Arbitrum vs XRP Ledger

Arbitrum4.2/5

VS

XRP Ledger3.9/5

Feature	ArbitrumVisit	XRP LedgerVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.2/5	3.9/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	4.5	4.5
Fees	4.5	5.0
Ecosystem	5.0	3.0
Decentralization	3.0	3.5
Developer experience	4.5	3.5
Specs
Layer	Layer 2	Layer 1
Consensus / design	Optimistic rollup	Other
Native token	ARB	XRP
EVM compatible	Yes	No
Smart contract languages	Solidity, Rust (Stylus)	Not disclosed
Block time	~0.25 seconds	3-5 seconds
Typical transaction fee	Not disclosed	0.000011 XRP
Finality	~7 days (dispute window)	3-5 seconds
Mainnet since	2,021	2,012
Sequencer	Centralized	Not applicable
Data availability	Ethereum L1 calldata / EIP-4844 blobs	Not disclosed
Gas paid in	ETH	XRP
Company
Founded	2021	2012
Headquarters	United States	—
Investors	Coinbase Ventures, IOSG Ventures, OKX Ventures, ParaFi Capital +1	Not disclosed
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	Secured over $12.3B in value with 2.7 billion lifetime transactions by mid-2026 Supports smart contracts in Rust, C, and C++ alongside standard EVM Solidity Fast sub-second block times around 0.25 seconds with gas settled in ETH	Continuous mainnet operation since 2012 with over 14 years of uptime Fast settlement reaching finality in 3 to 5 seconds Predictable base transaction cost of 0.000011 XRP Native token issuance and order-book DEX built into base protocol
Cons	Sequencer remains centralized, creating liveness and transaction ordering dependencies ARB staking through the DAO does not distribute protocol fee revenue to holders Substantial non-circulating ARB supply remains subject to scheduled token unlocks	Not EVM compatible, preventing direct deployment of Solidity smart contracts Validator coordination relies heavily on curated Unique Node Lists
Best for	High-frequency DeFi traders, Rust and Solidity smart contract developers, Teams launching dedicated Orbit appchains	Institutional cross-border payment providers, Real-world asset issuers, Fintech developers seeking simple payment APIs

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