In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, new advanced projects and platforms are always surfacing to reshape the world of finance. Among these advancements is the groundbreaking concept of Shibarium, the next step for the Shiba Inu project ecosystem. As a Layer 2 solution, this project aims to address the pressing issues of scalability and transaction costs in the Ethereum network.
Shibarium is not just another catchy word spreading its wings in the crypto world. It is a blockchain that aims to revolutionize the ‘ShibArmy’. Ranging from fast and cheap payments, the innovation aims to serve as the foundation for several SHIB-led projects already in play and those yet to come.
This article will take you through the Layer-2 Shiba bridge in its work, promising capabilities, and potential impacts it has on its community.
Shibarium Unveiled: What Is Shibarium?
Shibarium is an imminent Layer 2 blockchain network built on Ethereum by Shiba Inu projects. This innovation aims to transform Shiba Inu from being just a ‘mere meme coin’ into a full-fledged ecosystem. As a Layer 2 solution, it is designed to effectively interoperate with the Ethereum blockchain main chain at an affordable price point and high scalability.
For an introduction to scalability in blockchain, solutions, and best practices read this article
The project was first proposed by the anonymous creator of Shiba Inu, Ryoshi in a now-deleted blog post in May 2021. As a revolutionist, the new blockchain aims to offer a solution to the inherent problems within Ethereum in terms of high-cost gas charges and slow transactions. This will increase the platform’s wider adoption within the blockchain sector due to improved usability and adaptability.
Shibarium as a Layer 2 Solution
Layer 2 solutions are additional structures or protocols built on blockchain networks such as Ethereum designed to process transactions off-chain. These protocols are meant to solve scalability problems within the host chain by processing transactions offline but still maintaining the security provided by the chain.
As a Layer 2 solution, Shibarium demonstrates an exceptional view towards blockchain scalability and efficiency. By dealing with transactions off-chain Shibarium relieves the network of burden thus increasing transaction speeds and decreasing cost.
Given that most ventures have been held back by the high gas prices and sluggish transaction speeds on the Ethereum network. The emergence of Shibarium signals an active approach towards countering these issues. Therefore, the new Layer 2 solution might become a breakthrough for transactions within Shiba Inu’s environment making them easier, quicker, and more attractive for users.
Shibarium’s Official Mainnet Launch
At first, the project was supposed to launch in February 2023, but it was delayed by developers in what they termed as an aim to launch an error-free ecosystem. The delay came as a result of tests in various phases which called for more improvement of the project.
However, later in August 2023, the crypto community woke up to a buzz of excitement, after the project highly anticipated Shiba Inu’s Shibarium bridge went public.
Unfortunately, the launch did not go steadily as expected. This is because transactions were getting stuck in a pending state with over $1.8 million Ether getting stuck and unable to process. Also, turmoil caught up with the Shiba Inu token, which saw it plug by nearly – 9% an action accelerated by a bridge glitch that caught up with the new protocol. In total, over $2 million in cryptocurrency deposits were stuck within the network.
Fortunately, the project developers came up and resolved these problems and the project was up and running within two days of launch. One month after the launch the number of Shibarium accounts surpassed 25,800 while users’ addresses soared to over 1 million in the same period.
Image via Shibariumscan
Today the project has enabled developers to give greater utility to the linked tokens as they target to consolidate themselves within the DeFi ecosystem. A while ago, a reminder from Shiba Inu’s official marketing expert @LucieSHIB on X(former Twitter) invited developers to build upon the new Layer 2 project.
How Does Shibarium Work?
The new Layer 2 project aims to offload transactions from the Ethereum blockchain. But how does it work this out? Well, let’s delve into it to get a scope of this.
Shibarium combines several transactions into a bundle before handling them off-chain. This ensures that they do not appear in the main Ethereum chain, thus enabling quicker and cheaper processing of transactions. After that, the transactions are posted on the Ethereum blockchain at the end of the transaction for settlement. This ensures that they are still secure and can be verified. Additionally, for every transaction in Shibarium, the tokens are burned off, decreasing the number of Shiba Inu tokens circulating within the marketplace.
