$1.7M of Ethereum 'Stuck' in SHIB Layer-2 Network Shibarium

Shiba Inu's much-hype layer-2 network Shibarium is off to a rocky start after encountering serious issues just a day after its launch.

Examining the network's bridge contract, which ports funds from Ethereum to the layer-2 solution, approximately $1.7 million worth of Ethereum is currently stuck between the two networks.

Beosin, a blockchain security team, confirmed that the funds are locked. As a precautionary measure, they have recommended users temporarily stop using Shibarium.

Additionally, $762,000 worth of BONE, a Shibarium governance token, was sent to the contract, as highlighted by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.

At the time of this writing, no new transactions have been confirmed on the Shibarium chain for over three hours, blockchain data shows.

Other users pointed out issues with the RPC (remote procedure call) system, which allows access to a network’s server node to communicate with the blockchain.

The pseudonymous Shiba Inu developer Shytoshi Kusama denied reports that "this is a bridge issue."

"Our technical difficulties are due to the massive amount of traffic we experienced within moments on Shibarium," they said. "The team is working tirelessly to fix the issue and scale so that we can give the ShibArmy the experience they deserve. All funds are safe."

A moderator in Shibarium’s Discord shared that “as a precautionary measure,” admins “have temporarily restricted access to certain channels due to the spread of misinformation and fake websites.”

A newsletter from the project written by Shytoshi today reported that the "technical difficulty is not an issue of Shibarium, but instead, from the MASSIVE influx of transactions and users that happened at the same time when we announced that the Shibarium is live."

“To regain access and participate in discussions, please connect your wallet. You'll then be able to engage with the important announcements mentioned above,” reads the post.

Amid the reported glitches, the price of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) plunged to a weekly low of $0.00000902 earlier on Thursday, currently trading at $0.00000911, or down 8% on the day, according to CoinGecko.

SHIB’s associated tokens BONE and LEASH are down 20% and 22%, respectively.

Editor's note: This article was updated on August 17, 2023 at 7:30am EST to include comment from Shiba