Arbitrum is a leading layer 2 scaling solution built to help Ethereum achieve faster transaction speeds, lower fees, and higher throughput without compromising security or decentralization.
The core of Arbitrum utilizes an optimized rollup design to batch transactions on the Ethereum mainnet while retaining the benefits of a strong security model. The Arbitrum ecosystem has two main roll-up solutions that help scale Ethereum in various ways.
- Public chain decision
- random orbital chain
Let’s take a closer look at both.
Public chain decision:
Arbitrum public chain is a universal roll-up chain that can support a variety of dApps, from DeFi to social media and gaming. The current live public chains are:
- Arbitrum One – Original chain with 500+ TPS throughput
- Arbitrum Nova – Faster chains (2 second blocks) built for DeFi apps
- Arbitrum Nitro – Experimental chain with 20,000+ TPS performance
How do they work?
All three chains execute transaction logic and store data off-chain. Transaction batches are rolled up and published to Ethereum along with fraud proofs and checkpoints. This compresses the on-chain space, allowing for more TPS.
decision 1
Arbitrum One is the first public chain to use the rollup protocol. This protocol batches off-chain transaction data and publishes real-world data directly to Ethereum Layer 1. All transaction history and chain status can be verified at layer 1 to ensure no trustworthiness. This allows Arbitrum One to inherit Ethereum’s full security guarantees.
new decision
Arbitrum Nova also handles off-chain transactions, but uses the AnyTrust protocol instead of Rollup. This introduces the Data Availability Committee (DAC), which stores raw transaction data rather than publishing it directly to Layer 1.
This allows batch processing to be processed quickly, further reducing verification times and fees. However, it assumes additional trust in the DAC node operator.
Both of these chains achieve faster and cheaper Ethereum transactions that are confirmed in seconds while being secured by layer 1. This is ideal for DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and other dApps looking to manage growth on Ethereum.
What about traction?
Arbitrum One and Nova chains have already attracted over $2 billion in TVL from leading DeFi dapps. Developers are quickly migrating to Arbitrum for its dramatic improvements in speed, cost, and scale.
In essence, the public chain acts as a performance-first lane that prevents Ethereum congestion and high default fees without compromising the decentralization or security guarantees that builders have come to rely on.
Orbital chain selection:
The public chain is aimed at general use, but Orbital Determination Chain provides a customized environment optimized for each application’s unique requirements. These chains will be anchored on one of Arbitrum’s public chains, such as Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova.
Every Orbit chain runs as an independent sidechain with its own validators, governance model, upgrade process, trust assumptions, and parameters, all configured specifically for its use case.
This customizable approach allows teams to optimize performance, functionality, and experience for individual workloads from day one rather than relying on a generalized network roadmap.
Roll-up orbital chain:
The Rollup Orbit chain will be resettled on the Arbitrum One public chain. Similar to the AnyTrust chain, it publishes transaction data on-chain, inheriting the same trust guarantees as Layer 1.
AnyTrust Orbital Chain:
AnyTrust Orbit chains can settle on Arbitrum Nova and benefit from much faster settlement. This entails some additional trust trade-offs with the DAC managing data availability.
When should I use each? When your application requires full decentralization Ethereum, roll-up orbital chains are most suitable. However, the AnyTrust Orbit chain is ideal for use cases where you want to exchange some trust for exponentially better performance and cheaper transactions.
Teams can leverage Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) providers for managed node infrastructure or Quicken for end-to-end Orbit chain deployment. These services simplify setup and operation.
Several gaming apps, fan communities, research projects, and enterprises are developing custom Orbit chains to meet their professional scaling needs. Adoption is rapidly accelerating with the Orbiter SDK enabling one-click deployment.
Advantages of Orbital Chains
Early adopters have tuned their configurations to achieve sub-5 second finality, 50,000+ TPS throughput, high scalability, and other custom metrics that public chains cannot yet support, focusing on broader compatibility.
This performance configuration is possible because Orbit Chain only needs to support its own application-specific transaction volume, compared to protecting a multi-purpose chain.
However, despite operating as a custom sidechain, the Orbit chain can still inherit Ethereum’s security by regularly settling in batches on the target Arbitrum public chain and further settling on the layer 1 mainnet. This gives them the advantage of isolation and battle-tested agreements.
Arbitrum’s AnyTrust messaging promotes interoperability between Orbit chains, allowing assets and data to move trustlessly between chains. Bridges can also connect the Orbit chain to external public blockchains.
conclusion
Arbitrum rollups allow Ethereum to scale toward global adoption by combining off-chain speed and on-chain security. The public chain serves as a high-performance L2 overlay for general use, while the Orbit chain provides the flexibility to highly customize its configuration for more niche requirements.
Together, they extend the capabilities of Ethereum to power the next generation of tokenized economies. DeFiSocial, gaming and corporate sectors.