Shiba Inu community faced a disruption with a movement that caused fluctuations in Shibarium, the beta test network of Puppynet. According to the latest data from Puppyscan, the network experienced a complete freeze in transactions in the last 96 hours. This unexpected halt, which began on August 5th, intensified speculation about the imminent release of the Shibarium mainnet.
Shiba and Puppynet Current Status
Puppyscan’s latest statistics present an interesting picture. Puppynet recorded 35.044 million transactions, maintained an average block time of 6.4 seconds, processed approximately 1.989 million blocks, and has 17.063 million wallets. Prior to this sudden halt, the network consistently confirmed an average of 250,000 transactions per day.
Many Shiba Inu enthusiasts interpret this as a sign that the beta phase of Shibarium, known as Puppynet, has concluded with the anticipation of the grand opening of the Shibarium mainnet scheduled for August 15th and 16th at the Blockchain Futurist Conference 2023. However, it should be noted that the Shiba Inu team has not yet made an official statement confirming these speculations.
Statement by Shytoshi Kusama
In parallel with these developments, Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of Shiba Inu, had given numerous hints in the past weeks and months that Shibarium would be released on time. In a blog post dated July 31st, Kusama announced that the remaining Bone supply would be cut off in the coming days with the upcoming launch of Shibarium, and the Bone contract would be redesigned, making it impossible to create more coins.
Furthermore, Kusama highlighted the significant role of BONE in the upcoming system, emphasizing its importance for validators, its function as a gas token for Shibarium, and its role in technology governance. Additionally, the team initiated various initiatives to support the Shiba Inu ecosystem, including the public test launch of Shibarium SSI (Self-Sovereign Identity) and Shibarium beta bridge.
However, Kusama gave the biggest clue in a blog post published on July 6th, implying that the eagerly anticipated second layer could be released during the ETHToronto and ETHWomen hackathons taking place in Canada on August 15th and 16th, 2023. Kusama made the following statement:
The event holds special significance as it coincides with the third anniversary of Shiba Inu and takes place where Ethereum was born.
Kusama also announced their sponsorship of the official hackathons for Shiba Inu ecosystem, ETHToronto and ETHWomen, and their role as the title sponsor for the upcoming Blockchain Futurist Conference. In a groundbreaking move, Kusama will address the conference through artificial intelligence technology, showcasing all Shib-branded projects and Treat. Remarkably, the lead developer also stated:
It is highly likely that we will discuss and even release our long-awaited L2 Shibarium as well.
Shiba Coin Analysis
Kusama once again suspended the official Telegram channel of Shibarium. This move reflects the action of suspending the Telegram channel shortly before the launch of the PuppyNet test network in March.
At the time of writing, the price of Shiba Inu was at $0.00000983 and made a second attempt to break the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of $0.000001. The price level served as a strong support from mid-March to mid-May, so further bearish pressure may be expected at this point. If a breakout is successful, it could signify upward momentum and the price may reach $0.00001114.
