Arbitrum, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum (ETH), has announced that it will undergo a major network upgrade on Wednesday, August 31 to mark its one-year anniversary.

Arbitrum Reaffirms Nitro Launch Date

In a tweet on August 29, the Arbitrum team reaffirmed that the “Nitro” update will go live on the mainnet on August 31 at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. However, Arbitrum notes that there will be a two to four-hour network outage period during the upgrade.

Offchain Labs, the creators of Arbitrum first announced the launch of Nitro on August 4. Arbitrum says the Nitro upgrade will solve some major issues of the network and introduce more innovative features.

What to Expect from Nitro?

Arbitrum was built with the optimistic roll-up technology, and  Nitro will be deployed with the second-generation version of the technology. The second-gen roll-up technology will help scale the efficiency of the Arbitrum. 

The upscaling will help Arbitrum in facilitating fast transaction processing for the users on the network. Nitro will also streamline the cross-communication channel between Ethereum and Arbitrum. 

In addition, Nitro promises to reduce Ethereum’s transaction fees even further than Arbitrum already has as a layer-2 scaling solution. The upgrade will also improve fraud proofs, update sequencers, token bridges, and call data compression mechanisms of Arbitrum.

On the Flipside

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a new warning, saying cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting the smart contracts of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

Why You Should Care

By improving its scalability, token bridges, and further reducing transaction costs, Arbitrum looks to attract even more users into the DeFi ecosystem.

To find out how Arbitrum works, read:
Layer 1 vs Layer 2: Understanding How Blockchain Scaling Solutions Work

Nitro comes before the Ethereum merge. Read about the merge below:
The Merge Is Coming: Ethereum Foundation Announces Date for the Mainnet Upgrade