Shardeum Unstablenet: Smart Contract Testnet Now Live

As outlined in our roadmap, Shardeum is launching Unstablenet, our dedicated smart contract testnet today, July 24, 2025. Unstablenet is designed to serve as a sandbox for developing, experimenting, and deploying smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on Shardeum’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain.

Since our mainnet launch on May 5, Shardeum has delivered linear scalability, seamless token and stake transfers, and transaction fees under $0.01. Developers now have a unique opportunity to build on the world’s first autoscaling Layer 1 blockchain – one that removes the burden of network congestion and unpredictable gas fees, allowing you to focus entirely on creating great user experiences. And with an active community of over 1 million users, Shardeum offers a head start in user acquisition – on a low-fee, EVM-compatible chain like no other in the industry.

Why Unstablenet? We chose the name “Unstablenet” to transparently reflect that the network features components that our engineering team is actively stress-testing. You can expect frequent changes and downtimes, with data resets when needed, while allowing our team to gather valuable insights to prepare for the smart contract deployment on mainnet.

Unstablenet Network Details: Start Building

You’ll just need a wallet such as MetaMask configured with the RPC details given below to start interacting with the network immediately:

• Network Name: Shardeum Unstablenet
• RPC Endpoint: https://api-unstable.shardeum.org 
• Chain ID: 8080
• Explorer URL: https://explorer-unstable.shardeum.org/ 
• Claim Test SHM: Use faucet channel on Discord
• Bug Reporting & Feedback: Use bug reporting channel on Discord

- Our engineering team has created a starter suite of dApps for the community, known as the 'Shardeum DApp Playground' - accessible via the second button above. We invite you to use it to deploy smart contracts, test features, and build dApps on Unstablenet.

- Shardeum's developer documentation will be continuously updated to incorporate evolving features and valuable community input.

Ways to Contribute on Unstablenet

• Deploy and test Solidity smart contracts.
• Use standard Ethereum tools like Remix, MetaMask and Ether.js.
• Evaluate smart contract interactions, transaction handling, and dApp behavior under different conditions.
• Report vulnerabilities and bugs for potential rewards.
• Participate in upcoming quests, interactive dApp contests, and bounties.
• Create engaging content – from tutorials and educational resources to social media posts that simplify complex topics – and help take Shardeum to the world.

What’s Next?

• Follow Shardeum’s official social channels for real-time updates on the Unstablenet launch and further announcements. Moreover, you can use them to collaborate, discuss, and ask questions.
• Although there are no reward programs during the initial phase, we plan to introduce incentives to recognize and support community contributions to Unstablenet. Details will be announced in advance so everyone has a fair opportunity to get involved.

By opening Unstablenet to our community early in the development cycle, we’re empowering developers and users to test, build, and innovate alongside us – shaping the evolution of Shardeum as the world’s first dynamically state sharded smart contract platform. Most importantly, we are looking forward to enable all kinds of applications – from machine learning models to your favorite gaming platforms – that were previously not feasible on blockchains. Together, let’s redefine what’s possible in Web3.

FAQ

1. What is the planned duration of Unstablenet?

Unstablenet does not have a fixed end date and is expected to run long-term. It will continue to serve as a space for early previews of upcoming features and ongoing testing.

2. Why does MetaMask or Chainlist show “Shardeum Liberty 1.x” instead of Unstablenet?

When adding Unstablenet endpoints to MetaMask, you may see the suggested network name as “Shardeum Liberty 1.x”. This is due to the chain ID (8080) being previously used for an older testnet. You may rename it locally as “Shardeum Unstablenet” in your wallet settings if desired.

3. Why does gas estimation default to 3 million for smart contract calls?

This is a known limitation in our current gas estimation mechanism, which defaults to a fixed value of 3 million. If you encounter issues with transactions not going through, try setting a higher custom gas limit manually. Only the actual gas used during execution will be deducted from your test balance.

4. Will Unstablenet follow a week-by-week testing schedule, or will updates and fixes be rolled out as needed?

Fixes and feature updates will be rolled out progressively by the tech team as they are ready.

5. Will the community be able to run nodes on Unstablenet?

Yes, support for community-run nodes is on the roadmap. While it won’t be available initially at launch, we intend to transition Unstablenet into a community-operated testnet.

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