Demystifying the differences and Comparisons between Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova (2024)

In recent years, the scalability issues of blockchain technology have become increasingly apparent, hindering its widespread adoption and practical use. As a result, various layer 2 scaling solutions have been developed to address these limitations.

Arbitrum rose with efforts and commitment to revolutionize blockchain technology. Arbitrum’s framework has been designed to achieve these goals by increasing scalability, ensuring the security of assets, and reducing transaction costs. These are the basic characteristics of Arbitrum Layer 2 chains, which are built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Arbitrum can boast of two efficient chains, which are our main aim and focus in this article.

Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova are emerging as promising platforms that stand to enhance the efficiency and scalability of Ethereum. Let’s then get into a comprehensive introduction to Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova, shedding light on their advantages, the potential impact on the blockchain ecosystem, and their similarities and differences too.

Arbitrum One is a layer 2 scaling solution designed to enhance the performance of Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApps) by significantly increasing transaction throughput and reducing fees. Developed by Offchain Labs, Arbitrum One leverages a technology called optimistic rollups to achieve these improvements. Unlike traditional layer 1 solutions, which require modifications to the underlying blockchain protocol, Arbitrum One operates as a sidechain that interacts with the Ethereum mainnet. This approach allows for seamless integration with existing dApps and enables developers to utilize increased scalability without sacrificing security. Arbitrum One makes use of the Nitro technology stack, a “Geth-at-the-core” design that provides improved call data compression, distinct contexts for fault proving and shared execution, and Ethereum L1 gas compatibility, this also extends to make other unique features of Arbitrum possible.

Arbitrum One is mostly used for DeFi and NFTs. It is important to highlight that Arbitrum One has been recognized as the most advanced, decentralized, and secure Layer 2 (L2) chain in the ecosystem by L2Beat, an organization that analyzes each L2 technology in the market. This recognition further solidifies Arbitrum One’s position as a leading L2 solution in the blockchain industry, cementing its role in revolutionising the scalability, security, and affordability of smart contract execution.

Arbitrum Nova, developed by Offchain Labs, employs the AnyTrust technology to create a dedicated Layer 2 network for high Transaction Per Second (TPS) decentralized applications (DApps). Launched on August 10th, 2022, Arbitrum Nova utilizes Optimistic Rollups to streamline transactions, grouping them into batches and submitting summaries to the Ethereum mainnet. This approach significantly reduces the computational workload and costs.

Arbitrum Nova employs the AnyTrust protocol, which is primarily trustless, whereas Arbitrum One implements the trustless Rollup protocol. The main distinction between AnyTrust and Rollup is that the latter protocol adds a data availability committee (DAC) as an extra trust assumption. The speeding up of the process of storing, batching, and uploading L2 transaction data to Ethereum’s L1 is the responsibility of this committee, which is described below. This enables you to use Arbitrum in situations where affordability and performance are required, whereas Ethereum’s complete trustlessness is best suited for Arbitrum One.

Arbitrum Nova is mostly used for gaming and social dApps.

The primary distinctions among the Arbitrum chains are found in their functions and the settings in which they function.

Similarities

1. Both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova are production chains intended for practical use.
2. They both manage genuine, important transactions.
3. They are linked to the Ethereum mainnet.
4. They are both powered by Arbitrum’s Nitro technology stack

Differences

1. Arbitrum One uses the Rollup protocol, while Arbitrum Nova uses the AnyTrust protocol.
2. Also, Arbitrum One, with its universal design, offers an affordable and scalable way to execute smart contracts that are compatible with Ethereum. Arbitrum Nova, on the other hand, is intended for use with applications that need a higher throughput of transactions but do not require the complete decentralization that rollups offer.

In conclusion, Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova represent groundbreaking advancements in layer 2 scaling solutions, offering a compelling framework to enhance the scalability, efficiency, and usability of Ethereum. With its innovative features and seamless interoperability, the Arbitrum ecosystem is poised to drive the next wave of blockchain adoption, empowering developers and users with a powerful and accessible platform for decentralized applications. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve, Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova stand as shining examples of the transformative potential of layer 2 scaling solutions, ushering in a new era of innovation and accessibility in the decentralized landscape.

Arbitrum is a suite of scaling solutions providing environments with high-throughput, low-cost smart contracts, backed by industry-leading proving technology rooted in Ethereum. Arbitrum has primarily 2 blockchains called Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. The newest product, Arbitrum Orbit, allows you to create your own dedicated chain that settles to one of Arbitrum’s Layer 2 (L2) chains: Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova, or Arbitrum Goerli.

To learn more about Arbitrum, visit our website here.