Orca Crypto
Layer 2

Arbitrum One

The largest Ethereum layer 2 by value locked, with the deepest DeFi ecosystem.

Updated 2026-08-305 min readReference
The short answer

The largest Ethereum layer 2 by value locked, with the deepest DeFi ecosystem. If a DeFi protocol exists on a layer 2, it is almost certainly on Arbitrum. Liquidity is deep and the tooling is mature.

Live market data

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What Arbitrum One is for

If a DeFi protocol exists on a layer 2, it is almost certainly on Arbitrum. Liquidity is deep and the tooling is mature.

Because Arbitrum One settles to Ethereum, your funds ultimately depend on Ethereum security plus the correctness of the rollup itself. That is a genuinely strong position, and it is not identical to holding on the base chain.

Technical summary

PropertyValue
LayerLayer 2
Launched2021
TypeOptimistic rollup
Settles toEthereum
Built withArbitrum Nitro

Block explorers

An explorer lets you verify any transaction, address or contract on this network yourself. Learning to read one is the fastest way to stop taking anyone's word for anything.

How to read a block explorer

Wallets that support it

Getting funds onto Arbitrum One

The official bridge is the safest route. Third party bridges are faster and add their own risk, which has historically been the largest source of losses in crypto.

What to be aware of

  • Most layer 2s currently run a single sequencer operated by one company, which can in principle reorder or delay transactions.
  • Upgrade keys are often held by a small multisig, meaning the rules can change.
  • Withdrawing through an official optimistic rollup bridge takes about seven days by design.
  • Crypto assets are volatile. Drawdowns of seventy percent or more have happened on every network in this list, including the largest.
  • Sending to an address on the wrong network can lose funds permanently. Always send a small test amount first.

Nothing on this page is investment advice. We describe how networks work, not whether you should buy anything.

Where to go next

New to Arbitrum One?

We can get you set up with the right wallet, funded, and through a first transaction on this network in about an hour, on a screen share.