Arbitrum One vs Nova - A Full Comparison and Review

One of the leading Ethereum-like networks nowadays - Arbitrum - has a compound and bright ecosystem full of DeFi applications and protocols. The goal of Arbitrum is to suite the existing Ethereum network and provide it with a more scalable layer to improve several factors: the increased speed and stability of transactions, the decreased price of the gas on transactions and on-chain activities as well as the increase of the general throughput so that developers and users can push more information and exchanges on the network.

The list of scalable solutions by Arbitrum and the development team behind it - Offchain Labs - consists of several layers and services, but the two biggest ones are Arbirtum One and Arbitrum Nova - the rollup Layer 2 networks.

These two blockchains are somewhat similar but at the same time have their own differences.

Let’s check them in a complete review of Arbitrum One vs Nova and see which one suits your needs the best.

What is Arbitrum One Network?

Arbitrum One was designed to enhance Ethereum's scalability and efficiency. Its primary goal is to reduce transaction costs (gas fees) and increase transaction throughput without sacrificing Ethereum's security. It’s said that Arbitrum One represents the main chain for the Arbitrum ecosystem as it’s Total Value Locked (a.k.a. TVL) metric is higher than the Arbitrum Nova’s one, presenting a broader level of popularity

Arbitrum One - Technical Aspects

By using Optimistic Rollup technology, Arbitrum One allows for the execution of smart contracts and transactions at a higher speed and lower cost than on Ethereum's mainnet, while still inheriting the underlying security properties of the Ethereum blockchain. This makes it a valuable solution for developers looking to build decentralized applications that require the security and decentralization of Ethereum but are hindered by its scalability limitations.

Arbitrum One stands as the pioneering Arbitrum Rollup chain, operating as an Optimistic Rollup protocol that inherits the robust security of the Ethereum network. This flagship Layer 2 solution empowers builders to create high-performance, decentralized applications (dApps) with Ethereum-grade security guarantees, without compromising on decentralization or introducing additional trust assumptions.

With the architecture design that was used to build Arbitrum One, the average transactions per second metric (TPS) is recorded somewhere between 8 and 15 transactions.

Arbitrum One - Ecosystem Aspects

Due to the increased throughput and additional layer for transaction operations, Arbitrum One stands as a strong player in the DeFi and dApp ecosystems by providing a unified yet unique network

Arbitrum One's robust architecture, powered by the Nitro technology stack, offers advanced features such as calldata compression, separate execution contexts, and Ethereum L1 gas compatibility, enabling developers to build high-performance dApps with low transaction costs.

In simple terms, Arbitrum is a great hub for the applications and protocols that focus on the real value for the community: decentralized exchanges, staking, crypto payments and even memecoins. The latter are on the watchlists of numerous influencers and enthusiasts. It’s possible to say that Arbitrum One stands a strong player in the field of numerous solutions that scale Ethereum and provide an already developed ecosystem.

Explaining Arbitrum Nova

Arbitrum Nova represents an addition to the Arbitrum ecosystem of chains. It’s designed to cater to high-volume decentralized applications that prioritize affordability and performance over full decentralization. Leveraging the innovative AnyTrust model, Arbitrum Nova manages data off-chain. This approach introduces an alternative for applications that demand ultra-low transaction fees.

Arbitrum Nova - Technical Aspects

When we review the architecture of the Arbitrum Nova blockchain, it resembles Arbitrum One in terms of the basis - the base on the Ethereum general mainnet. It’s no brainer what stood behind the decision of the team, as the main goals were to streamline transactions, grouping them into batches and submitting summaries to the Ethereum mainnet. This approach significantly reduces the computational workload and costs. However, there is an addition that is not implemented into Arbitrum One - AnyTrust.

Arbitrum Nova introduces the AnyTrust security model, supported by an external Data Availability Committee (DAC). This approach enables Arbitrum Nova to facilitate ultra-low transaction costs for users by posting only a data availability certificate (DACert) on the Ethereum blockchain instead of full transaction data. By keeping the bulk of the data off-chain, Arbitrum Nova strikes a strategic balance between decentralization and transaction efficiency, making it an attractive choice for high-throughput dApps.

