Arbitrum September 2025 Ecosystem Summary Report Overall Overview In September 2025, @arbitrum reached a golden turning point for its autonomous ecosystem. Whether in terms of funding volume, asset types, or infrastructure upgrades, all core indicators have set new historical records: 🟢 Stablecoin Market Cap: Surpassed $10 billion (MoM +11.8%) 🟣 RWA TVL: Reached a historical high of $486 million (+32%) 🔵 Total Ecosystem TVL: Increased to $4.12 billion (+31%) 🟠 DRIP Incentive Program: Officially launched with a budget of up to $40 million ⚪ Bridge Upgrade: Achieved embedded fiat deposit functionality, promoting cross-chain capital inflow On a macro level, with the LayerZero airdrop effect driving on-chain activity, RWA institutional products releasing new asset demand, and DeFi yields rebounding, Arbitrum has completed its transition from "Ethereum's largest scaling layer" to "multi-asset liquidity hub." Specific performance is as follows 🧵

1/ DeFi and stablecoin ecosystem reaches new heights In September, Arbitrum was the most vibrant ecosystem among all L2s. From a data perspective, stablecoins, TVL, trading volume, and more all hit new highs. Three driving forces behind the growth: 👉 DRIP incentives released new stablecoin demand, with approximately $70 million in new minting. 👉 RWA institutional assets entered mainstream lending protocols (government bond assets account for 56%). 👉 Bridge upgrades reduced inflow friction, significantly improving cross-chain capital efficiency. At this stage, @arbitrum's ecosystem resembles a "dual circulation system of funds and assets"—stablecoin inflows drive DeFi yields upward, while DeFi yields further lock in funds, creating a positive flywheel.

2/ DRIP Program The DeFi Renaissance Incentive Program (DRIP) officially launched on September 3rd and is one of the most strategically significant ecological incentive programs authorized by the Arbitrum DAO. 💰 Budget Scale: First Quarter: 24 million ARB (approximately $40 million) Total Budget: 80 million ARB, distributed over multiple seasons ⏰ Operating Period: 20 weeks (10 Epochs), lasting until January 20, 2026 🧭 Incentive Logic: Focus on leveraged lending and stablecoin liquidity cycles Supports mainstream assets such as weETH, rsETH, USDC, syrupUSDC, etc. Rewards are locked through Merkle airdrops until April 30, 2026. Participating protocols include: Aave, Morpho, Maple, Fluid, Euler, Dolomite, Silo, and 13 other leading lending protocols. 📈 Early Results (as of the end of September): 🔹 USDC lending volume +$75 million (+25%) 🔹 Fluid TVL reached $300 million (+47%) 🔹 Silo market size tripled to $100 million 🔹 Overall contribution of approximately $500 million in new TVL I believe the significance of DRIP lies not only in activating funds but also in reconstructing @arbitrum's "liquidity hub position." It transforms Arbitrum from a passive flow carrier into a platform that actively generates revenue, laying a systematic foundation for the next round of DeFi revival.

3/ TVL continues to rise The TVL curve of Arbitrum formed a solid upward channel in September: 👉 $3.14 billion on September 1 👉 Peak of $3.56 billion on September 18 👉 $3.47 billion on September 30 Meanwhile, the Orbit L3 ecosystem has become an important incremental source of TVL growth: 🔸 Plume (RWA L3): $266 million (+50% MoM) 🔸 SX Network (gambling DEX): $57 million 🔸 Gravity (credential ecosystem): $55 million The total ecosystem (Arbitrum One + Orbit) TVL surpassed $20 billion, with a YTD growth of 330%. This means that @arbitrum not only firmly holds the position of the leading Ethereum L2 but has also become the financial engine of a multi-chain interoperable ecosystem.

