pay gas fees in ETH (or ARB for certain transactions).
  4. Interact via Wallets – Use MetaMask or other wallets configured for Arbitrum.

Conclusion:

Arbitrum is a fully programmable L2 solution that supports smart contracts and dApps, making it a popular choice for developers looking for scalability, low fees, and Ethereum compatibility. If you're building a dApp, Arbitrum is a strong option alongside other L2s like Optimism and zkSync.

Would you like help with a specific development or deployment process?

Answered by mistral-small-latest (mistral)

How fast are Arbitrum transactions? What is the typical confirmation time and throughput (transactions per second)?

Arbitrum, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution, offers significantly faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum's base layer. Here’s a breakdown of its performance:

1. Transaction Speed & Confirmation Time

  • Typical Confirmation Time: ~1-5 seconds (on-chain finality).
  • Optimistic Rollup Model: Arbitrum uses an optimistic rollup design, meaning transactions are initially processed off-chain and later settled on Ethereum. However, users can interact with Arbitrum transactions almost instantly, with final settlement occurring after a challenge period (typically 7 days for full finality, but withdrawals can be expedited via Arbitrum’s AnyTrust or Nitro upgrades).

2. Throughput (Transactions Per Second - TPS)

  • Theoretical Max TPS: ~40,000 TPS (with Nitro upgrade).
  • Real-World TPS: ~1,000–5,000 TPS (varies based on network congestion and gas fees).
  • Comparison to Ethereum: Arbitrum can handle 100x more transactions per second than Ethereum’s base layer (~15-30 TPS).

3. Key Factors Affecting Speed

  • Gas Fees: Arbitrum transactions are ~10-100x cheaper than Ethereum, making them more accessible.
  • Nitro Upgrade: The latest version of Arbitrum (Nitro) improves throughput and reduces latency.
  • Network Congestion: During peak times, confirmation times may slightly increase.

4. Comparison to Other L2s

  • Arbitrum vs. Optimism: Similar speeds (~1-5 sec), but Arbitrum generally has higher throughput.
  • Arbitrum vs. zkSync/Ethereum L2s: Arbitrum is faster than zkRollups in execution but slower in finality (zkRollups settle instantly on Ethereum).

Conclusion

Arbitrum provides near-instant transaction speeds (1-5 sec) with high throughput (1,000–5,000 TPS) and low fees, making it one of the fastest and most scalable Ethereum L2 solutions. For most users, transactions feel as fast as a centralized exchange.

Would you like details on specific use cases (e.g., DeFi, NFTs)?

Answered by mistral-small-latest (mistral)

How much data can I store on the Arbitrum blockchain? Does it support on-chain data storage?

Arbitrum, like most Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) rollup solutions, is primarily designed for executing smart contracts and transactions at lower costs and higher speeds compared to Ethereum's mainnet. However, its native support for on-chain data storage is limited, similar to Ethereum.

How Much Data Can You Store on Arbitrum?

  1. Smart Contract Storage (State Variables)

    • Arbitrum supports storing data in smart contract storage (like Ethereum).
    • Each storage slot (32 bytes) costs gas, and the total storage is theoretically unlimited (but expensive).
    • Example: Storing a few kilobytes of data in a contract is feasible, but large datasets (MBs or GBs) become impractical due to high gas costs.
  2. Calldata (Temporary Data in Transactions)

    • You can include data in transaction inputs (calldata), but this is not permanent storage—it’s only available during execution.
    • Max transaction size is ~128 KB (similar to Ethereum).
  3. Off-Chain Storage with On-Chain References

    • For large datasets, the best approach is to store data off-chain (e.g., IPFS, Arweave, centralized storage) and store only a hash or reference (e.g., CID) on-chain.
    • Example: Store a file on IPFS and save its CID in an Arbitrum smart contract.

Does Arbitrum Support On-Chain Data Storage?

  • Yes, but with limitations (same as Ethereum).
  • Not ideal for large-scale storage due to high costs.
  • Better for small, critical data (e.g., NFT metadata hashes, contract state).

Alternatives for Large-Scale Storage

  • IPFS + ENS (for decentralized storage)
  • Arweave (permanent storage)
  • Centralized storage (AWS S3, Firebase) + on-chain references

Conclusion

Arbitrum can store small amounts of data on-chain (like Ethereum), but for large datasets, off-chain storage with on-chain references is the practical solution. If you need massive on-chain storage, consider specialized blockchains like Filecoin, Arweave, or Sia.

Would you like recommendations for a specific use case?

Answered by mistral-small-latest (mistral)

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