• Shardeum launches Atomium testnet on June 26, allocating 3.3 million SHM tokens for airdrop.
• Stage 1 focuses on community-led stress testing to identify and fix network issues.
• Former head of ecosystem, Greg Hemmer resigns days before the incentivized testnet launch.

Shardeum, an autoscaling layer-1 blockchain, has announced the launch of Stage 1 of its incentivized testnet, Atomium. It will commence on June 26, 2024.

This initiative is strategically designed to boost community engagement by allowing them to identify bugs, vulnerabilities, and performance issues. The plan is to enhance the network’s robustness in preparation for its mainnet launch.

Shardeum Allocates 0.65% of SHM Supply For Community Members

In this initial stage, Shardeum invites community members to execute numerous peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions. Consequently, this step enables the Shardeum team to conduct thorough stress tests on the network. Identifying and correcting vulnerabilities during these tests is crucial for ensuring the security of the network under significant operational stress.

Shardium will reward the participants in the Atomium testnet for their contributions. The company has allocated 0.65% of the total SHM token supply, approximately 3.3 million tokens, for community incentives.

Read more: Best Upcoming Airdrops in 2024

This distribution represents the second phase of the Shardeum native token Shard (SHM) airdrop, following the successful completion of Phase 1, which targeted early contributors.

“We believe in community-led development and thanks to our amazing community we’ve been able to reach this stage. We’re now ready to launch Stage 1 of the incentivized testnet. Shardeum enters a crucial phase where we stress test the network to challenge its limits and strengthen it for the future with the help of our community,” Nischal Shetty, the co-founder of Shardeum, told BeInCrypto.

For the current phase, Shardeum has allocated 0.65% of the SHM’s supply for the community. However, in an interview with BeInCrypto, Kelsey McGuire, the Chief Growth Officer at Shardeum, said that the company has planned additional rewards for the mainnet campaign. In total, the project has allocated 5% of the token supply across three airdrop phases – early contributors, incentivized testnet, and the mainnet campaign.

“Moreover, 51% of the total token supply is dedicated to node rewards, making community participation central to our ecosystem. Since we made node validation accessible to everyone, the community effectively has access to more than 56% of the token supply,” McGuire told BeInCrypto.

After completing Stage 1, Shardeum will assess the findings and further refine the network’s capabilities, preparing for more intensive system tests in subsequent stages.

According to Crunchbase, Shardeum has raised $23.6 million in funding to date. Its notable investors include Amber Group, Blockchain Founders Fund, and Alpha Capital.

In a related development, Greg Hemmer, former Head of Ecosystem at Shardeum, announced his resignation days before the incentivized testnet launch. While he did not specify the reasons for his departure, Hemmer assured that he would continue to support the project as a community member.

Read more: What is a Layer-1 Blockchain?

“Greg’s departure was amicable. We appreciate all of Greg’s efforts that helped get Shardeum to where we are today, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” McGuire told BeInCrypto.