To understand how the ecosystem functions let us dive deep into its: blockchain, tokens and DEXs, NFTs and meme coins, launchpads and dApps as well as community and partnership programs.
Shibarium blockchain
As is the case with other major Layer 2 solutions, Shibarium aims to offload computational tasks off-chain. With an objective to reduce pressure on the Ethereum mainnet caused by transactions, the project intends to settle gas fees using BONE tokens. As an additional incentive, twenty million BONE tokens will be set aside for validators and delegators inside this ecosystem. To qualify as a validator, users must lock at least 10,000 BONE tokens. However, those who wish to support the network without node participation have the option to delegate their tokens.
Community and Partnership Programs
As a partnership program to build a community, Shibarium works with Heimdall Validator and Bor block producer nodes. Bor is tasked to adopt the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) while Heimdall Validator is developed on top of the Tendermint consensus engine.
A recent partnership saw the project partner with Bad Idea AI, a partnership that aims to integrate blockchain with artificial intelligence.
Bad Idea AI will offer a listing to its AI chatbot training model exclusively for Shibarium-based projects.
Additionally, the ecosystem has sent invitations to six different categories of contributors to join the new ‘Join Shibarium platform’. This program encourages Web3/4 app developers to create software for the platform while enrollment for validators and delegators is still ongoing.
Also, application for businesses interested in including Shib Inu as a payment method as well as ecosystem managers and content producers is ongoing.
Shibarium Tokens And DEXs
In a blog post, Shytoshi Kusama the lead developer of Shiba Inu, provided a hint on integrating Shibarium into Shiba Inu (SHIB) metaverse initiatives and the Shiba Eternity game. Other tokens like BONE and LEASH are also within this ecosystem.
ShibaSwap decentralized exchange allows users to trade tokens and engage in yield farming by utilizing BONE tokens($BONE). Additionally, PawSwap and Marswap Staking also offer additional trading opportunities through the $PAWSWAP and $MSWAP tokens. A recent development announced via X saw Marswap allow selling and buying Shiba Inu ecosystem token BONE using a bank card and PayPal.
Shibarium Launchpads And dApps
The Shibarum ecosystem stretches out to help new projects acquire visibility and adhesion from various sectors. This is achieved by utilizing launchpads such as Dogpad ($DOGPAD) and ShibPad($SHIBP)
Additionally, the ecosystem features a variety of decentralized applications(dApps) such as:
- Shib Chomp, which is powered by the $CHOMP token, and offers reliable storage solutions.
- Treat, powered by the stablecoin governance token $TREAT aimed at escalating stability and governance.
- Prodigy which is powered by the $PRO token. This dApp has a trading bot that enhances efficient trading.
- Shibarium Name Service ($SNS) which simplifies addresses similar to Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
NFTs and Memecoins
The Shibarium ecosystem integrates NFTs and meme coins as part of its integral system. Notable NFT projects like Shiboshishi are within this ecosystem. Additionally, ColonelCoup, an NFT project based within the Shiba Inu community, recently announced its mint date, with a planned launch on Shibarium.
The mint was referred to as blind mint- meaning users purchased the NFT without seeing the item until three days to reveal were over. Users were required to hold SHIB and BONE tokens within the Shibarium network to purchase the collection. This collection aims to be among the earliest NFT collections to launch on Shibarium.
The ecosystem has a collection of meme coins such as $BAD, $PYRITE, $KOYO, and $HEEL, among others.
What Is Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu(SHIB) has emerged as one cryptocurrency token within the realm of Decentralized Finance(DeFi) and the Meme coin space. It was first introduced by an anonymous individual known as Ryoshi in August 2020 who later vanished leaving no trace of his medium posts. The token was created under the decentralization model and has evolved from the popular Shiba Inu dog, a Japanese dog breed, and the token’s mascot.