Arbitrum Nova - Ecosystem Aspects

In comparison, Arbitrum Nova was launched as a specialized chain - it is mainly tailored for gaming and social applications requiring even lower transaction costs and higher throughput. To put it another way, Arbitrum Nova is widely utilized by protocols and applications that need to perform lots of on-chain activities.

While both One and Nova share the goal of enhancing Ethereum's scalability, Nova's focus is on protocols and crypto enterprises where their users are willing to trade off a degree of decentralization for lower costs and faster performance.

Arbitrum Nova's unique architecture is tailored to cater to the specific needs of high-volume applications, such as gaming, social platforms, and NFT projects. By leveraging the Arbitrum SDK, developers can seamlessly build their next-generation projects on the Arbitrum Nova AnyTrust chain, benefiting from its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalence.

Key Differences

The primary differences of Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks are tied with the-underhood architectures and frameworks they implement between decentralization, ecosystem focus security, and transaction efficiency.

Decentralization and Security

Both Arbitrum One and Nova operate as Optimistic Rollups, inheriting the robust security guarantees of the Ethereum blockchain. However, Arbitrum One sticks to the principles of a wide decentralization. This helps ensure that no single entity has control over the network. Arbitrum One’s approach offers Ethereum-level security and transparency, making the blockchain an ideal choice for applications that prioritize decentralization and censorship resistance.

As a comparison, Arbitrum Nova introduces a mild trust assumption by leveraging the AnyTrust model and a DAC committee. While this compromise enables ultra-low transaction fees and high throughput, it also introduces a degree of centralization, as the committee plays a crucial role in data availability and transaction processing.

Transactions Scalability - Speed and Data

There are two things that stand out when we compare general transactions on both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova:

Arbitrum One publishes all transaction data on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring full transparency and decentralization. In contrast, Arbitrum Nova posts only a data availability certificate (DACert), keeping the bulk of the data off-chain to optimize transaction efficiency;
The high-volume applications tend to choose Arbitrum Nova over One as it supports significantly higher transactions per second metric as it can theoretically process up to 40,000 TPS;
The transaction cost and high transaction throughput combination is one of the main differences between Arbitrum One and Nova as the latter allows for ultra-low transaction costs without the damage to the transaction throughput.

Compare Arbitrum One vs Nova

To decide whether you need to implement your solution, engage with the specific network or learn which to use for your stablecoin transactions, you can refer to the table below that compares both Arbitrum chains.

*as stated by Offchain Labs team and calculated from Arbitrum Explorers

Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova work simultaneously and support EVM, therefore they offer a lot of opportunities for the cross-chain interactions - including the bridging process of funds between the networks.

In case you need to bridge your tokens between these two networks or swap any funds to these two blockchains, the following short tutorial from Symbiosis is for you.

Bridge Between Arbitrum One vs Nova

Since Symbiosis - a multi-chain decentralized exchange - supports both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova, you can manage transactions and funds swap right at the platform.

Let’s take a look at how to swap tokens on Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova.

Access Symbiosis WebApp - the place where the cross-chain magic happens;
Connect your wallet and choose the blockchains for the transfers. You can choose Abritrum One and Nova networks or any other supported chains at the Symbiosis protocol;
State the funds and their amount you wish to exchange and bridge;
Review the terms including the price for the token, route and the final sum of funds;
Finalize your Arbitrum One vs Nova bridge and confirm the transaction in your wallet from the appearing notifications.

What is more, Symbiosis is a cross-chain AMM DEX that pools together liquidity from different layer 1 and layer 2 networks, both EVM and non-EVM. In simple terms, you can first swap and bridge from any supported blockchain network including Ethereum, TRON, zkSync and more. The full list is available right here.

Must Reads - Arbitrum One vs Nova Swaps

Coming to the platform first? No worries! There are more detailed guides on how to interact with Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks as well as to bridge and swap your funds.

