Arbitrum just launched the ARB token with a long-awaited airdrop. Many traders were active on the platform just to be qualified to receive the tokens. This raises the question of whether the recent success of Arbitrum is a product of airdrop hunters searching for another opportunity or if this represents the organic growth of the platform. Layer-2 networks are believed to solve many problems blockchain technology is still facing today.

How are Arbitrum and Optimism doing in terms of growth and user adoption?

The TVL is picking up nicely

The answer to the question in the introduction is pretty straightforward: Arbitrum (ARB) is doing great. Of course, the long-awaited airdrop has done its part to grow the user base and prop up the total value locked (TVL) in the protocol.

But there is more to that growth as the most recent data from l2beat reveals. It correlated with Bitcoin’s rebound on March 11. Since that day the TVL kept rising which reveals two things. First of all, those assets that were already locked on Arbitrum are appreciating which also raises the TVL. The second takeaway is that Arbitrum is establishing itself among the top 5 DeFi platforms in the world.

Only Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRX), and the Binance Smart Chain (BNB) exceed Arbitrum in TVL making it the fourth-largest platform.

Optimism is also growing

One could argue that Arbitrum is lifted because of rising prices and the airdrop. The fact that other layer-2 networks are doing great contradicts that viewpoint. The overall stablecoin inflow in layer-2 networks including Optimism (OP) is rising. This indicates that there is more appetite among investors who are focused on crypto.

Optimism is currently the sixth-largest DeFi platform worldwide and among the top gainers this month in TVL. Another notable example is Immutable X (IMX) which grew more than 56% in TVL recently. An outstanding result when compared to other layer-2 platforms. Optimism managed a little more than 25% TVL growth at the same time and other protocols in that niche range somewhere between 5% - 26% of growth.

When comparing the growth in layer-2 networks to DeFi protocols that run directly on top of Ethereum it becomes clear that the market is shifting. Layer-2 platforms such as Arbitrum and Optimism offer more speed and transaction throughput at a minimal cost. It is this competitive advantage that might cause a complete shift away from expensive on-chain transactions.

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