Notably, the token has the highest number of tokens in supply within the leading altcoins, with a total of more than 580 trillion SHIB.
Although a meme coin, Shiba Inu is on another level, the token has consolidated the NFT protocol, ShibaSwap, and dived into the world of the metaverse. Participants within the Shiba Inu ecosystem who contribute liquidity have the opportunity to receive rewards through staking the project’s triple native coins: SHIB, BONE, and LEASH.
What Does Shibarium Mean For Shiba Inu?
Ethereum blockchain has been struggling with scalability and delayed transactions due to congestion within its network. Shiba Inu being pegged to Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard, is a victim of this struggle.
However, a new savior(Shibarium project) has come to relieve the Ethereum blockchain of the Shiba Inu burden while still keeping it linked to this chain. In this section, we will unearth what Shibarium holds for Shiba Inu:
Lower Transaction Fees
When introducing the idea of Shibarium, Ryoshi mentioned that it will have minimum to zero fees. Although he later vanished, the project leader Shytoshi Kusama has maintained that Shibarium aims to ensure lower transaction fees for every project pegged to it. This becomes a greater elevation for users given the high transaction fees they have had to endure within the Ethereum network, which sometimes even exceeded their transactions.
Better Transaction Processing Speed
By adding a Layer 2 solution within the Shiba Inu ecosystem, Shibarium will reduce transaction processing time. This will boost a significant growth in adoption due to more transactions being processed within a limited time frame.
Enhanced Utility
Shibarium features the Shiba Inu burn mechanism. With a current supply of more than 580 trillion tokens supply, the growth of the token has been intricate despite a 40% burn of the tokens. Shibarium addresses this issue by utilizing $BONE as its native token and using it to pay validators with every SHIB transaction involving a burn.
However, since mid-September, the rate at which SHIB is burned has significantly lowered indicating that users don’t involve Shibarium for numerous transactions involving dApps.
Complete Ecosystem
Apart from being a mere meme coin, the Shibarium project aims to include several projects within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. These include the SHIB metaverse, ShibaSwap DEX, and blockchain games. These games are aimed at bringing in more users, while DEX offers a better utility.
For instance, in October 2023 the project’s developers launched the Shiba Eternity game. Although the game is currently available only as a mobile game, plans are in to have it available on-chain and playable on Shibarium.
DApp Creation For The SHIB Ecosystem
Although dApps operate via peer-to-peer networks, the original meme coin did not have enough infrastructure to function as a base coin for dApps. However, Shibarium seeks to create a strong ecosystem with Ethereum and its Layer 2 solutions that provide developers with the necessary tools for designing appropriate dApps for the SHIB ecosystem.
For an introductory guide to dApps, read this informative article from DroomDroom
The Future: Shibarium’s Price, DAO, Metaverse, and More
The Shibarium mainnet launch presents a transformative shift within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Although Shiba Inu will not be the gas token, its inclusion within the Shibarium network places it on the verge of surge after launch. With over 21 million wallets created during a testing phase – Shibarium quickly sees a swift network activity after going live. With a variety of projects in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, like Shib Metaverse and Shiboshis NFTs, more users are likely to adopt and utilize this project.
As a future advancement a “DoggyDAO,” a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) run and commanded by token holders, will be introduced at the time and used to fund projects building on Shibarium. This aims to put the project’s community at the center of its development.
Even if it will take months or years before Shibarium’s impact is noticed, its launch rebukes the claims that Shiba Inu is just a ‘mere meme coin’.
Conclusion
The Shibarium crypto trend is not just a passing wave. It marks an age of strategic development within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. In the midst of this project lies a community-based platform that emphasizes having optimized speed in transactions as well as reducing costs and ensuring scalability. So whether you are an investor or a crypto enthusiast, tracking developments within this ecosystem should be something you are obligated to do.
