Offchain Labs, the lead developer behind Arbitrum, purchased additional ARB tokens, signaling the network's long-term conviction at a time when sentiment across the sector has weakened and governance token prices have faced continued pressure.
In a post on
The development company said the move reflects its intention to “proceed to double down on Arbitrum’s development in every way.”
Source: Offchain Labs
Arbitrum is an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling network designed to enhance transaction speed and reduce fees by processing transactions off-chain after which deciding on Ethereum. It uses optimistic rollups, a method that pools transactions and assumes they’re valid unless challenged. This allows users to learn from Ethereum's security while reducing costs.
Offchain Labs' renewed commitment is notable given broader concerns that key contributors and early stakeholders across the cryptocurrency industry could reduce exposure to governance tokens.
In the case of Arbitrum, ARB acts primarily as a governance asset, giving holders voting rights over proposals related to network upgrades, financing initiatives, and ecosystem strategies. All proceeds flow on-chain to a treasury wallet controlled by token holders.
The price of ARB has plunged 77% this 12 months. Source: CoinMarketCap
Arbitrum is competing for a share of the DeFi pie
The development comes because the Arbitrum network recently achieved several notable milestones, highlighting its growing size and activity.
According to Arbitrum, the network has processed over 2.1 billion lifetime transactions on Arbitrum One, its primary Ethereum Layer 2 rollup. Arbitrum One is the flagship chain where most user activity and DeFi applications are concentrated.
Arbitrum also reported that it reached $20 billion in total secured value in 2025, consistently rating as Ethereum's largest Layer 2 company by market share.
In comparison, competing Layer 2 providers comparable to Optimism and Base have generally reported lower levels of secured value despite strong growth in application activity.
Source: Cointelegraph
These competitors are vying for a share of Ethereum's roughly $68 billion DeFi market, although they’re taking different approaches, particularly within the case of Arbitrum and Optimism (OP).
Base, meanwhile, doesn’t have a native token, although there continues to be speculation out there that one might be launched sooner or later.
