Arbitrum serves as a dynamic layer 2 solution that intends to optimize the performance of Ethereum’s smart contracts. This innovative technology enhances the speed and scalability of smart contracts while providing an extra layer of privacy features that bolster its security. Currently, there are many promising dApps that are building on Arbitrum. The projects have great potential and hence it becomes important to learn more about them. In this article, we will cover these top dApps individually.

Overview of the Arbitrum Ecosystem

Offchain Labs developed Arbitrum with the purpose of overcoming the limitations of existing Ethereum smart contracts, which have suffered from subpar efficiency and exorbitant execution costs. These issues have hampered the overall user experience on the Ethereum network and often made transactions a costly endeavour. By addressing these shortcomings, Arbitrum enables users to enjoy more efficient and cost-effective smart contract interactions on the Ethereum platform.

Arbitrum Ecosystem has an impressive team led by some very talented and capable individuals. The three major positions in the company are held by:

  • Ed Felten – The Co-Founder And Chief Scientist
  • Steven Goldfeder – The Co-Founder And Chief Executive Officer
  • Harry Kalodner– The Co-Founder And Chief Technology Officer

Ed is a highly respected and accomplished professor, Steven has successfully attained his Ph.D, and Harry is an up-and-coming Ph.D. candidate at the prestigious Princeton University. What sets these three experts apart is their unparalleled proficiency in blockchain technology, as well as their unwavering dedication to advancing the functionality of cryptocurrencies. Their collective passion for exploring the full potential of blockchain is driving the industry forward, making a significant impact in the field.

Arbitrum brings an innovative solution to the table with its “challenge step” mechanism for rollup blocks. This mechanism involves other validators inspecting the accuracy of a block and raising a challenge if they detect any errors or discrepancies. In the event that a block is proven to be incorrect or a challenge is deemed unfounded, the validator responsible for the false claim will have their stake taken away, thus incentivizing validators to always act with honesty and integrity. This unique feature guarantees the security and fairness of Arbitrum’s operations, making it a highly trustworthy platform for all smart contract transactions.

Arbitrum Ecosystem

Arbitrum: TVL

Current TVL: 1.86Billion USD

Arbitrum TVL

Source: Defilama

Arbitrum ecosystem is growing, and is still at a very nascent stage. Current Arbitrum TVL is more than 1.86Billion USD, with GMX dominance with 28.48%.

DApps building on Arbitrum

Arbitrum leverages an advanced methodology called “transaction rollups” to consolidate groups of submitted transactions onto the Ethereum main chain, before executing them on a cost-efficient, high-performance layer 2 sidechains.

By using Ethereum as a means of verifying the accuracy of these transactions, Arbitrum can ensure precise outcomes while offloading the majority of the storage and computational workload from the Ethereum network.

This transformative process not only relieves Ethereum of its current burdens but also paves the way for innovative layer 2-based DApps that are both dynamic and powerful. Some of these dApps include

GMX

GMX stands out as a decentralized exchange that empowers users with spot and perpetual trading, boasting incredibly low swap fees and zero price impact trades. The exchange is supported by a state-of-the-art multi-asset pool, allowing liquidity providers to earn fees from different sources such as market making, swap fees, and leverage trading. With Chainlink Oracles and an aggregate of prices from the world’s leading volume exchanges, GMX’s dynamic pricing ensures accuracy and reliability. Moreover, the platform is already live on two major blockchain networks – Arbitrum and Avalanche.

During the year 2022, GMX achieved notable recognition as a featured participant in the Arbitrum Odyssey. As part of this event, users of the GMX platform had the opportunity to earn exclusive Arbi-verse NFTs by completing specific tasks specified by the organizers. GMX, the utility and governance token has an Arbitrum APR of 16.22% and GLP, the liquidity provider token has an Arbitrum APR of 52.47%.

Camelot

Camelot represents an exciting new chapter in the evolution of decentralized exchanges, specifically designed to support the thriving Arbitrum ecosystem. At the heart of Camelot is a community-driven ethos, which prioritizes collaboration, innovation, and adaptability. This is reflected in the platform’s exceptional level of flexibility, enabling builders and users alike to leverage Camelot’s customizable infrastructure to generate deep and sustainable liquidity.

However, what truly sets Camelot apart from other DEXs is its emphasis on composability, providing a uniquely tailored approach to trading that puts the control firmly in the hands of the user. With a broad range of innovative features, protocols launching on Arbitrum are equipped with the tools they need to launch, bootstrap liquidity, and scale sustainably, underpinned by a capital-efficient infrastructure that maximizes returns for liquidity providers.

Zyberswap

Zyberswap is an innovative and trailblazing decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Arbitrum blockchain, distinguished by its automated market-maker (AMM) capabilities. This pioneering platform has been making waves in the DeFi space, with its total value locked (TVL) skyrocketing to over $164.42 million, and its native ZYB token trading at over $22. Zyberswap boasts the lowest fees out of all DEXs on the Arbitrum network, making it a cost-effective and user-friendly choice for traders of all levels.

Staking and Yield Farming are highly profitable activities within the dynamic and rapidly growing Arbitrum ecosystem. With its robust staking and yield farming programs, Zyberswap provides a highly lucrative environment for users to earn rewards on their crypto holdings. It is also committed to fostering a highly engaging and participatory community where all major changes are put to a vote via the Governance Voting system.

