As outlined in Nansen’s Quarterly Report for Q2 2023, the introduction of the Arbitrum (ARB) airdrop on March 23, 2023, sparked a surge in both users and transactions. Since the ARB airdrop, the daily transaction volume and user count have consistently surpassed the chain’s historical averages.
Arbitrum, a prominent Ethereum rollup hosting assets valued at $5.77 billion, experienced robust expansion in the preceding quarter. Throughout Q2, Arbitrum sustained its growth trajectory by bolstering its infrastructure and fostering ecosystem development.
Following the conclusion of ARB airdrop incentives, despite a “sell-the-news” reaction affecting the native token and its associated ecosystem projects, notable activity levels endured. This was evidenced by transaction and user figures outpacing pre-airdrop levels.
The influx of new users underscores the sustained strength of Arbitrum and its flourishing ecosystem.
A subset of “super airdrop hunters,” who amassed ARB tokens through various Ethereum addresses, notably contributed to selling pressure.
The ARB token underwent substantial selling during the airdrop, leading its price to plummet from $10.29 to $1 within a short span.
According to Nansen’s report, the stability exhibited by Arbitrum post-Airdrop “indicates a growing organic activity.” The influx of new users has not only been consistent but at times even surpassed Ethereum’s activity on specific days during Q2.
Throughout the second quarter of 2023, daily transactions and gas prices on Arbitrum One, a pivotal component utilizing Arbitrum Rollup technology to enhance transaction throughput while preserving security, remained steady, averaging around 800,000 transactions.
The quarter exhibited a consistent upswing in transaction count compared to the previous quarter, signifying heightened activity following the airdrop. Daily active addresses on Arbitrum remained steady at approximately 200,000 throughout the quarter.
Conversely, there has been a gradual rise in the count of new wallets initiating transactions on Arbitrum since the beginning of the year. On specific days during Q2, this count even surpassed Ethereum’s new wallet activity.
Impact of the Arbitrum (ARB) Airdrop: Price Surge and Ecosystem Expansion Since March
The unveiling of the Arbitrum (ARB) airdrop on March 16 spurred a noteworthy price surge in the native tokens of projects within the Arbitrum ecosystem. This included tokens like GMX (GMX), Magic (MAGIC), Gains Network (GNS), and Radiant Network (RDNT).
This surge was intrinsically linked to the ARB airdrop, fostering growth in the broader Arbitrum ecosystem.
The price surge primarily occurred between the airdrop announcement and its execution on March 23.
As detailed in a report, “Following the airdrop’s launch alongside the introduction of the $ARB token, token prices within the ecosystem experienced a decrease, aligning with the common ‘sell the news’ trend.”
The Arbitrum airdrop allocated 1.1% of the total 12.75 billion ARB supply to the ecosystem’s DAOs. This allocation played a crucial role in shaping a positive outlook for the Arbitrum ecosystem, as DAOs could employ ARB incentives to encourage usage.
However, the individual project allocations within the Arbitrum ecosystem were relatively modest. Only GMX and MAGIC received allocations surpassing $10 million.
The majority of projects received ARB token allocations worth less than $500,000, prompting the need for enhancements to incentivize liquidity across a broader user base.
With the initial speculation surrounding the ARB airdrop subsiding, the rising number of new wallets points to a growing organic engagement.
Daily active users, transaction count, and on-chain value have all maintained levels higher than pre-airdrop metrics.
The upward trends in gas fee expenditure and the establishment of new wallets further underscore the network’s increasing utilization.
