What is Shardeum? Testnet & SHM Airdrop

What is Shardeum?

Shardeum is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that delivers low gas fees, high transaction throughput, and decentralized security using dynamic state sharding. Since it dynamically adjusts shards to network demand, the project has an advantage over chains that use static sharding.

The Shardeum L1 also solves the blockchain trilemma by achieving scalability, security, and decentralization simultaneously. Its auto-scaling mechanism dynamically allocates resources to match traffic, ensuring consistent performance and accommodating growth without bottlenecks or disruptions.

Moreover, Shardeum's compatibility allows developers to deploy EVM dApps (decentralized applications) without code modification. According to the founders, Shardeum is a movement, created and nurtured by a global community of developers and shardians.

Shardeum is scheduled to launch its mainnet in Q1 2025, with a target date of March, following the completion of its incentivized testnet. The mainnet launch will occur after resolving issues identified during testing to ensure a secure and reliable blockchain environment.

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How Does Shardeum Work?

Shardeum scales by increasing transaction capacity with each new validator while keeping fees low. Its dynamic state sharding architecture ensures efficient resource use and supports decentralized applications through key mechanisms:

• Shardus Core Protocol: Manages sharding and consensus independently of application-specific data, ensuring modularity.
• Proof of Stake (PoS): Validators stake SHM tokens to participate in the network, securing it through incentives for honest behavior and penalties for malicious actions.
• Proof of Quorum (PoQ): Transactions achieve atomic processing with low latency using a leaderless consensus mechanism that validates transactions individually.
• Separation of Concerns: Shardeum's architecture isolates dApp-level operations from the core protocol, enabling the safe addition of new features without risking overall network stability.
• Auto-Scaling: The network adjusts shard count and resource allocation dynamically to handle varying traffic demands, ensuring optimal performance under any workload.
• Cross-Shard Composability: Shardeum enables smooth interaction between shards, maintaining atomicity for transactions across the network.
• Low Bandwidth Requirements: By optimizing data transmission, Shardeum minimizes bandwidth usage, making it accessible even in areas with limited infrastructure.

Understanding Shardeum’s design requires familiarity with elements like EIP-2930 access lists for cross-shard communication, validator rotation cycles, and dynamic shard reorganization. These are detailed in the project's 47-page whitepaper.

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Atomium Testnet

The Atomium testnet is Shardeum's fourth and final incentivized testing phase, focused on evaluating the network's complete architecture ahead of the mainnet launch. It allows the community to conduct stress tests while engineers address issues, ensuring a reliable and secure blockchain debut.

Unlike Liberty and Sphinx testnets, which tested EVM compatibility and autoscaling, Atomium replicates the mainnet environment for in-depth application testing. This stage incorporates community-driven tasks and rewards, increasing onchain participation and readiness for large-scale expansion.

So far, Atomium has engaged over 640,000 participants and 35,000 public validators. Across all testnets, Shardeum has facilitated 45 million transactions and established 1.2 million accounts, demonstrating its capacity to support expansive Web3 ecosystems.

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SHM Tokenomics

SHM is the native utility token of Shardeum, created to ensure network security, decentralization, and sustainable scarcity. With a fixed supply of 508 million tokens, its tokenomics focus on equitable distribution and long-term ecosystem growth.

• Community Rewards (51%): Allocated for rewarding validators, archive nodes, and standby servers.
• Token Sale (18%): Distributed with a 3-month cliff followed by a 2-year linear vesting period.
• Team Allocation (15%): Reserved for team members with a 3-month cliff and a 2-year linear vesting schedule.
• Foundation (11%): Fully unlocked at the Token Generation Event (TGE) to support long-term development initiatives.
• Ecosystem & Airdrops (5%): Unlocked at TGE to drive ecosystem adoption and reward community contributions.

SHM also functions as a gas token, governance token, and reward mechanism. Its deflationary model, which burns transaction fees and slashed tokens, ensures increasing scarcity as adoption and network activity grow.

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Shardeum SHM Airdrop

The Shardeum SHM Airdrop is a structured, three-phase program aimed at rewarding community contributions and active participation in the network's development.

1. Phase 1: Allocates 3,661,600 SHM to early contributors who engaged between February 2, 2022, and June 22, 2024, including off-chain participants, on-chain users, developers, and node validators.
2. Phase 2: Dedicates 3,296,500 SHM to incentivized testnet participants for stress testing the network and completing essential tasks.
3. Phase 3: Will coincide with the mainnet launch, distributing 18,441,900 SHM to participants driving on-chain activity and ecosystem expansion.

Currently in the Atomium Stage 4 incentivized testnet, users can participate in various tasks to earn XP, such as referring friends, following Shardeum on Twitter, joining the Discord community, and subscribing to the newsletter.

Advanced tasks include engaging in quizzes, voting challenges, playing Wordle games, and team-building activities like tower challenges, ensuring a dynamic and inclusive participation perks.

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Funding

Shardeum has raised $23.6 million across two funding rounds, achieving a valuation of $248 million. Notable investors include Spartan Group, Jane Street, Amber Group, and Foresight Ventures, reflecting strong confidence in its blockchain technology.

The funds from the $18.2 million seed round in October 2022 and the $5.4 million strategic round in July 2023 are being deployed to strengthen infrastructure, boost global community growth, and support the anticipated mainnet launch.

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Shardeum Founders

Shardeum was co-founded by Nischal Shetty and Omar Syed to develop a scalable, efficient blockchain platform.

Nischal Shetty, the founder of the WazirX exchange, pivoted to DeFi after encountering restrictive API policies on centralized platforms that limited user control and innovation. Omar Syed, a veteran blockchain architect, began developing dynamic state sharding technology in 2018 to address scalability challenges in existing networks.

By 2020, the two joined forces, and in 2021, they initiated Shardeum as a smart contract platform constructed for linear scalability, ensuring it could support millions of users while maintaining low costs and decentralization.

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Final Thoughts

Shardeum stands out as a blockchain that revamps scaling with its dynamic state sharding and transaction-level consensus, ensuring fairness, immediate finality, and a truly DeFi infrastructure.

Its approach to reducing data bandwidth requirements makes it uniquely suited for regions with limited connectivity, broadening global access to blockchain technology.

As Shardeum prepares for its mainnet launch, it continues to set a benchmark for inclusive, efficient, and scalable techniques, aiming to lead the next wave of blockchain adoption worldwide.