Arbitrum Surpasses Polygon in Layer 2 Blockchain Battle
Arbitrum vs Polygon: Is the Layer 2 Network Dynamic Changing?
Arbitrum appears to be ahead of Polygon in key metrics and price. Will this trend continue?
A Look at Polygon and Arbitrum
Polygon [MATIC] was once considered one of, if not the most popular Layer 2 (L2) network. Recently, however, the newly introduced L2 network Arbitrum [ARB] has gained significant importance.
An analysis of Polygon’s volume development on DefiLlama currently shows an upward trend. At the end of December, it reached its second-highest volume of the year, about $435 million. In 2023, the peak volume reached around $669 million in March. Notably, Polygon’s volume only crossed the billion mark once in 2021, exceeding $2 billion. At the time of writing this article, the volume was about $106 million.
Total Value Locked Comparison
Looking at the Total Value Locked (TVL), Polygon has seen a general decline in recent weeks, with the TVL currently at about $845 million. In contrast, Arbitrum’s TVL was over $2 billion and showed an upward trend in recent weeks. In the last 24 hours, Arbitrum’s volume was over $405 million. Notably, Arbitrum’s volume has already exceeded $1.8 billion twice in the new year.
The L2 Debate
According to data analyzed by AMBCrypto via L2 Beats, Arbitrum stood as the dominant Layer 2 (L2) network at the time of publication. During this time, Arbitrum controlled nearly 50% of the market share and recorded a Total Value Locked (TVL) of over $9.8 billion. In stark contrast, Polygon ranked 12th with a comparatively modest $111 million, holding less than 1% of the market share. These data underline a significant shift in the L2 landscape and signal that other networks have overtaken Polygon.
MATIC Follows Market Trends, While ARB Decouples
AMBCrypto’s examination of Polygon’s daily timeframe chart showed the impact of recent market movements on its price. On January 3rd, Polygon experienced a significant price drop of about 11.8%, and since then, it has struggled to recover. Before the crash, the trading price was about $1, at the time of writing this article, it has dropped to about $0.8.
You should read that too:
In contrast, Arbitrum showed a different trend during the market crash. Despite the overall market decline, Arbitrum gained over 8%. However, it recently recorded a decline and lost over 2% and more than 10% on January 5th. At the time of writing this article, it showed a gain of nearly 5%, with a trading price of about $1.8.
Conclusion
The data suggests that there is a shift in the dynamics of Layer 2 networks, with Arbitrum seeming to have the upper hand over Polygon. It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue and what impact this will have on users and the general acceptance of these networks.
Sources: DefiLlama, L2 Beats, AMBCrypto
Advertising transparency