Radiant Capital

Radiant Capital is a decentralized money market platform designed to support multiple chains and major assets for deposits and borrowing. The platform is committed to offering competitive interest-bearing opportunities to its users while maintaining high security standards. To achieve this goal, Radiant launched its v1 on Arbitrum, which is one of the most secure and decentralized blockchains available.

The transaction fee mitigation offered by Arbitrum, along with the institutional adoption and security of Ethereum, has allowed Radiant to build a robust ecosystem that enables its users to enjoy high-interest rates with utmost safety. Radiant is set to launch its v2, as part of a broader plan to make the platform the most profitable protocol in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.

Gains Network

Gains Network is dedicated to revolutionizing the decentralized finance ecosystem with a unique approach. Their primary objective is to build an optimized and highly advanced suite of DeFi products that caters to the diverse needs of users. What sets Gains Network apart from other platforms is its innovative synthetic architecture, which ensures its gTrade is more cost-effective, with low trading fees. Additionally, it provides an array of leverages and pairs, including up to 150x on cryptocurrencies, 1000x on forex, 100x on stocks, and 35x on indices.

Gains Network’s protocol centres around the ecosystem’s ERC20 utility token (GNS) and ERC721 utility token (NFTs). Since its launch on #Arbitrum, Gains Network has accomplished significant milestones, such as doubling its TVL and becoming the most prominent holder of DAI on Arbitrum. As a leveraged trading platform, Gains Network also reached a new height by generating over $200,000 in daily fees on January 25th, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard.

Neutra Finance

Neutra Finance is a Yield farming protocol built on the Arbitrum network, designed to help users earn a high Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of over 10% without being affected by the price volatility on the market. The protocol features a Delta Neutral $GLP Vault on top of $GMX, allowing users to deposit USDC into the vault. The protocol then deposits the funds into GLP, providing returns to the users.

The team at Neutra Finance is committed to making sustainable investment strategies that are easily accessible via their automated strategy vaults. The platform is founded on three core values, the first of which is performance. The team aims to deliver high-yield strategies that optimize returns and reduce risk. The second core value is security, which is focused on safeguarding user funds through smart contracts and rebalancing tools. Lastly, Neutra Finance aims to deliver systems in an intuitive and easy-to-use way, ensuring a hassle-free experience for users.

Plutus

Plutus is an innovative governance aggregator that aims to offer Arbitrum-native solutions that maximize liquidity and rewards while aggregating governance behind its PLS token. Its ultimate goal is to establish itself as the go-to Layer 2 governance blackhole for projects with veTokens, creating a powerful and integrated ecosystem for crypto investors.

At the core of Plutus are two main products, plsAssets and plvAssets, that have been designed to address the specific needs of users. The plsAssets is a groundbreaking governance aggregation tool that helps users increase their rewards and liquidity. On the other hand, plvAssets offers an array of vaults that provide the convenience and high yields that end-users crave. These products are versatile building blocks that other protocols can use to develop their own customized offerings. Plutus has partnered with several prominent projects such as Dopex, Jones, GMX, and Sperax to create a range of innovative Plutus-related governance products.

VELA

Vela Exchange is a leading decentralized exchange that is poised to transform the world of trading through its innovative next-generation approach. With a robust offering of perpetual trading capabilities, a community-driven incentive system, and a highly scalable infrastructure, Vela is designed to provide a seamless and superior trading experience for users.

One of the key features of Vela Exchange is its unique token, VELA, which has been the subject of widespread attention in recent times. The exchange recently listed the rebranded, identical utility token on Camelot, another popular DEX on Arbitrum, contributing to a significant rally in its value.

One of the primary objectives of Vela Exchange is to address the common inefficiencies that plague most DEXs, including high execution costs, low performance, front-running, slippage, asset limitations, and a lack of risk management features. Vela Exchange has quickly established itself as a leading player in the decentralized exchange space.

Solidly/Solid Lizard

Solidly, a concept developed by Andre Cronje, offers a solution for incentivizing Total Value Locked (TVL) and reducing token dilution through its lock and get bribed model. Initially a Fantom-based DEX, Solidly has now migrated to Ethereum. Another DEX called SolidLizard, which is built on Arbitrum, also incorporates the ve(3,3) governance model developed by Cronje in Solidly. This governance model allows users to lock their $SLIZ tokens and receive a ve token that they can use to cast their votes. The rewards and voting power of the ve token are proportional to the number of tokens locked and the duration of the lockup period.

SolidLizard’s $SLIZ token, being the only #Solidly fork on #Arbitrum, is undervalued by at least 3x compared to its counterpart Equalizer, another Solidly DEX fork built on Fantom. Despite being launched only three weeks ago, SolidLizard has managed to acquire $60 million in TVL, an impressive feat indeed. In fact, A16z, a well-known venture capital firm, has already locked $2 million worth of assets on SolidLizard.

Arbitrum Ecosystem & How can you gain out of it?

Projects have started launching on Arbitrum, and there is a high chance of making huge gains by getting in early in some of these projects. Not just that, since Arbitrum token has not launched yet, interacting with these Arbitrum dApps can increase your chances of getting the upcoming Arbitrum airdrop. Do you use any of these above mentioned dApps? If yes, share it with us in the comment section.