In a strategic move aimed at bolstering the Arbitrum blockchain’s financial stability, the Arbitrum Foundation has successfully executed the transfer of 69 million unclaimed ARB tokens, valued at over $59 million, to the network’s treasury. This decision came following the conclusion of the claim period for these tokens, which elapsed over the weekend.

The unclaimed ARB tokens represent approximately 0.69% of the total supply of ARB, which stands at 10 billion tokens. Data from Dune Analytics unveiled that an impressive 93% of eligible users managed to claim their tokens during the specified period. The saga began in late March when these ARB tokens were initially airdropped to eligible users, sparking a monumental response within the community. Within hours of the airdrop’s launch, more than 42 million tokens found their rightful owners, with a total of 23,000 unique users benefiting from the distribution.

What sets this move apart is the fact that it was guided by a governance vote held in August. The vote, which yielded an astonishing 99.96% approval rate among token holders, resolved to transfer these unclaimed tokens to the Arbitrum treasury rather than locking them in a smart contract with a set release date. Consequently, the Arbitrum treasury now boasts an impressive stash of nearly $3 billion worth of ARB tokens, according to blockchain data. This significant decision was formalized under the Arbitrum Improvement Proposal AIP-7.

The Arbitrum Foundation took to the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) to officially confirm this transfer while also cautioning users that these tokens are now unclaimable. The initial airdrop in March allocated 1.16 billion tokens as rewards for early adopters of the Ethereum Layer 2 network, simultaneously conferring governance powers upon the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) overseeing the Arbitrum One and Nova networks. Despite the six-month window for claims, a substantial 69 million ARB tokens remained unclaimed, necessitating the recent transfer to the treasury.

In a notable contrast to Arbitrum’s approach, Optimism, a rival Ethereum Layer 2 solution, opted to directly distribute unclaimed funds from its first airdrop in June 2022 to eligible users. It is worth noting that approximately 49 million of its OP tokens remained unclaimed from the initial airdrop, which featured a total of 215 million tokens. Optimism made headlines recently with the announcement of its third OP airdrop, which allocated 19.4 million OP tokens to more than 31,000 addresses.

Both Arbitrum and Optimism have observed a decrease in their daily average transaction volumes since the launch of Base, a Layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase, in August. Data from The Block dashboard reveals that Base’s seven-day moving average for daily transactions reached a remarkable 921,000 on September 24, outstripping Arbitrum’s 603,000 and Optimism’s 334,000.

In response to the news, the price of Arbitrum’s governance token experienced a temporary dip, only to subsequently rebound. At present, it is trading at $0.82, according to CoinGecko data, illustrating the resilience of the community and its confidence in the Arbitrum blockchain’s long-term prospects.

The decision to transfer these unclaimed tokens to the network’s treasury underscores the Arbitrum Foundation’s commitment to financial prudence and long-term sustainability. As the blockchain landscape continues to evolve, such strategic moves will likely shape the future of these Layer 2 solutions and their role within the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.