4/ Maple syrupUSDC In September, Maple launched syrupUSDC on @arbitrum, integrating DRIP incentives, becoming a key hub for DeFi liquidity. ⏱ Launch date: Early September 2025 💡 Product mechanism: 🔹 Wrap USDC into a yield-bearing token with an APY of 5–10% 🔹 Sources of yield: Lending and RWA asset yield pools 🔹 Can be used directly as collateral to stack ARB incentives 📊 Growth data: 🔸 Total supply across the network exceeds $1 billion (+59%) 🔸 Arbitrum market size at $58 million (second fastest growth) 🔸 Contributing $200–300 million TVL 🔸 Boosting USDC liquidity by +72%, USDT by +184% Ecosystem impact: @maplefinance total AUM rises to $3.5–4 billion, becoming a representative of standardized DeFi yield assets. The syrup series (USDC, USDT) is redefining the on-chain fixed income market and strengthening Arbitrum's positioning as a "yield layer."

5/ Bridge Upgrade On September 22, the Arbitrum Bridge underwent the most significant upgrade since its autonomous ecosystem began. Key upgrade points: 🔹 Embeddable design: Application developers can directly integrate the cross-chain bridge via iframe, without complex backend deployment; 🔹 Fiat deposits: Integration with MoonPay allows users to purchase crypto assets directly with USD/EUR; 🔹 Smart routing system (by 🔹 One-stop UX: Source chain selection, fee estimation, and transaction confirmation can all be completed on the same interface. Early adopters: Camelot DEX, ApeChain, etc. This upgrade directly drove an increase of about $500 million in DEX trading volume, making Arbitrum the first L2 ecosystem to achieve an on-chain to fiat closed loop.

6/ RWA Sector Explosion RWA has become the second main growth line for @arbitrum in 2025. As of the end of September: Total scale: $486 million (+32% MoM) 👉 Main distribution: Arbitrum One: approximately $437 million (90%) Orbit L3 (mainly for Plume): approximately $144 million 👉 Asset composition: U.S. Treasury: $269 million (56%) EU Treasury: $186 million (39%) Real estate and stocks: $25 million (5%) 👉 Core protocol performance: Ondo Finance (thBILL): $87 million Maple syrup USDC: contributed approximately $67 million incremental BlackRock BUIDL Fund: $30.88 million RWA makes Arbitrum the main battlefield for "on-chain yield assets," providing verifiable yield tools for institutions and allowing ordinary users to access real-world yields in a DeFi format. Currently, Arbitrum's RWA volume has surpassed Base and Optimism, becoming the leader in institutional assets among L2s.

7/ Reshaping the Stablecoin Landscape In September 2025, the market capitalization of @arbitrum stablecoins officially surpassed $10 billion, accounting for 36.5% of the L2 market. 🔸USDC, $2.25 billion, accounting for 55% 🔸USDT, $939 million, accounting for 23% 🔸Yield-bearing stablecoins (USDe, sUSDai, syrupUSDC, etc.) $6.8 billion, accounting for 22% Comparing the L2 competitive landscape: 🔵Arbitrum: $10 billion (36.5%) 🔘Base: $6–7 billion (28%) 🔴OP Mainnet: $3–4 billion (7–8%) Overall trend, the total amount of stablecoins grew by 88% in Q3.

Summary and Outlook September 2025 marks the beginning of a new cycle of "structural recovery" for @arbitrum, with its ecological flywheel forming a three-layer interconnected logic: 👉 Liquidity Layer: DRIP + stablecoins = main engine for capital inflow 👉 Assets Layer: RWA + yield-bearing assets = on-chain sustainable income sources 👉 Access Layer: Bridge upgrades + fiat deposits = user growth channels In the Q4 phase, Arbitrum's goals are: 🔵 TVL surpassing $4.5 billion 🔵 Stablecoin market cap approaching $12 billion 🔵 RWA assets expanding to the $700 million level 🔵 Orbit ecosystem chain TVL achieving double growth @arbitrum is evolving from "DeFi infrastructure" to "on-chain financial operating system": carrying capital while generating returns, connecting institutions while serving the public. Looking forward to a more impressive performance from Arbitrum in October! Arbitrum Everywhere #Arbitrum @arbitrum_cn #ARB