Arbitrum One, a Layer 2 optimistic rollup for Ethereum, has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 1 billion transactions since its mainnet launch in August 2021. This achievement comes within three years, reflecting Arbitrum’s growing dominance in the Layer 2 space.
According to Blockscan data, Arbitrum’s competitor Base, incubated by Coinbase, has recorded 755 million transactions, while OP Mainnet has registered 347 million transactions.
Despite the competition, Arbitrum maintains the highest total value locked (TVL) among Layer 2 networks, with $2.5 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Base follows closely with $2.2 billion in TVL.
How Arbitrum Works
Developed by Offchain Labs, Arbitrum One uses optimistic rollup technology to enable faster and more cost-effective transactions while securing them through the Ethereum blockchain. The system assumes transactions are valid by default and only verifies them when a challenge is made, reducing the computational load on Ethereum and lowering transaction costs.
Arbitrum One operates with active fraud proofs and a security mechanism that allows transaction challenges, but the platform is still in its stage one phase and has yet to become fully permissionless.
Offchain Labs also operates a second Layer 2 network, Arbitrum Nova, which uses the AnyTrust protocol for off-chain data availability, aimed at scaling decentralized applications.
In October 2023, Offchain Labs launched Orbit, a development toolkit for Layer 3 blockchain creation. This tool allows developers to launch their own blockchains by settling on either Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova, further expanding the ecosystem of Layer 2 and Layer 3 chains built on Ethereum.
With its continuous innovations and strategic developments, Arbitrum remains a pivotal player in the Ethereum scaling landscape.
