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- The Shimmer Network is a staging network that facilitates network upgrades in the IOTA space.
- It provides several benefits like feeless trading of NFTs, tokenization framework, and much more.
IOTA’s staging network is all set to launch later this month ahead. As per the latest announcement, the launch of the Shimmer network will happen on 28th September, later this month.
The Shimmer network is a staging network launched by the IOTA Foundation last year in 2021. This network helps to facilitate network upgrades in the IOTA space.
Wen #Shimmer launch?
Mark your calendar – 28.09.2022! Boom 💣 pic.twitter.com/26hKIzAgzZ— Shimmer (@shimmernet) September 15, 2022
Shimmer is a Layer-1 innovation network that seeks to push the growth of feeless and highly interoperable digital assets. Similar to the IOTA blockchain, Shimmer is also a DAG-based parallelized settlement layer with a higher L2 anchoring capacity than the standard blockchain. The Shimmer staging network also serves as the validation ground for different innovations geared toward the IOTA network.
With Shimmer, developers get an early movers advantage for building new cutting-edge innovations along with other token economics on a feeless, bridgeless base layer. It caters to multiple applications in building native tokens, feeless NFTs, as well as IOTA smart contracts.
Key benefits and features of Shimmer
- Shimmer Network provides the tokenization framework for native tokens of a platform. These tokens can be minted for free even by L2 smart contracts anchored to it.
- Shimmer network facilitates the creation and trading of NFTs without any fees attached to it. All of these NFTs on Shimmer will act as standalone wallets and can hold other tokens and NFTs.
- Shimmer network’s extended UXTO model allows new levels of transaction features such as unlock and timelock conditions.
- Shimmer allows building IOTA-based smart contracts to develop EVM-based dApps with the same tools and concepts. Developers will be able to deploy these dApps in the upcoming Shimmer EVM.
- The Shimmer network has unique tokenization features which allow anyone, including Layer-2 smart contracts, to mint and transfer custom tokens and NFTs directly to the base layer with zero fees and zero bridges.
- The shimmer network also provides advanced interoperability by noting that “All transfers on and via Shimmer are feeless and all chains anchored to the Shimmer network can utilize it as the ultimate safe, feeless bridge for all transactions!”
- All upcoming IOTA mainnet upgrades will be first available on the Shimmer network. Shimmer also incentivizes and encourages “the development, validation, and adoption of each feature upgrade”. Shimmer’s native SMR token will fuel the participation of builders and users.
Moving of Ethereum and Polygon NFTs
As per the latest report, the Shimmer network is planning to integrate a multi-chain bridge that would allow users to transfer NFTs from blockchain platforms like Ethereum and Polygon. The IOTa community stated:
Shimmer needs to get to a point where NFTs from other blockchains (Ethereum, Polygon, etc) can be moved on Shimmer and vice versa. In other words, the IOTA web3 ecosystem must be smoothly integrated with the rest of the web3 space.