Access them right below:

TL;DR

The selection between these two networks ultimately hinges on the specific requirements of the application, balancing the need for decentralization, security, and transaction efficiency.

Arbitrum One stands as the primary blockchain network in the Arbitrum ecosystem that provides users and developers with faster, cheaper and more decentralized on-chain operations.

Arbitrum Nova utilizes a different protocol called AnyTrust that enables wider transaction throughput and at the same time doesn’t negatively affect the transactions’ costs.

Symbiosis Protocol supports both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova and powers cross-chain communication to enable and ensure smooth and secure transactions between the supported networks.

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One of the leading Ethereum-like networks nowadays - Arbitrum - has a compound and bright ecosystem full of DeFi applications and protocols. The goal of Arbitrum is to suite the existing Ethereum network and provide it with a more scalable layer to improve several factors: the increased speed and stability of transactions, the decreased price of the gas on transactions and on-chain activities as well as the increase of the general throughput so that developers and users can push more information and exchanges on the network.

The list of scalable solutions by Arbitrum and the development team behind it - Offchain Labs - consists of several layers and services, but the two biggest ones are Arbirtum One and Arbitrum Nova - the rollup Layer 2 networks.

These two blockchains are somewhat similar but at the same time have their own differences.

Let’s check them in a complete review of Arbitrum One vs Nova and see which one suits your needs the best.

What is Arbitrum One Network?

Arbitrum One was designed to enhance Ethereum's scalability and efficiency. Its primary goal is to reduce transaction costs (gas fees) and increase transaction throughput without sacrificing Ethereum's security. It’s said that Arbitrum One represents the main chain for the Arbitrum ecosystem as it’s Total Value Locked (a.k.a. TVL) metric is higher than the Arbitrum Nova’s one, presenting a broader level of popularity

Arbitrum One - Technical Aspects

By using Optimistic Rollup technology, Arbitrum One allows for the execution of smart contracts and transactions at a higher speed and lower cost than on Ethereum's mainnet, while still inheriting the underlying security properties of the Ethereum blockchain. This makes it a valuable solution for developers looking to build decentralized applications that require the security and decentralization of Ethereum but are hindered by its scalability limitations.

Arbitrum One stands as the pioneering Arbitrum Rollup chain, operating as an Optimistic Rollup protocol that inherits the robust security of the Ethereum network. This flagship Layer 2 solution empowers builders to create high-performance, decentralized applications (dApps) with Ethereum-grade security guarantees, without compromising on decentralization or introducing additional trust assumptions.

With the architecture design that was used to build Arbitrum One, the average transactions per second metric (TPS) is recorded somewhere between 8 and 15 transactions.

Arbitrum One - Ecosystem Aspects

Due to the increased throughput and additional layer for transaction operations, Arbitrum One stands as a strong player in the DeFi and dApp ecosystems by providing a unified yet unique network

Arbitrum One's robust architecture, powered by the Nitro technology stack, offers advanced features such as calldata compression, separate execution contexts, and Ethereum L1 gas compatibility, enabling developers to build high-performance dApps with low transaction costs.

In simple terms, Arbitrum is a great hub for the applications and protocols that focus on the real value for the community: decentralized exchanges, staking, crypto payments and even memecoins. The latter are on the watchlists of numerous influencers and enthusiasts. It’s possible to say that Arbitrum One stands a strong player in the field of numerous solutions that scale Ethereum and provide an already developed ecosystem.

Explaining Arbitrum Nova

Arbitrum Nova represents an addition to the Arbitrum ecosystem of chains. It’s designed to cater to high-volume decentralized applications that prioritize affordability and performance over full decentralization. Leveraging the innovative AnyTrust model, Arbitrum Nova manages data off-chain. This approach introduces an alternative for applications that demand ultra-low transaction fees.

Arbitrum Nova - Technical Aspects

When we review the architecture of the Arbitrum Nova blockchain, it resembles Arbitrum One in terms of the basis - the base on the Ethereum general mainnet. It’s no brainer what stood behind the decision of the team, as the main goals were to streamline transactions, grouping them into batches and submitting summaries to the Ethereum mainnet. This approach significantly reduces the computational workload and costs. However, there is an addition that is not implemented into Arbitrum One - AnyTrust.

