Posted:
- Interest in whales in ARB skyrocketed despite the fading spotlight in the Layer 2 (L2) sector.
- ARB’s price battle, network stats are declining.
In the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, trends can change quickly. Arbitration[ARB], once a beacon of the Layer 2 (L2) sector, has been eclipsed by newer protocols. Despite this, a recent surge in interest in whales has brought new attention to Arbitrum’s native token, ARB.
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Whales show interest
Lookonchain’s data revealed that a prominent whale has recently made significant strides in the ARB market. This whale invested 800 ETH, equivalent to $1.31 million, to acquire 1.47 million ARB tokens at a unit price of $0.89.
Interestingly, this wasn’t their first foray into ARB. In mid-August, they bought 1.27 million ARB tokens at $1.16 per token. Unfortunately, they sold these tokens at a loss, amounting to around $35,000, when the price of ARB on Binance fell to $1.13.
However, despite this renewed interest from whales, the price trajectory of the ARB token is not encouraging. Over the past month, ARB’s price has seen a series of lower lows and lower highs, painting a bearish picture. According to the latest data, ARB was trading at a paltry USD 0.891.
Notably, not only was ARB’s price underperforming, but network metrics also gave cause for concern. ARB’s network growth took a noticeable hit during this period, suggesting that interest from new addresses is waning.
In addition, the rate of the ARB token decreased, indicating a decrease in the token’s trading frequency. These developments could potentially put further downward pressure on ARB’s price in the future.

Source: Sentiment
When examining the overall status of the Arbitrum protocol, a decrease in activity became apparent. Last month, activity on the network fell 8.2%, while revenue plummeted by a whopping 22.1%, according to data from Token Terminal.
DeFi drop
The DeFi sector within Arbitrum also felt the impact of these challenges. Volumes of Total Value Locked (TVL) and Decentralized Currency (DEX) both experienced significant declines in recent weeks. These indicators point to a broader downturn in DeFi activity within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Source: Artemis
Realistic or not, here is ARB’s market cap in BTC terms
In the midst of these challenges, there was a glimmer of hope for Arbitrum. Offchain Labs has launched the public Testnet for Arbitrum’s Stylus, offering developers a promising tool. With Arbitrum Stylus, developers can build applications on the Nitro chain while taking advantage of lower gas costs.
It also facilitates the use of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contracts for faster execution on the blockchain. This development could breathe new life into the Arbitrum ecosystem, potentially reviving its appeal for users and developers alike.