In a riveting development this year, Arbitrum, one of Ethereum’s promising rollups, showcased stellar performance in Q2 2023. With an impressive valuation of $5.77 billion, Arbitrum’s focus on improving infrastructure and propelling its ecosystem forward has been remarkable. However, a twist in the tale appeared in the form of a notable “sell-the-news” reaction post the ARB airdrop on March 23, 2023.
The airdrop incident led to a considerable influx of users coupled with a significant surge in daily transactions, exceeding the chain’s usual averages. This surge persisted even after the conclusion of airdrop incentives, with transaction and user counts overtaking pre-airdrop figures. One could attribute this enduring strength and blossoming ecosystem to the collective effect of super airdrop hunters, leveraging multiple Ethereum addresses to amass ARB tokens, albeit contributing to the selling pressure.
The downside was an acute drop in the ARB token’s price. The selling frenzy during the airdrop pulled the price down to $1 from $10.29 in a matter of hours. Nevertheless, the Arbitrum team appears undeterred. As per the latest Nansen’s report, despite the challenges, daily transactions and gas prices on Arbitrum One remain steady with an average of 800k transactions.
As the dust around this event begins to settle, we observe a steady rise in the number of new wallets and transactions. Interestingly, the wallet activity on some days in Q2 even eclipsed that of Ethereum’s. Such a trend towards more “organic activity” paints a positive picture for the future of Arbitrum.
Significant price surges for native tokens within the Arbitrum ecosystem, like GMX and MAGIC, bear testimony to the lasting impact of the ARB airdrop. It’s safe to say that the ARB airdrop supplied the necessary fuel for the growth and expansion of the said ecosystem.
The bird’s-eye view reveals that the ARB airdrop allocated a fraction of the entire ARB supply (1.1% of 12.75 billion) to the ecosystem’s DAOs. While this allocation could be leveraged by DAOs to encourage usage, its distribution was uneven, leaving smaller projects with less than $500,000 worth of ARB tokens.
Overall, with speculation around the ARB airdrop dissipating, the subsequent upward trends in gas fee expenditure and the creation of new wallets indicate an increase in organic engagement. The resultant stability and growth affirm the potential of Arbitrum in shaping the future of the blockchain universe.
Source: Cryptonews
