Arbitrum Dapps Show Resilience During FTX Crisis

Increased use of Arbitrum dapps proves Web3 is more about real utility than bad actors.

The fallout from the FTX crisis continues to dominate the Web3 and mainstream news cycle. This is the second black swan event to hit a major centralized exchange, following the Terra Luna crash. However, Arbitrum is showing that Web3 done on chain, securely and transparently is the only way forward.

Highlights

• Unique active wallets (UAW) show the number of Web3 wallets connecting to a dapp. In seven days, Galxe UAWs up 218%, GMX up 24%, Quix up 99% and OpenSea up 18%.
• Investor and user confidence has been shaken like never before by what happened at FTX. With this crisis, the fallout has been compounded by FTX’s financial links and investments in so many other Web3 platforms. 
• OffchainLabs, the firm behind Arbitrum had no funds in FTX 

The FTX crisis and its impact on dapps

The FTX crisis has ripple effects over the entire Web3 space, affecting user and investor confidence. There is also concern that some major platforms may collapse. But it’s important to note that FTX is a centralized exchange and decentralized applications work very differently. 

• Learn more about the differences between centralized and decentralized exchanges

DappRadar’s unique active wallets (UAW) metric measures how many individual Web3 wallets have connected to a dapp over a given period. By measuring the change in UAW, we can judge a dapp’s current and trending popularity among users. 

We’ve noticed that a few Arbitrum dapps over the past week have increased their UAW, thus showing that people are eager to keep using these tools and platforms. Perhaps this shows now is the time for great projects with great utility to take their place as the most popular dapps in Web3.

Usage increases on Galxe and GMX

Arbitrum is a Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum. It offers all of the security features of the Layer-1 network but lower transaction costs and higher throughput.

The good news for fans of Arbitrum, and the wider Web3 ecosystem, is that dapps are not going the same way as the centralized FTX exchange.

Galxe and GMX are two Arbitrum dapps giving us cause to be hopeful that our industry will weather this latest storm. Unique active wallets connecting with the former are up 218%. Galxe is a social networking platform built with blockchain technology. 

It enables users to carry their secured digital identity with them across Web3 and build up their single online reputation across multiple social dapps. Unlike with traditional social media, blockchain-based networks are designed to work together in cooperation.

UAW for GMX is up 24%. GMX is a decentralized spot trading protocol which offers users a wallet and the power to carry out trades with it. Like many other DeFi platforms, activity is up for GMX, which could be a sign that users are finally turning away from centralized exchanges like FTX.

Marketplaces Quix and OpenSea also performing well

Marketplaces seem to be doing well across many of the blockchains that DappRadar tracks. For Abritrum, we can see this pattern is playing out for Quix and OpenSea. UAWs connecting to their platforms are up 99% and 18%, respectively.

OffchainLabs had no funds in FTX 

In the aftermath of the FTX situation, Steven Goldfeder, CEO of OffchainLabs, the firm behind Arbitrum said the firm had no funds in FTX or related token holdings, while reassuring the community that the team is well positioned to keep building and growing. 

Likewise, he emphasized the importance of transparent, decentralized systems and how Arbitrum will keep on representing that vision.