David Edwards
Two weeks after its historic launch, the Layer-2 (L2) blockchain with a gaming focus, the Hamster Network, is experiencing a sharp drop in transaction traffic. The network was formerly outperforming Solana in terms of transactions per second (TPS), but the recent 99.9% decline in activity has raised questions about its long-term sustainability.
The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Hamster Network
The Hamster Network, which was introduced in February 2025, was marketed as a scalable L2 blockchain that supported gaming and decentralized apps (dApps) inside the Hamsterverse community.
According to BeInCrypto, the network surpassed Solana’s throughput by 3.5 times in early March, reaching an all-time high of 34,021 TPS. However, the network’s processing capacity has drastically decreased from its launch-day peak of approximately 150 million transactions to just 0.84 TPS as of March 13, 2025, with only 52,516 transactions in the last 24 hours.
Hamster Kombat User Engagement Is Declining
In addition to transaction volume, player engagement in Hamster Kombat, the network’s flagship game, is sharply declining:
- In just two weeks, the number of monthly active players has decreased from 11.5 million to 10.3 million, a decrease of 1.2 million members.
- Only 12 new users have been established recently, a sharp decline in the number of new daily registrations.
- These numbers demonstrate the challenge of maintaining engagement in tap-to-earn (TPE) and play-to-earn (P2E) gaming formats, as they stand in stark contrast to the game’s previous claim of over 300 million monthly users.
Did Airdrop Hype Drive the Growth?
According to industry analysts, the initial popularity of Hamster Network was mostly fueled by the excitement surrounding cryptocurrency airdrops rather than sincere curiosity in how the blockchain worked. After the early incentives wear off, many P2E and clicker-style games have trouble keeping players, and Hamster Kombat seems to be no exception.
The end of the “GameDev Heroes Combo” event, which offered in-game awards, is one reason for the decline. User engagement has decreased in the absence of such incentives, raising concerns about the project’s long-term viability.
What Will Happen to Hamster Network Next?
The team behind Hamster Kombat is optimistic in spite of these difficulties, claiming that the L2 blockchain is still in its infancy and will be subjected to additional stress testing. The platform’s capacity to sustain pace and draw in developers is called into question, though, given the precipitous decline in transaction volume and user engagement.
