Arbitrum 

Arbitrum launched in 2021 as an Ethereum layer 2, but its big moment came with the Arbitrum $ARB

token airdrop in March 2023. At launch, Arbitrum was already processing more transactions than many layer 1s and had billions in total value locked (TVL) in decentralized applications (DApps).

Smart investors were watching. Even before the token, the signs were there: user activity, rising liquidity and growing app adoption. When ARB dropped, the pump stuck because the foundation was real.

Chainlink is a classic example of a project with long-term utility. It doesn’t have flashy branding or meme power, but it does one thing incredibly well: feed real-world data into smart contracts.

By 2024, it had become the backbone of much of DeFi, gaming and even tokenized real-world assets. If you were watching closely in 2019-2020, you saw $LINK

LINK getting integrated everywhere. That kind of early utility often flies under the radar — until price action catches up.