The Shibarium network, an Ethereum Layer 2 network that was developed and launched by the Shiba Inu team, did well following its initial launch in August 2023. However, less than one year following its launch, the Layer 2 network has run into some hard times, losing market share to larger counterparts. This has led to a decline in activity for the network as a whole, and so far this week, the Shibarium network has seen a major decline in active accounts.
Shibarium Active Accounts Drop 80.3% In 4 Days
The Shibarium network is currently struggling with adoption of the blockchain as its parent Layer 1 blockchain, Ethereum, is fighting against the likes of Solana to keep its users. Furthermore, Ethereum Layer 2 networks such as Base by Coinbase have also drawn out a reasonable number of decentralized finance (DeFi) users, putting it ahead of Shibarium.
As a result of this, the Shibarium network has been unable to keep users, leading to a decline in active addresses. According to from ShibariumScan, active accounts at the start of the week, on Sunday, July 21, were sitting at a mere 667. As the week has drawn on, this already small figure has crashed further down.
On Wednesday, July 24, the total active accounts recorded on the Shibarium network was only 131. This means that between Sunday and Wednesday, the total active accounts on the Ethereum Layer 2 network had plummeted by 80.3%.
In the same vein, there has also been a notable decline in new transactions. This metric saw a total of 6,353 transactions on Sunday. However, by Wednesday, the figures had declined to 1,023, representing an approximately 84% decline.
Likewise, the number of new blocks mined dropped 66.6% from 17,220 on Tuesday to 5,739 on Wednesday. These all show that interest in the Shibarium network is completely down with number of new accounts created was only 11 on Tuesday, July 23.
Playing With The Big Dogs
While the popularity and success of Shiba Inu over the years played into the anticipation for the Shibarium network, it has failed to live up to the app. When it comes to Ethereum Layer 2 networks that were launched between 2023 and 2024, the Shibarium network doesn’t hold up a candle to these other players.
Currently, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on the Shibarium network is only $1.5 million, according to from DeFiLlama. In contrast, Coinbase’s Base network was launched in the same month of August 2023 as Shibarium currently boasts $2.175 billion in TVL.
The Linea network was launched a few months before Shibarium in March 2023, and the Layer 2 network currently has a TVL of $1.198 billion. Likewise, the BLAST network, which was launched much later in February 2024, has $1.47 billion in TVL.
What this suggests is that the Shibarium network may have failed, given its incredibly low usage. However, there is always the question of if the Layer 2 network will be able to rise from the ashes and become a top DeFi contender once again.