Arbitrum, a top Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution, recorded strong momentum in the second quarter of 2025, thanks to new product launches, a partnership with retail brokerage giant Robinhood, and more activity around tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
The L2’s total value locked (TVL) grew nearly 32% from $1.9 billion in April to over $2.5 billion as of today, July 8, according to data from DeFiLlama. Meanwhile, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on Arbitrum have processed over $544 billion in cumulative volume, a 12% increase since April.
Cumulative DEX volume on Aribtrum. Source: DeFiLlama
RWAs on the network also grew, climbing to around $288 million in TVL – up over 15% in the past month, according to RWA.xyz. Arbitrum currently ranks as the seventh largest network by total RWA on-chain value.
The recent growth comes as Arbitrum rolls out tools aimed at institutions and developers – including Timeboost, a new gas fee system. The upgrade, which launched in April, has already brought in over $2 million to date, Uttam Singhk, a developer at Alchemy, said in a post on X yesterday.
The Robinhood Effect
The biggest recent news around Arbitrum, however, is its partnership with Robinhood. As of June 30, Robinhood began offering its European users 24/7 access to over 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-trade funds (ETFs) on Arbitrum, as well as other new products.
While the stock tokens are initially issued on the leading L2, Robinhood did note plans to launch its own L2 blockchain in the future. That chain, built using Arbitrum’s Orbit framework, is expected to go live sometime next year, according to Robinhood Crypto’s VP and general manager Johann Kerbrat, who spoke with The Defiant last week.
“Robinhood’s selection validates the value proposition for L2 blockchains as a whole,” Offchain Labs chief of strategy, AJ Warner, told The Defiant.:
“The tokenized stocks program requires fast, secure, and reliable infrastructure to deliver tokenized equities with low fees and plug-and-play tooling to meet any need; something only L2s can successfully offer.”
“Arbitrum’s strong growth shouldn’t be seen as a surprising breakout – it’s more likely a reflection that the L2 market is finally maturing,” Michał Moneta, chief strategy officer at Onchain Foundation, echoed. “Base still leads, but people rarely want a monopoly.”
Base, developed by Coinbase, is indeed still the largest Ethereum L2 by TVL with nearly $3.5 billion, followed by Arbitrum. However, Moneta added that users “need a viable and equally useful alternative – and right now, based on on-chain data, Arbitrum is starting to fill that role.”
Arbitrum’s native token ARB is currently trading at $0.33, up 1.2% today and 5% over the past two weeks
