The Shiba Inu (SHIB) ecosystem just had a major setback. Shibarium, the layer-2 blockchain used for the popular meme-inspired cryptocurrency, saw a big drop in key metrics, with some falling by over 80%.
Shibariumscan data shows that the number of new transactions on the platform fell by 83.6%, dropping from 7,161 to 1,172. On top of that, the number of new blocks produced fell by 66.6%, going from 17,210 to 5,742.
The drop in new blocks and transactions could mean that things are slowing down on the Shibarium network. Block production usually shows how active the blockchain is, so a drop could mean that users are not engaging as much or that there are fewer transactions happening.
This could be a sign that people are losing interest in Shibarium, or that there are technical problems affecting how well it works.
![Article image](/sites/default/files/inline-images/shibariumm_1.png)
SHIB and BONE deny slump
Even though there was a big drop in Shibarium's operational metrics, the price of Shiba Inu tokens like SHIB and BONE went in the opposite direction. SHIB saw a modest increase of 2.2%, while BONE rose by 3.16%.
This price movement shows that general market sentiment is currently more important than the specific performance of the Shibarium ecosystem in determining the value of these tokens.
![Article image](/sites/default/files/inline-images/shiba_16.png)
But why is Shibarium's network activity falling so dramatically? Are there underlying technical challenges, or is there waning interest in the ecosystem? These questions are crucial for understanding the future trajectory of Shibarium and its role in the Shiba Inu ecosystem.