On August 15, Shiba Inu’s marketing lead, Lucie (@LucieSHIB), excitedly revealed the official launch date for liquid staking on the Shibarium network. Through a video posted on X, she marked September 18 as the pivotal date for this development. Lucie commended the K9 Finance team for their outstanding work, declaring, “Liquid staking is on its way to Shibarium! The KNINE testnet is now live for everyone!”
What to Expect from Shibarium’s Liquid Staking
Shibarium, a layer-2 blockchain solution, aims to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for Shiba Inu and related tokens. Now, with the integration of liquid staking, the project is entering a crucial phase. This new feature is made possible through K9 Finance, the platform designated for Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD) within the ecosystem.
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With liquid staking, users can stake their BONE tokens through K9 Finance and receive knBONE, a liquid staking derivative token. This token acts like a tradable receipt representing the user’s stake. Additionally, it can be freely traded or used as collateral in various decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. This model maintains liquidity, allowing users to engage in other financial activities without locking up their assets. Consequently, it enhances flexibility and opens up opportunities for additional earnings.
Phased Rollout and Community Engagement
The testing phase for the BONE Crusher feature began in late July, specifically targeting large-scale token holders, or “whales,” with at least 400 million KNINE DAO tokens. This phase allowed these key stakeholders to stake BONE, earn knBONE, and receive additional rewards, including partner tokens and retroactive KNINE rewards.
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Following the success of this phase, K9 Finance is now expanding the testnet to the public, allowing a broader audience to participate in the staking process. As the mainnet launch approaches on September 18, the project is entering the second of three phases.
Upcoming Phases: Boro and Caninae
The second stage, meanwhile, named ‘Boro,’ is set to launch in Q3 2024 and will introduce the full-scale liquid staking product on the Shibarium network. Drawing inspiration from the extinct Borophaginae, this stage symbolizes the “BONE crushing dogs” that are central to the project.
The final phase, ‘Caninae,’ scheduled for Q4 2024, will bring the launch of V2. This stage aims to establish K9 Finance as a modern, fully decentralized liquid staking derivative product. As a final touch, the K9 Finance DAO launched its native governance token, KNINE, on March 7, available initially on Uniswap.
