SHM is the ticker symbol of Shardeum’s native token. It is the network’s utility token and serves several functions:
SHM trading is live on leading crypto exchanges including Kucoin and MEXC. For full list of exchanges, please visit this page. More centralized and decentralized exchange listings are coming soon.
Any EVM-compatible wallet will work on Shardeum, including MetaMask.
Following the community-approved SHM redenomination (1:240) in October 2025, the initial supply was adjusted to ~59.76 billion SHM. Allocations remain identical in percentage terms since this was purely a token split, not a supply increase through inflation.
Similar to Ethereum, node rewards will not be pre-minted. Validator rewards will still come from ongoing issuance, designed to keep the network secure and to ensure validators are always incentivized. What’s different is that the validator rewards will now follow a fixed issuance schedule rather than a dynamic model, which is by the way, a technical adjustment required by the validator design of the adopted EVM software. Instead of generating rewards dynamically, a fixed issuance schedule will define the supply allocated to validators each year.
Yes. You can buy SHM and delegate it to validators to help secure the network and earn staking rewards, with an estimated APY of around 33% as of August 2026. Follow the simple steps on the Shardeum Staking Dashboard to get started.
Shardeum also periodically runs campaigns, quests, ecosystem programs, and other community initiatives that may offer SHM or other rewards for eligible participation. Programs, eligibility criteria, and rewards vary, so follow Shardeum’s official channels for current and upcoming opportunities.
As noted in this blog, Shardeum is serious about decentralization from the get go and we had decided to raise funds across a large number of ECA participants and angels. Our goal here is to maximize the distribution of SHM and not to have a select few participants owning a majority of tokens. Our cap table so far includes diverse global institutional, VCs and angels that are motivated to help us build Shardeum and grow the Web3 ecosystem.
We had previously concluded airdrops for our ecosystem and community members for the pre-mainnet period. Since mainnet launch, we have continued to expand community participation through campaigns, ambassador programs, trading competitions, quests, IRL events, and other initiatives designed to grow the ecosystem, reward contributors, and further decentralize SHM distribution.
