$1.7M Worth Of ETH Stuck In Shibarium Bridge Following L2 Launch

Blockchain security firm PeckShield has reported that around $1.7 million worth of ETH is stuck in the Shibarium Bridge after its launch failed to create a meme coin rally, as was widely expected. 

The much-hyped and highly anticipated Shibarium Network went live late on Wednesday. 

ETH Stuck In Limbo

Blockchain security firm PeckShield broke the news in a post on social media platform X. The firm stated that around $1.7 million worth of ETH was stuck in the Shibarium Bridge. The news comes shortly after Shibarium, a chain that was designed to facilitate the optimum utilization of dog-themed tokens such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bone ShibaSwap (BONE), TREAT, and the much-hyped Doge killer LEASH. 

Many expected the launch of Shibarium to push the price of these meme coins into orbit. However, things did not go as planned and went sideways quite quickly, with the value of the tokens plummeting. Tokens such as TREAT were down 10%, while the BONE and LEASH tokens were down 17% and 25%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. While the developments have, no doubt, left many new users disappointed. However, recovery is possible as network users adapt and reconcile with the changes. 

SHIB Plunges By Over 9% 

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) token dropped nearly 10% as users began reporting widespread bridging issues after the Shibarium network went live on Wednesday. Available data showed that transactions on the network had been stalled for hours, with users transferring around 954 ETH worth $1.7 million and $750,000 worth of BONE tokens to the contract. Additionally, users were also blocked from sending messages on community forums on Discord after reports of the issue began to surface. 

The Shibarium Mainnet 

The Shibarium mainnet is an Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution launched by Shiba Inu on the 16th of August. The launch was initiated after months of testing and participation from millions of users. In the end, around 21 million wallets were created. Shibarium uses a new consensus mechanism called the Proof-of-Participation, which selects validators based on the proportion of the quantity of their holdings in the associated crypto asset. This helps avoid the computational costs typically associated with Proof-of-Work consensus mechanisms. The new Layer-2 solution will interact with the Ethereum blockchain and provide a more scalable and cost-effective transaction platform. 

Significant Traction 

Prior to launch, Shiba Inu’s lead developer, who uses the pseudonym Shytoshi Kusama, stated that the new Layer-2 solution has already gained significant traction from new projects interested in building on it. According to a post by the developer on X, over 100 companies are already using the Layer-2 network. 

Kusama has also noted that people in the tech and blockchain industry are discussing an “everyday app.” However, they added that such innovations must be conducted from a community and decentralized perspective. They further added that Shibarium incorporates both of these principles without compromising on decentralization, interoperability, and user-centric design. Kusama elaborated that while the validator and delegator aspects of the new Layer-2 solution will keep it decentralized, its true innovation lies in the governance, framework, and charter that help govern the nascent ecosystem’s technology, community, and innovative aspects. 

“By using Shibarium for governance in this system, alongside self-sovereign identity to ensure quality membership (Shibizenship), the metaverse as our territory, and the ability to partner with other like-minded states, we have effectively shattered what nationhood is and rebuilt it upon the Shib ethos of decentralization!”

Shibarium will utilize the Heimdall validator and Bor block production nodes, similar to that of the Polygon ecosystem. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.