The Magic of ShimmerEVM: Redefining Web3’s Potential

At Nakama, we firmly believe that embracing a multi-chain approach is the key to long-term success in the dynamic landscape of Web3. Nevertheless, there is one protocol that has undeniably piqued our interest: Shimmer.

In this in-depth exploration article, we delve into the unique features that make Shimmer stand out, focusing specifically on its upcoming fully Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible smart contract chain. This groundbreaking development enables scalable, fast, secure, and parallel processing of smart contracts, making Shimmer an optimal choice for builders in the Web3 ecosystem.

We strongly believe that these exceptional features will undoubtedly attract a multitude of developers and teams, enticing them to migrate from other ecosystems to the realm of Shimmer. Building their businesses on top of this unique technology, they stand to benefit greatly from the network’s distinctive features. Now, let’s dive into the highlights that truly set this network apart from the rest.

No Roadblocks, No Limits

Shimmer’s approach leverages L2 chains, to effectively address scalability challenges and to provide smart contract capabilities whilst maintaining a strong connection between each L2 and the L1 through the issuance of transactions during consensus. This design choice optimizes the performance of the network, empowering it to handle increased activity and unlocking new possibilities for decentralized applications.

Shimmer is prepared to facilitate significantly higher L2 anchoring (integration of off-chain data) capacities compared to traditional blockchains, enabling orders of magnitude more scalability. Its suitability as L1 for a wide-ranging dApp ecosystem makes it an ideal choice, ensuring the seamless operation of diverse decentralized applications.

Bridgeless Asset Transfers

Bridges play a crucial role in blockchain networks, facilitating interoperability between different chains. However, they also introduce significant security risks due to potential vulnerabilities. In June 2022, the Harmony Horizon Bridge was hacked, with $100 million in funds stolen. Another infamous incident that garnered attention was the Ronin bridge hack, which exposed critical security vulnerabilities in the bridge’s infrastructure, resulting in unauthorized access and compromised funds.

These incidents underscore the urgent need for robust security measures. We are delighted that Shimmer addresses the risks posed by bridge hacks and provides a solution to this problem.

Shimmer operates as a Layer 1 solution that inherently supports concurrent processing of multiple transactions and smart contracts. This eliminates the need for bridges and significantly reduces the security vulnerabilities associated with them. By leveraging the security of Shimmer’s L1 chain, assets created on L1 can be seamlessly bridged to any L2 smart contract chain. This design choice not only enhances the overall security and resilience of the network but also provides a feeless and secure ecosystem for developers and users.

By doing so, it fosters a more composable ecosystem. With its seamless bridging capability, assets and applications across different chains can interoperate, enabling efficient collaboration and utilization of resources. This composability enhances the network’s versatility, allowing developers and users to leverage the strengths of various chains and create innovative solutions that span multiple platforms.

MEV Protection

Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) attacks exploit the transparency of blockchain transactions to gain unfair advantages. These attack vectors allow malicious actors to manipulate the order and timing of trades, potentially leading to unfair profits and losses for other users. It is crucial to be aware of the plenitude of possible attack vectors in order to implement robust security measures and protect the integrity of decentralized exchange platforms.

Shimmer’s random order consensus on L2 effectively mitigates risks like front-running, back-running and sandwich attacks, ensuring a fair environment.

True Randomness

Shimmer’s inherent network-level randomization, accessible to all dApps utilizing the IOTA Smart Contract (ISC) functionality, eliminates the need for costly third-party services, enhances decentralization and reduces reliance on external entities.

By leveraging Shimmer’s true randomness, dApps can ensure a higher level of security and trust in their operations. The elimination of third-party services lowers potential vulnerabilities and reduces the risk of manipulation or biased outcomes. This enhanced level of trust and security provided by Shimmer’s true randomness opens up new possibilities for innovative and secure decentralized applications in the Web3 ecosystem.

