It’s a tepid time in the web3 world right now, but many are hoping for the long-awaited Arbitrum airdrop to inject some liquidity into our digital economy.
Around 6:00am PT / 9:00am ET on Thursday March 23 (check exact time in your time zone here), the $ARB airdrop will be available to claim for those eligible.
While many think this is just another airdrop that will trickle swiftly toward zero, others are much more bullish on the DAO governance token of the biggest L2 on Ethereum, which was launched by Offchain Labs in August 2021.
Will this Arbitrum airdrop of 1.16 billion tokens be different than some of the others?
Please note that this is only a roundup of ideas, and are not actual predictions of $ARB. This is for informational and entertainment purposes only, not financial advice. Beware of targeted scams surrounding this drop and only use official links from Arbitrum.
WHAT ARE ARBITRUM AND $ARB?
The entire mission of the Arbitrum network has been to securely and effectively scale Ethereum in a decentralized manner.
Okay, so how does it work?
The Arbitrum Network uses transaction rollups to record batches of submitted transactions on the Ethereum main chain, and then executes them on a cheaper sidechain (a “Layer 2” or “L2”). This means lower gas fees and faster transaction speeds than mainnet Ethereum.
Some centralization has been part of this process because in order to upgrade the technology for the L2, someone has to control the keys to the castle. 😟
But with the $ARB token introduction, this control goes over to the DAO— meaning that the network can still be upgraded, but without central points of control.
Here is a deeper dive thread into $ARB and what it actually does, besides be able to be exchanged for some other crypto (which is also a fun utility). 😆
1/ Arbitrum just launched the $ARB token with self-enforcing on-chain governance.
$ARB will play a crucial role in the progressive decentralization of the Arbitrum protocol.
Here's how it works: 🧵
— Ignas | DeFi Research (@DefiIgnas)
Mar 16, 2023
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE AIRDROP AND WHY?
Arbitrum has different layers for different use cases. For DeFi and NFTs, Arbitrum One (now upgrade to “Nitro”). For Social and Gaming, there’s Arbitrum Nova.
For the airdrop, users for these layers earned “points” by bridging funds, conducting transactions over a period of time, interacting with different smart contracts, and reaching certain thresholds of spending on the platform and dApps.
These points translate into $ARB tokens. If you took at least 3 of these actions before the snapshot on February 6, 2023, you are eligible for the airdrop. Check out the official criteria and claim website here. Offchain Labs worked with Nansen on the airdrop process.
If this goes like the $BLUR airdrop and $APE staking went… I’m not all that confident that USA residents/IP addresses will be able to claim $ARB. 😪 🦅
HOW MUCH WILL $ARB BE WORTH?
Here’s the thing: Nobody knows.
People are trading over-the-counter (OTC) before the token launches for around $1-$2 each. This method uses security deposits and agreements with an escrow to transfer $ARB once it is claimable (risky, but degens will degen).
There have been price predictions from 10 cents to $40 out there, with all types of reasons that are truly above my JPEG-flipping head. Some are comparing it to the Optimism $OP token, which is at $2.60.
The amazing Twitter account S4mmy compares the airdrop to $MATIC in this thorough thread, which also includes some thoughts on where the price could land.
Over 80% of people who claimed their $BLUR and $X2Y2 airdrops dumped nearly all of their tokens… ASAP. 😳
Arbitrum will be the first L2 to have self-executing governance where governance happens entirely on-chain.
Do people want to hold $ARB tokens for governance in the leading Ethereum L2? Or will they opt for that sweet sweet $ instead?
Time will tell what happens with this one. When the airdrop goes live on Thursday, check out this Dune dashboard to monitor what’s going on with $ARB.
me on Thursday watching the airdrop
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