The much-awaited Shibarium blockchain is all set to release its beta version for the layer 2 network this week, Shiba Inu developers said early on Wednesday.

A beta testnet is a blockchain that mimics real-world functioning. Layer 2 refers to a set of off-chain solutions (separate blockchains) built on top of layer 1s that reduce bottlenecks with scaling and data.

These bundle multiple off-chain transactions into a single layer 1 transaction, which helps reduce the data load and fees.

As CoinDeskpreviously reported, Shiba Inu developers said Shibarium would have a focus on metaverse and gaming applications especially as the NFT sector is expected to heat up in the coming years, apart from Shibarium’s use as a cheap settlement for decentralized applications (dapps) built on the network.

The launch could contribute to strong fundamentals for shiba inu, formed in the previous bull market as a Shiba Inu-themed meme coin that has since tried to position itself as a serious project with its own blockchain network and dApp ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens jumped on Wednesday following the confirmation of the beta version launch.

CoinGecko data shows bone (BONE) jumped as much as 8.8%, while leash (LEASH) rose 4.4% in the past 24 hours, with much of the gains coming in the early hours of Wednesday. Both these tokens will feature extensively in the Shibarium ecosystem.

Shiba Inu’s native shib (SHIB) tokens fell 3.3% however, paring gains from an initial price bump at time of writing.