Tanaka
Founder of Kollab3, DeFi Researcher
Arbitrum and Starknet are the top Ethereum L2 token picks if liquidity rotates back into L2s, since both have been heavily repriced from earlier valuations. Arbitrum offers exposure to one of the most established L2 ecosystems, securing about $11.9 billion and with the clearest catalyst, while Starknet is a higher-risk bet on ZK/STARK infrastructure at a $435 million market cap. Ethereum L2 rollups secure about $35.4 billion, up roughly 27% year over year. x.com
Arbitrum looks bottomed and could rally 3–4x on a mean reversion. Between Hyperliquid and Robinhood Chain choosing it, Arbitrum is a clear winner among Ethereum layer-2s to build on. ARB looks bottomed against BTC and ETH, is closer to full circulation than peers, and sits at a $550M market cap after topping $3B in a weak August 2025 pump; even an echo pump would take it to about $2B. It is a governance token with zero value accrual, though, and supply unlocks remain. x.com
Starknet's live privacy tools make its Bitcoin and DeFi thesis more usable, but STRK needs adoption to justify its re-rating. Version 0.14.4 is live; SNIP-36 can prove up to 1.1B L2 gas per transaction. STRK gained over 300% in four weeks while DeFi TVL rose about 5% over a similar period; roughly 127M STRK (1.7% of circulating supply) unlock around Oct 15. If strkBTC, privacy apps and DeFi activity absorb the higher valuation and new supply, the re-rating has more room. x.com
Arbitrum's token is not worth holding long term because its infrastructure gets overshadowed by others' branding. Apps and L2s or L3s built on it accrue value to their own brands rather than to Arbitrum, and mindshare follows the best branding and revenue. Arbitrum could still create some hype. x.com
Starknet's new privacy use cases give STRK a reason to catch a bid. Private swaps and payroll are emerging, with more than $2M shielded across 56 assets; it is among the altcoins that look like good buys after the dip. x.com
Arbitrum follows Bitcoin more than its own chart. If Bitcoin finds a floor and bounces, ARB should rise with it; it is not going to zero. x.com x.com
Most Ethereum layer-2 tokens will likely keep bleeding as Ethereum scales its base layer. They have destroyed wealth over the past two years: Polygon's POL is down 90%, Arbitrum's ARB 94% and Optimism's OP 97%. x.com
Arbitrum's breakout reflects real demand from Robinhood Chain, which runs on Arbitrum and cleared over $1.5 billion of DEX volume in a single day this month. After seven months between $0.08 and $0.14, ARB has more than doubled off its August low to press $0.20, with $0.18-0.20 now support. Holding $0.20 opens $0.28, then $0.35 and $0.51. About 92 million ARB, around $18 million, unlocks to the team and investors. x.com
Starknet is the chain best prepared for the AI-driven encryption threat, and STRK's roughly $500M valuation looks far too low. Per @MoneyPrinter0x, it alone uses the right technology: Merkle trees of hashes with FRI instead of lattice commitments, a verifier swap to WOTS and SPHINCS, and removal of Pedersen hashes. As an illiquid token riding the quantum narrative, STRK could legitimately 2x in a day if bitcoin behaves. x.com x.com x.com
Arbitrum token holders face more selling pressure and a thinner treasury. The Arbitrum Foundation is asking the DAO for about $43.5 million for another year, including 230 million ARB, about 3.7% of supply, while the DAO earned $23.49 million in 2025, per @DefiIgnas. Monetizing the chain is hard: at 4% a year, native stablecoins would need about $1.1 billion to fund that budget. x.com x.com
Starknet's bridge TVL growth gives STRK's rally fundamental backing. Starknet added over $200M in TVL over the past week; STRK rose 66% over that week and 192% over the past month as its price catches up to fundamentals. x.com
