Shibarium launched its beta network, called Puppynet, in March 2023 and went live on mainnet on 16 August 2023, according to official Shiba Inu team announcements. The mainnet launch was revealed at Korea Blockchain Week. A bridge congestion issue on launch day was resolved within 24 hours with no user funds lost.
Key Takeaways: Shibarium Launch at a Glance
- Beta network (Puppynet) went live in March 2023, letting developers test the chain before the public launch.
- Mainnet launched on 16 August 2023 but faced severe congestion within hours, causing a temporary bridge pause.
- The network uses BONE as its gas token and TREAT as a newer ecosystem token, with SHIB as the flagship asset.
- A portion of every transaction fee is used to burn SHIB, creating deflationary pressure over time.
- Indian investors can buy SHIB on WazirX, CoinDCX, ZebPay, and Mudrex, but all gains attract 30% VDA tax and 1% TDS under Indian law.
The Shibarium Launch Timeline: Beta to Mainnet
Getting the shibarium launch date right matters because a lot of early reporting mixed up the beta and mainnet events. Here is how the rollout actually happened, with each milestone broken out clearly.
March 2023: Puppynet Beta Launch
The Shiba Inu development team released Puppynet as a public testnet in March 2023, per the official Shiba Inu Medium blog. Developers could deploy smart contracts, test dApps, and stress-test the bridge between Ethereum mainnet and Shibarium. According to the Shibarium block explorer (shibarium.shib.io), Puppynet processed over 20 million transactions during its testing phase, signalling strong community interest ahead of the shibarium mainnet launch date.
BONE was confirmed as the gas token during this phase. Every transaction on Shibarium requires a small BONE fee, which is why BONE’s price moved sharply around the Puppynet announcement.
August 2023: Mainnet Launch and Congestion Incident
The official shibarium release date for mainnet is 16 August 2023, announced at the Korea Blockchain Week event by the Shiba Inu team. Within hours, transaction demand far exceeded expectations and the shibarium bridge launch stalled, locking funds temporarily.
The team paused the bridge, diagnosed the issue as a node configuration problem rather than a security breach, and restored full functionality within roughly 24 hours, per the official Shiba Inu Twitter statement dated 17 August 2023. No user funds were lost, according to that official statement.
Post-Relaunch: Growth Through Late 2023 and 2024
After the bridge was restored, Shibarium saw steady growth. By early 2024, the network had crossed 300 million total transactions, according to data from the Shibarium block explorer (shibarium.shib.io), making it one of the more active Ethereum L2s by raw transaction count. Daily active wallets fluctuated between 10,000 and 50,000 depending on broader market sentiment, per the same explorer data.
| Milestone | Date | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Puppynet Beta Launch | March 2023 | Public testnet; 20M+ test transactions per Shibarium block explorer |
| Mainnet Launch | 16 August 2023 | Announced at Korea Blockchain Week by Shiba Inu team |
| Bridge Congestion Incident | 16-17 August 2023 | Paused and restored within 24 hours; no funds lost per official statement |
| 300M Transactions Milestone | Early 2024 | Per Shibarium block explorer (shibarium.shib.io) |
| Network Status (mid-2026) | Ongoing | Live and processing daily transactions; TVL trails top L2s per DeFiLlama |
What Is Shibarium Actually Used For?
This is the question that matters most after you know the shibarium launch date. A layer-2 blockchain is only useful if people build on it and use it for real things.
Cheaper and Faster SHIB Ecosystem Transactions
Ethereum gas fees can make small SHIB transfers impractical. Shibarium moves those transactions off Ethereum mainnet, batches them, and settles only the final state on Ethereum. This drops per-transaction costs to fractions of a cent in many cases, compared to potentially much higher ETH gas fees during congested periods, per Shibarium’s official documentation at shibarium.shib.io.
For Indian retail investors moving smaller amounts, say under Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 worth of SHIB, this cost difference is significant. High Ethereum fees were one reason many Indian users preferred centralized exchanges like CoinDCX or WazirX over self-custody in the first place.
