Technology

You can find the mainnet endpoint here.

Shardeum is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain with a modular architecture that separates execution, consensus and networking, and state management. This allows individual components to be optimized and upgraded while keeping execution, security, and state within a single cohesive network.

Validators stake SHM to propose and validate blocks and participate in Proof-of-Stake consensus, while delegators contribute to network security by staking SHM with validators. Users and developers can also operate full or RPC nodes to verify network data and provide infrastructure for applications.

Transactions are submitted through standard EVM interfaces, validated and included in blocks, with smart contracts executed through the EVM. Blocks are produced approximately every 2–3 seconds and use deterministic finality, meaning finalized transactions do not require additional block confirmations.

For developers, EVM compatibility means familiar Solidity smart contracts, wallets, APIs, and Ethereum development tools can be used on Shardeum. The architecture is also designed to support further performance and scalability enhancements as the network evolves.

Shardeum uses Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.

Here is the link to Shardeum whitepaper. Please note that the whitepaper is being updated currently, and the exact details will be available soon.

You can find the relevant details in Shardeum’s official docs page.

Shardeum has two primary node types:

1. Validator Nodes: Validators propose blocks, participate in consensus, and help secure the network. Running a validator requires staking SHM and maintaining high uptime and performance.
2. Full Nodes: Full nodes do not participate in consensus. They verify blockchain data and maintain the network state, providing reliable infrastructure for applications, wallets, and other network participants. Full nodes use pruning by default to retain only the recent state required for operation.

Depending on their infrastructure needs, developers, dApps, explorers, indexers, and service providers may also operate:

• Archive Nodes: Archive nodes are full nodes configured to retain the complete historical blockchain state from genesis. They are useful for explorers, indexers, analytics platforms, and other services that require access to historical data, but require significantly more storage than standard full nodes.
• RPC Nodes: RPC nodes provide JSON-RPC and WebSocket endpoints that applications, wallets, developers, and infrastructure services use to interact with Shardeum.

Refer to our developer documentation for guidance on running Validator, Full, Archive, and RPC nodes.

Shardeum uses Proof-of-Stake (PoS), where validators must lock up SHM as collateral to participate in consensus. The network is also secured by consensus algorithm that requires a supermajority of validator voting power to agree before transactions are finalized. This means an attacker would need to control a large share of active stake and validator power to disrupt or take over consensus, making such an attack extremely costly and difficult to sustain. Misbehavior can lead to slashing and reputational damage, which further discourages dishonest behavior. In practice, this design makes a network takeover economically irrational while strongly incentivizing validators to act honestly.

Energy efficiency means the consensus algorithm used by the network should not require excessive energy beyond what is necessary to process the transactions. Bitcoin and other networks based on the Nakamoto consensus are designed to use high energy expenditure to secure the network from a 51% attack. However, efficient consensus mechanisms like Proof-of-stake do not require high energy expenditure.

Golang is the primary language.