Shardeum Mainnet Goes Live, Debuting Autoscaling L1 after Record Testnet Validator Participation

2025-05-19 08:51:56 Technology

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May 6th, 2025, India – Shardeum, the autoscaling Layer 1, announces the launch of its long-anticipated Mainnet, following a highly successful testnet phase that attracted over 1.4 million global participants, and over 171,000 physically run validator nodes - the highest among Layer 1 testnets.

The mainnet launch represents a significant technical breakthrough for the ecosystem, officially marking the transition from years of R&D into a fully operational Layer 1 network. This milestone is a major step forward in the network's mission to solve the Blockchain Trilemma, enabling global users and developers to experience decentralization, scalability, and affordability without trade-offs.

"We've built Shardeum with the conviction that the future of Web3 must be open, inclusive, and truly scalable," said Srini Parthasarathy, Chief Technology Officer. "Mainnet is not just a technical milestone; it demonstrates that the blockchain trilemma - once seen as a tradeoff - is genuinely solvable. Our community's unprecedented validator participation is clear proof of our commitment. And we achieved this by ensuring that running a node is accessible and straightforward for anyone."

"Shardeum is proving that scale, security, and true community ownership can co-exist on a single Layer 1," said Adam Struck, Managing Partner at Struck Crypto. "They are building an autoscaling network, and anyone can help secure it in under a minute. Launching mainnet with a record-size grassroots validator set is exactly the kind of milestone that convinces us Shardeum will be the foundation for the next wave of Web3 applications."

With Shardeum's Mainnet launch comes a myriad of features as well as its Token Generation Event (TGE).

Key Features at Launch:

Permissionless Validator Network:
171,000+ validators on testnet (L1 record)
Mainnet genesis starts with 256 validators (2 shards)
Spin up a node in under one minute via a single-command install - no heavy hardware or large stake required, enabling widespread community participation
Autoscaling from Day 1:
Transaction throughput automatically scales as validator participation grows
Gas fees remain consistently as low as $0.01, even under network congestion
Dynamic state sharding and proprietary Proof-of-Quorum Optimistic (PoQo) allowing the network to scale near-infinitely as more nodes join
Post-launch: Innovative validator accountability system involving automatic rotation of consistently under-performing nodes (avoiding traditional slashing)
Open Source Development:
Launching with 60+ open-source repositories and over 32,000 stars on GitHub, Shardeum's codebase is open and transparent
EVM-Compatible & Developer-Ready:
At launch, Shardeum will support popular explorer tools with seamless integrations with major EVM-supporting wallets, including MetaMask

Backed by Ecosystem Partners

At launch, Shardeum will be supported by partners including PrimeVault (secure treasury operations), Mintair (validator and operator services), and Tokensoft (airdrop and token vesting management).

Shardeum is backed by prominent investors, including Struck Crypto, Amber Group, Big Brain Holdings, Foresight Ventures, Arrington Capital, Jsquare/DFG, Amber Group, Axelar Foundation, The Spartan Group, Ghaf Capital, Jane Street, Alphemy

Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, CoinGecko and others, further reinforcing its industry credibility and market readiness.

The total circulating supply of SHM at launch will be 249 million. Token generation and listings will align closely with the Mainnet rollout.

Beyond Mainnet

In the latter half of the year, Shardeum expects that developers will be able to begin testing smart-contract functionality, with stable dApp deployments expected soon after.

Global community events and meetups are planned to celebrate this launch, showcasing Shardeum's vibrant decentralized community. Shardeum's transparent and phased roadmap clearly communicates future network upgrades, including comprehensive smart-contract capabilities, ensuring the blockchain evolves transparently with community feedback at its core.

With Mainnet live, Shardeum moves from vision to reality, empowering developers, validators, and users to finally participate in a live, permissionless, user-friendly blockchain environment.