TLDR
- Solana projects can expand to Shibarium by launching native tokens and building utility
- Shibarium offers relief from Solana’s outages, congestion and ecosystem isolation
- WHY Combinator and the SHIB Army give projects tools, users, and liquidity without starting from scratch.
- Shibarium continues to expand its ecosystem with integrations with Chainlink and Polygon
As Solana projects face mounting challenges in an increasingly competitive blockchain landscape, LUCIE, the lead marketing strategist for Shib Ecosystem has outlined a bold strategy to overcome these obstacles. On Thursday, Lucie shared her vision for cross-chain collaboration, suggesting that Solana-based applications could thrive by expanding to Shibarium, even without direct bridging infrastructure.
Why Solana Projects Should Expand to Shibarium (Even Without a Bridge)
There’s no direct Solana-to-Shibarium bridge yet—but that doesn’t stop visionary projects like Shy on Sol from planting flags in both worlds.
Here’s how and why Solana projects can still enter Shibarium:
1.… pic.twitter.com/bHR3sCIWAq
— 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄 (@LucieSHIB) May 8, 2025
A New Kind of Expansion—Not Just Migration
Solana, while celebrated for its transaction speed and low fees, has struggled with periodic network outages and congestion issues over the past year. These reliability concerns have left some projects vulnerable to user frustration and limited growth. Additionally, Solana’s somewhat isolated ecosystem has restricted access to the vast user bases available on Ethereum-compatible chains.
“Think of it as a cross-chain expansion, not just a migration,” Lucie explained, suggesting that Shibarium could complement rather than replace Solana’s functionality. This approach acknowledges Solana’s technical strengths while addressing its ecosystem limitations.
The centralization critique often leveled at Solana presents another challenge that Shibarium expansion could help mitigate. By diversifying across networks, projects can reduce dependency on any single blockchain’s health and governance decisions. Lucie’s guidance seems tailored to projects seeking greater resilience against network-specific risks.
Shibarium Offers a Full-Stack Ecosystem
Shibarium’s layer-2 solution offers a potential remedy to several Solana pain points. Built on Ethereum, it provides access to the largest smart contract ecosystem while maintaining relatively low fees through its scaling technology. For Solana projects struggling with limited cross-chain interoperability, Shibarium represents a strategic gateway to the broader Ethereum universe.
“Tap Into the Combinator Ecosystem,” Lucie advised, highlighting Shibarium’s WHY Combinator, which provides “support for dApps, games, AI tools, and community-driven projects.”
This ready-made infrastructure addresses the resource constraints faced by many Solana developers who lack the capital or connections to build robust support systems independently.
Market volatility has also challenged Solana projects seeking stable user growth. As per Lucie, Shibarium offers access to the notoriously passionate SHIB Army, a community known for its loyalty and engagement. “The SHIB army is ready,” Lucie noted, pointing to an eager user base that could provide adoption momentum during market downturns.
DeFi & Liquidity Solutions
The fragmentation of liquidity across chains has been particularly problematic for Solana DeFi applications. Lucie suggested using Shibarium as a “DeFi layer” with “liquidity via ShibaSwap,” potentially alleviating capital efficiency problems by tapping into additional liquidity pools.
Recent partnerships have strengthened Shibarium’s position as a viable expansion target. The ecosystem has formed strategic alliances with Polygon for scaling solutions, Chainlink for oracle services. It is also reportedly in discussions with several other networks to enhance cross-chain functionality.
Projects currently being built on Shibarium include gaming initiatives like Shiba Eternity, metaverse applications, and privacy-focused tools that could complement Solana projects seeking expanded utility.
Looking toward future developments, Lucie highlighted Shibarium’s upcoming L3 solution (“Shy Mode”) focused on privacy and AI integration. For Solana projects struggling with limited privacy options, this advancement could offer significant value.
“By establishing now, you’re ready when a Solana–EVM bridge is launched (inevitable),” Lucie emphasized, framing early Shibarium adoption as preparation for the increasingly multi-chain future that blockchain technology seems destined to embrace.
Notably, Solana-based projects like “Shy on Sol” are already building on Shibarium, demonstrating the feasibility of maintaining presence on both networks.
