Shardeum has officially launched its mainnet following a successful testnet phase that attracted over 1.4 million participants worldwide, setting a new record for Layer 1 testnet validator nodes.
According to a press release shared with crypto.news, the EVM-based autoscaling network recently rolled out its mainnet after a brief delay. During the testnet phase, the network saw over 171,000 physically-run public validator nodes, marking the highest number of validator nodes ever recorded on a Layer 1 testnet.
The mainnet aims to address the scalability trilemma, enabling global users and developers to maintain decentralization, scalability, and affordability simultaneously. By breaking down workloads into smaller shards, the network ensures transaction validation can run in parallel. The mainnet will initially start with 256 validators forming two shards.
With its shard-like approach, the mainnet offers features such as quick node installation in under a minute through a single command, without the need for heavy hardware or a large stake. Additionally, Shardeum’s approach maintains low gas fees, as low as $0.01, even during high network congestion.
Upon launch, the mainnet will be supported by industry players like PrimeVault, Mintair, and Tokensoft. It will feature over 60 open-repositories and a validator accountability system that automatically rotates underperforming nodes.
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Shardeum’s token distribution
Alongside the mainnet launch, Shardeum will introduce its native token, SHM, with a total circulating supply of 249 million tokens. The tokenomics allocate 36.72% to community token sales and 30.6% to the team, both subject to a 3-month cliff period and a two-year linear vesting timeline.
Additionally, 22.44% of tokens will go to the foundation, 10.23% to the ecosystem and airdrop distribution, and will be unlocked during the token generation event. SHM will be utilized for governance, staking, and gas payments.
SHM is set to be listed on major exchanges like BitMart, CoinW, and MEXC, while the mainnet will integrate with EVM-supporting wallets such as MetaMask, OKX Wallet, and Trust Wallet.
Shardeum’s Chief Technology Officer, Srini Parthasarathy, stated that the mainnet launch signifies a breakthrough in solving the blockchain trilemma and believes it will pave the way for the next generation of Web3 applications.
“Launching the mainnet with a record-sized grassroots validator set is a significant milestone for Shardeum, showcasing our potential as the foundation for future Web3 applications,” added Parthasarathy.
In the latter part of 2025, developers are expected to test smart-contract functionality on the platform, followed by stable dApp deployments soon after.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the Shardeum mainnet launch was initially slated for April 15 but was postponed to May due to market conditions.
Read more: Shardeum Layer 1 confirms its token launch on May 5 after multiple delays
