How to Get SHM Tokens and Add Them to Your Shardeum Wallet

SHM, the native token of Shardeum, is now live for trading on nine leading cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. You can buy, sell, and trade SHM with ease. More exchange listings are on the way—bookmark our exchange announcement blog and check back regularly for the latest updates.

This guide walks you through how to purchase SHM on supported exchanges and transfer it to your self-custodial wallet—unlocking ultra-low-cost P2P transactions, instant global remittances, seamless cross-border payments, and the ability to stake SHM to run a node and earn rewards.

If you haven’t set up a self-custodial wallet like MetaMask yet, you can create one in under two minutes. Simply follow this quick guide and add your Shardeum mainnet account to the wallet to take your first step into the powerful world of decentralization.

Where to Buy SHM: Supported Exchanges

SHM exchange listings started on May 8, 2025, with further listings rolling out over the subsequent weeks. Please refer to each exchange’s website for regional availability and restrictions. All pairs are spot market pairs unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Exchange	Trading Pairs	Deposits	Trading Live
Bitget	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
KuCoin	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
MEXC	🔹 SHM/USDT 🔹 SHM/USDC	✅ Live	✅ Live
BitMart	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
CoinW	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
ProBit	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
Gate	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live
Bitfinex	🔹 SHM/USDT 🔹 SHM/USD	✅ Live	✅ Live
LBank	🔹 SHM/USDT	✅ Live	✅ Live

Step-by-Step: How to Purchase SHM Tokens

For this tutorial, we’ll be using KuCoin as an example. If you don’t have an account with any of the listed exchanges, feel free to sign up with the one that suits you best—the steps are largely similar across most platforms.

The first step is to add USDT or USDC to your funding account using various options available on the exchange, such as credit/debit cards or P2P transfers. For the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll be adding a small amount of USDT.

Once you’ve added USDT to your exchange account, it typically lands in your Funding Account by default. To purchase tokens like SHM, simply transfer the funds from your Funding Account to your Trading Account.

Next, visit the SHM/USDT trading pair page on the exchange—you’ll be directed to the interface shown below. At the time of writing, SHM is priced at 0.21 USDT.

Now, navigate to the far-right section of the page where you’ll find the Buy/Sell Order Form. Since we’re purchasing SHM on the spot market, select the “Buy” tab. KuCoin will prompt you to enter your trading password, which you would have set during account creation.

We’ve switched to KuCoin’s full-screen layout, as shown in the second screenshot, to view the order book and trading panel together—this makes it easier to place buy/sell orders at a favorable price.

Your available USDT balance appears at the top of the buy order form. Based on the order book and recent trades, we’re placing a limit buy order slightly above the current price to ensure instant execution for this tutorial. Once you enter the USDT amount, the order form interface will automatically calculate how much SHM you’ll receive using 100% of your available funds.

Note: Exchanges may deduct a small maker or taker fee depending on their fee structure, so the final amount may vary slightly.

After clicking the “Buy” button, scroll down to the bottom of the trading screen to view your order history. This section displays open and closed orders, helping you track whether your order has been fully executed, partially filled, or is still pending. In our case, the order has been successfully executed and marked as complete.

Now hover over to the top right of the screen and click the Assets menu and select Overview. From there, click on Assets to view your complete list of crypto holdings.

You’ll see the SHM tokens you’ve purchased listed here. Click the three-dot icon towards the far end to proceed further.

Withdraw SHM to Your Shardeum Wallet

Once you’ve purchased SHM on a supported exchange, you can withdraw it to your self-custodial wallet, such as MetaMask, using your Shardeum wallet address. Note: As SHM is newly listed, withdrawal availability may vary across exchanges.

After clicking the three-dot icon, you’ll see options to deposit, withdraw, or transfer—along with the ability to select the token standard (SHM uses the ERC-20 standard). Open your wallet and copy your Shardeum wallet address. Then, return to the exchange and click Withdraw to begin the transfer.

After clicking Withdraw, you’ll be prompted to select a network. If multiple networks are listed, be sure to choose the Shardeum network. Selecting the wrong network can lead to permanent loss of your funds. The corresponding network fee for the transaction will also be displayed beneath the selected option.

Due to factors like limited liquidity during a new token listing, operational overheads, and anti-spam measures, exchanges often charge significantly higher network fees compared to peer-to-peer transactions on the Shardeum network. For example, while the exchange may display a transfer fee of around $0.71, the actual transaction fee on the Shardeum network is typically less than $0.01, since it is decentralized.

After selecting the Shardeum network, the next screen will show your withdrawal amount along with the actual amount you’ll receive after the exchange’s fee is deducted. You can then click Withdraw and confirm the transaction in the final prompt.

After completing the security verification using your exchange credentials, the withdrawal will be processed. In most cases, the transferred SHM will appear almost instantly in your self-custodial wallet (here the amount is hidden intentionally). If you don’t see SHM in your wallet, ensure you’re connected to the Shardeum mainnet and check your wallet balance. That’s it—you’re all set! 🙂

The Benefits of Holding SHM in Your Own Wallet

While exchanges let you deposit, withdraw, and even earn yields through managed services like staking or liquidity pools, choosing to withdraw SHM to a self-custodial wallet like MetaMask unlocks the true benefits of decentralization. On Shardeum, transactions settle instantly with network fees typically under $0.01—unlike centralized exchanges or legacy systems where higher costs and slower settlement stem from multiple intermediaries. Whether you’re sending a few dollars or millions in SHM, Shardeum keeps fees low and finality fast.

By staking SHM directly from your wallet, you can also run a node with minimal hardware and a user-friendly interface enabled by Shareum’s breakthrough technology—earning network-set rewards without sharing profits with centralized institutions. This is the power of decentralization: greater control, lower costs, and fairer participation. However, it also comes with the responsibility of self-management, as the ecosystem evolves toward a decentralized yet seamless infrastructure.

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