Arbitrum (ARB) Experiences Sharp Price Decline Ahead of Key Events

The Arbitrum Layer 2 network, built on the Ethereum platform, has recorded a significant decrease in the price of the ARB cryptocurrency compared to other leading Layer 2 assets over the past day. This coincides with forecasts of two important events that will affect its price.

Before the event, SpotOnchain discovered two “whales” selling about 3 million tokens with a total value of up to 6 million USD.

Upgrade Ethereum Dencun

On March 13, Ethereum took an important step forward with the Dencun upgrade. This advance promises to bring a change in the cost model for Layer 2 blockchain networks. Market observers have emphasized the importance of this upgrade, emphasizing its potential in empowering Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, facilitating competition with Layer 1 chains like Solana.

“If the upgrade is successful, it will ensure cost and speed performance. Therefore, Dencun has the potential to attract more digital asset entrepreneurs in addition to the thousands of protocols currently running on Ethereum, ” as Nexo – a cryptocurrency company, stated.

Arbitrum has demonstrated its readiness for this important upgrade by activating ArbOS 20 Atlas and introducing the Dencun upgrade to the Arbitrum series on Arbitrum Sepolia. This is a test series that reflects the features of the Arbitrum One mainnet.

This activation is a testament to the network’s readiness to deploy Ethereum’s latest upgrade. Data from DeFillama shows that the total value of assets locked on the Arbitrum network currently reaches $3.6 billion, making it the largest Ethereum-based Layer 2 network.

Related: Arbitrum DEX Fell Victim to Hacks

Unlock Arbitrum worth 2 billion USD

Three days after the Dencun upgrade is deployed, Arbitrum will hold a large-scale token unlock event, doubling the current supply. Data from Token Unlock shows a large amount of ARB tokens – 1.1 billion, representing 77% of the current supply and valued at up to 2.38 billion USD. The team and advisor will share a total of 673.5 million ARB, with a value of approximately $1.44 billion. Meanwhile, investors are expected to receive 438.25 million ARB, equivalent to 937.86 million USD.

ARB’s Planned Token Unlock. Source: Token Unlock

This event brings great impact to Arbitrum and may affect investor sentiment. Often, token unlocking is seen as a price drop event that can create additional selling pressure in the market. That’s right, Arbitrum’s ARB is currently the lowest performing token among the top 5 Layer 2 tokens, seeing a decline of over 2% during the reporting period, while the global industry posted an average increase of 3,000%. 8% over the same period.