Unlike Chainlink’s Verifiable Random Function (VRF), which incurs costs, Shimmer offers free network-level randomization for generating random numbers in decentralized applications. For example, decentralized gamefi, NFTs and gambling applications can implement fair random number generation without manipulation suspicions.

Zero Fees on Layer 1

The presence of fees poses a substantial obstacle to achieving scalability. These fees, incurred for transaction processing, can become prohibitive as network usage increases, limiting the number of transactions that can be processed and impeding the scalability of blockchain networks.

Shimmer’s groundbreaking feature of feeless L1 asset transfers revolutionizes the blockchain landscape. By eliminating fees associated with asset transfers on L1, Shimmer sets a new standard for accessibility and usability, allowing users to freely and seamlessly transfer assets without worrying about transaction costs.

Encouraging responsible data storage practices and preventing spam, Shimmer comes along with a storage deposit mechanism that mandates users to deposit a specific amount of SMR tokens as collateral when storing data on the network. This approach incentivizes efficient utilization of storage resources, promoting a more sustainable and secure ecosystem on Shimmer. The storage deposit is 100% refundable.

Roll It

With Shimmer, the true power lies in its ability to provide a platform where anyone can effortlessly roll their own permissionless WebAssembly (Wasm) or EVM smart contract chain. This remarkable feature offers developers the unparalleled freedom to create and customize their own blockchain networks, tailored precisely to their unique requirements. It paves the way for a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem where a multitude of ideas and applications can thrive.

Endless Possibilities

The versatility and robustness of Shimmer make it a prime candidate to serve as the core infrastructure supporting a multitude of niches in the Web3 landscape. To name a few:

• Decentralized Finance: Frictionless decentralized and scalable DeFi economies on top of a scalable and feeless network, enhanced security and fairness with robust MEV protection mechanisms as well as increased composability due to the bridgeless nature of Shimmer.
• Digital identity: NFTs, native tokens and smart contracts allow the interaction with digital identities. Identities can even control other identities. This powerful feature is opening up new possibilities for complex interactions and governance.
• Gaming: NFTs act as standalone wallets and can hold other NFTs and tokens. Additionally, they can store immutable on-chain data, enabling seamless ownership and transfer of in-game assets, as well as the preservation of provable scarcity and uniqueness.
• Supply chain: ShimmerEVM offers a secure and transparent infrastructure for trusted supply chains, ensuring traceability, immutability, and trust in the provenance of goods.
• Energy management: Real-time data management and moving carbon credit or renewable energy certificates without transaction costs.

Strong Community

Last but certainly not least, one of Shimmer’s greatest strengths lies in its vibrant and thriving community. With over 70 projects actively building on top of the protocol, the ecosystem has fostered a collaborative environment that fuels innovation and growth. The recent incentivized battle testing of the ShimmerEVM network further demonstrated the commitment to ensuring a robust and secure infrastructure.

As the community continues to expand and mature, the ecosystem is poised to welcome a massive influx of new projects, spearheading the next era of innovations in the Web3 landscape and propelling Shimmer to the forefront of groundbreaking developments.

Outlook

The broader Web3 space has yet to fully grasp the magnitude of Shimmer’s remarkable advancements. Those who seize the opportunity to embrace this groundbreaking technology will be at the forefront of a paradigm shift, positioning themselves to reap the abundant rewards and establish a lasting impact.

We eagerly anticipate the launch of ShimmerEVM on the mainnet. Our primary emphasis will be on nurturing a robust ecosystem of impactful dApps that harness the L1-feeless, scalable, and secure infrastructure of the network, ensuring their strong establishment and significant contributions.

We are diligently working behind the scenes to expand our portfolio, currently consisting of Deepr Finance and Accumulator, with the aim of providing a diverse range of innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of the Web3 ecosystem. In addition, our team is buzzing with excitement as we craft additional yet to be announced cutting-edge applications that will launch on Shimmer, expanding the possibilities of this unique protocol.

We invite developers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries from all corners of the Web3 space to join us on this exciting journey of exploration and innovation!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Nakama_Labs) for future updates!