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The Hamster Network, a Layer-2 blockchain designed for gaming, is facing a 99.9% decline in transaction volume just two weeks post-launch, raising red flags.
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This downturn coincides with a drastic reduction in active users for Hamster Kombat, dropping from 300 million monthly users to approximately 10.3 million.
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Experts attribute this fall to a decrease in crypto airdrop incentives that initially attracted players, casting doubt on the network’s sustainability.
Hamster Network’s rapid transaction volume drop and user disengagement present significant challenges, jeopardizing its future viability in the crypto gaming landscape.
Hamster Network Transaction Volume Plummets Dramatically
The Hamster Network, launched in February 2025, was initially heralded as a burgeoning gaming blockchain platform, aiming to host decentralized applications (dApps) and create an immersive gaming ecosystem known as the “Hamsterverse.” With projections for high TPS (transactions per second), it quickly gained traction.
As reported by COINOTAG, Hamster Kombat’s Layer-2 network achieved an impressive milestone of 34,021 TPS, eclipsing Solana’s capabilities by nearly three and a half times. Early indications positioned the platform as a strong competitor in the crowded gaming blockchain arena.
In a statement celebrating this achievement, Hamster Kombat noted, “34,028 TPS achieved by Hamster Network! That’s 3.5x faster than Solana! Big things are coming!” The enthusiasm surrounded an upcoming accelerator program designed for developers to create decentralized applications while mitigating scalability issues.
However, the initial euphoria has quickly deteriorated. As of March 13, the network is experiencing a drastic decline, processing a mere 0.84 TPS with only 52,516 transactions completed in the last 24 hours. This stands in stark contrast to the nearly 150 million transactions processed at its launch.
Furthermore, player engagement has seen a corresponding drop. The number of active players in Hamster Kombat plummeted from over 300 million monthly users to just 10.3 million, indicating waning interest amidst a lack of compelling content.
On February 26, 2025, the gaming platform reported a significant figure of 11.5 million monthly users. Yet, just two weeks later, it reported a further decline of over 1.2 million users, highlighting the fragility of this engagement. New daily account creations have dwindled to only 12 per day, demonstrating a troubling trend for a previously vibrant platform.
Industry experts suggest that Hamster Network’s early success may have been overly reliant on speculative excitement surrounding crypto airdrops, rather than a grounded, sustainable user engagement with its platform’s features. As seen in similar play-to-earn and tap-to-earn models, user retention is often precarious once initial incentives dissipate. This is an area where Hamster Kombat currently falters.
The recent decline has been exacerbated by the conclusion of the popular “GameDev Heroes Combo” in-game event, which previously incentivized player activity. Without consistent rewards, user engagement has sharply declined, raising concerns about its capacity to attract and maintain a dedicated player base.
Despite these alarming trends, the Hamster Kombat team remains optimistic, claiming that the Layer-2 network is still in its developmental phases and emphasizing plans for additional stress tests to assess its full functionality. However, the substantial drop in both transaction volume and player engagement is a cause of concern for the blockchain gaming project.
The network’s prospects for recovery and whether it can rekindle initial interest among developers and gamers remain uncertain in this rapidly shifting landscape.
Current metrics from CoinGecko indicate that the native token for Hamster Kombat, HMSTR, is trading at approximately $0.002144, reflecting a close to 4% drop in the past 24 hours, echoing the challenges faced by the platform.
Conclusion
As the Hamster Network grapples with steep declines in transaction volume and player engagement, its future remains in question. The early momentum it experienced has not translated into sustainable user retention, prompting concerns about the longevity of its blockchain gaming model. Moving forward, it will be crucial for the team to innovate and adapt to maintain relevance in the competitive world of crypto gaming.
