The Arbitrum token has surfaced on the over-the-counter (OTC) market ahead of its scheduled airdrop. Opportunistic traders are already taking advantage of the token’s premature arrival by conducting transactions on OTC platforms.
Offchain Labs, the company responsible for developing the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Arbitrum, plans to distribute tokens to platform users during the forthcoming airdrop. However, the token’s early appearance on the OTC market has allowed trading to commence before its official launch.
L2Beat, an analytics website for Layer-2, reveals that Arbitrum holds a commanding 55% share of the Ethereum Layer 2 market. Given its status as a major crypto project without a token, expectations surrounding an Arbitrum token have been mounting since the network’s 2021 launch.
Tokenomics
The total supply of ARB tokens amounts to 10 billion, with 56% under the control of the Arbitrum community. The planned airdrop will allocate 11.5% of the overall supply to qualified Arbitrum users and 1.1% to DAOs active within the ecosystem.
The premature trading of the Arbitrum token has given rise to speculative prices, as no official information about its actual value is currently available. Nonetheless, the OTC market has demonstrated a clear demand for the token.
In light of reports regarding phishing sites and scams offering counterfeit Arbitrum airdrop tokens, the Arbitrum community has advised vigilance.
Optimism
Optimism, Arbitrum’s main rival in the Ethereum scaling arena, introduced its OP token approximately a year ago when it adopted DAO governance. As the Arbitrum token’s official airdrop draws near, its influence on the wider cryptocurrency market—given its substantial market share in the Ethereum Layer 2 sector—remains to be seen.
Airdrop
The Arbitrum Foundation revealed that the ARB token, Arbitrum’s new digital asset, is set to be distributed to qualified community participants on Thursday, March 23. The foundation emphasised that the introduction of ARB signifies Arbitrum’s formal shift towards becoming a decentralised autonomous organization (DAO). As a result, ARB holders will have the ability to cast votes on crucial decisions related to the governance of Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, which enable users to carry out transactions on the Ethereum blockchain with enhanced speed and reduced costs.