DeFi, NFTs, and the SHIB Metaverse
The Shibarium network hosts decentralized applications including ShibaSwap 2.0, NFT marketplaces, and early infrastructure for Shib: The Metaverse land plots. The TREAT token plays a role in metaverse rewards and governance per the Shiba Inu whitepaper, making it a separate but connected asset to watch alongside BONE and SHIB.
How Does Shibarium Burn SHIB?
Every transaction on Shibarium generates a small fee paid in BONE. A portion of that BONE is converted and used to buy and burn SHIB, sending it to a dead wallet permanently, per the Shiba Inu burn mechanism documentation. This is the deflationary link the community talks about most.
The burn rate is still modest relative to SHIB’s total circulating supply of approximately 589 trillion tokens as of mid-2026, per CoinMarketCap data. Analysts note that meaningful supply reduction would require transaction volumes far higher than current levels. If you want a deeper look at whether this burn mechanism could ever push SHIB to major price targets, read our analysis on whether SHIB can reach $1.
Shibarium in 2026: Is It Live and What Is the Current State?
Yes, Shibarium is live as of mid-2026. The network continues to process transactions daily per shibarium.shib.io. Developer activity has expanded with new dApp deployments, though Shibarium competes with more established L2s like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Base for developer mindshare.
The Shiba Inu team has signalled ongoing upgrades to validator infrastructure and cross-chain bridge security through 2025 and 2026, per official Shiba Inu blog posts. Total value locked (TVL) on Shibarium remains a fraction of top-tier L2s per DeFiLlama data, which is an honest limitation worth knowing before you assign heavy weight to it in any investment thesis.
Indian investors tracking SHIB and BONE should remember that all crypto gains in India are taxed at a flat 30% under the VDA tax rules introduced in the Finance Act 2022, with no deduction for losses from other assets. A 1% TDS also applies on every sell transaction above the threshold. Platforms like ZebPay and Mudrex handle TDS deduction automatically, which simplifies your compliance. For broader context on meme coin investing risk, our meme coin investing guide for 2026 covers what you need to know before putting real money in.
If you follow SHIB news in Hindi, check our Shiba Inu coin news in Hindi section for regular updates. And if you are watching token unlock events that could affect altcoin prices broadly, our biggest token unlocks in July 2026 piece is worth a read.
Risk disclosure: SHIB, BONE, and TREAT are highly speculative assets. Their prices can drop 80-90% in bear markets. Never invest more than you can afford to lose completely. The Shibarium network, while functional, is still maturing and carries smart contract and bridge risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Shibarium launch?
Shibarium’s beta network, called Puppynet, launched in March 2023 per the official Shiba Inu Medium blog. The mainnet shibarium launch date is 16 August 2023, announced at Korea Blockchain Week. The bridge faced congestion issues within hours and was temporarily paused before being restored the next day. No user funds were lost, per the official Shiba Inu team statement.
What happened at the Shibarium beta launch?
The Puppynet beta attracted massive community interest and processed over 20 million transactions during its testing phase, according to the Shibarium block explorer. It let developers build and test dApps before the public mainnet launch. The puppynet beta launch phase also confirmed BONE as the official gas token for all Shibarium transactions.
Is Shibarium live now in 2026?
Yes, Shibarium is live and processing transactions as of mid-2026 per shibarium.shib.io. The network has grown since its rocky launch day in August 2023. That said, it still trails major Ethereum L2 networks in total value locked and daily active users per DeFiLlama, so set expectations accordingly.
How does Shibarium burn SHIB tokens?
Transaction fees on Shibarium are paid in BONE. A portion of those fees is used to purchase and permanently burn SHIB by sending it to an unrecoverable dead wallet, per the Shiba Inu burn mechanism documentation. The burn is real but currently small relative to SHIB’s total circulating supply of around 589 trillion tokens as of mid-2026 per CoinMarketCap.
Can Indian investors buy SHIB or BONE for Shibarium exposure?
Yes. SHIB is available on WazirX, CoinDCX, ZebPay, and Mudrex. BONE availability varies by exchange, so check current listings before trading. All profits are taxed at 30% in India under VDA tax rules with no loss offset allowed, and a 1% TDS applies on qualifying sell transactions. ZebPay and Mudrex handle TDS deduction automatically.
Last updated: July 2026. Reviewed by the CryptoWire editorial team.