Arbitrum Nova introduces the AnyTrust security model, supported by an external Data Availability Committee (DAC). This approach enables Arbitrum Nova to facilitate ultra-low transaction costs for users by posting only a data availability certificate (DACert) on the Ethereum blockchain instead of full transaction data. By keeping the bulk of the data off-chain, Arbitrum Nova strikes a strategic balance between decentralization and transaction efficiency, making it an attractive choice for high-throughput dApps.

Arbitrum Nova - Ecosystem Aspects

In comparison, Arbitrum Nova was launched as a specialized chain - it is mainly tailored for gaming and social applications requiring even lower transaction costs and higher throughput. To put it another way, Arbitrum Nova is widely utilized by protocols and applications that need to perform lots of on-chain activities.

While both One and Nova share the goal of enhancing Ethereum's scalability, Nova's focus is on protocols and crypto enterprises where their users are willing to trade off a degree of decentralization for lower costs and faster performance.

Arbitrum Nova's unique architecture is tailored to cater to the specific needs of high-volume applications, such as gaming, social platforms, and NFT projects. By leveraging the Arbitrum SDK, developers can seamlessly build their next-generation projects on the Arbitrum Nova AnyTrust chain, benefiting from its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalence.

Key Differences

The primary differences of Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks are tied with the-underhood architectures and frameworks they implement between decentralization, ecosystem focus security, and transaction efficiency.

Decentralization and Security

Both Arbitrum One and Nova operate as Optimistic Rollups, inheriting the robust security guarantees of the Ethereum blockchain. However, Arbitrum One sticks to the principles of a wide decentralization. This helps ensure that no single entity has control over the network. Arbitrum One’s approach offers Ethereum-level security and transparency, making the blockchain an ideal choice for applications that prioritize decentralization and censorship resistance.

As a comparison, Arbitrum Nova introduces a mild trust assumption by leveraging the AnyTrust model and a DAC committee. While this compromise enables ultra-low transaction fees and high throughput, it also introduces a degree of centralization, as the committee plays a crucial role in data availability and transaction processing.

Transactions Scalability - Speed and Data

There are two things that stand out when we compare general transactions on both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova:

Arbitrum One publishes all transaction data on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring full transparency and decentralization. In contrast, Arbitrum Nova posts only a data availability certificate (DACert), keeping the bulk of the data off-chain to optimize transaction efficiency;
The high-volume applications tend to choose Arbitrum Nova over One as it supports significantly higher transactions per second metric as it can theoretically process up to 40,000 TPS;
The transaction cost and high transaction throughput combination is one of the main differences between Arbitrum One and Nova as the latter allows for ultra-low transaction costs without the damage to the transaction throughput.

Compare Arbitrum One vs Nova

To decide whether you need to implement your solution, engage with the specific network or learn which to use for your stablecoin transactions, you can refer to the table below that compares both Arbitrum chains.

*as stated by Offchain Labs team and calculated from Arbitrum Explorers

Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova work simultaneously and support EVM, therefore they offer a lot of opportunities for the cross-chain interactions - including the bridging process of funds between the networks.

In case you need to bridge your tokens between these two networks or swap any funds to these two blockchains, the following short tutorial from Symbiosis is for you.

Bridge Between Arbitrum One vs Nova

Since Symbiosis - a multi-chain decentralized exchange - supports both Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova, you can manage transactions and funds swap right at the platform.

Let’s take a look at how to swap tokens on Arbitrum One or Arbitrum Nova.

Access Symbiosis WebApp - the place where the cross-chain magic happens;
Connect your wallet and choose the blockchains for the transfers. You can choose Abritrum One and Nova networks or any other supported chains at the Symbiosis protocol;
State the funds and their amount you wish to exchange and bridge;
Review the terms including the price for the token, route and the final sum of funds;
Finalize your Arbitrum One vs Nova bridge and confirm the transaction in your wallet from the appearing notifications.