Shiba Inu is a cryptocurrency token that was created in August 2020 as a fork of Dogecoin. It is named after the Shiba Inu dog breed, as featured in the token’s logo. The token was created as a parody of the popular Dogecoin cryptocurrency, which also features a Shiba Inu in its logo.
Key Takeaways
- Shiba Inu (SHIB) is a crypto token created as a parody of the “Doge” meme and a competitor to Dogecoin.
- The token was created in August 2020 and rose in popularity the following year, proclaimed as “the Dogecoin Killer”.
- Shiba Inu was created by a pseudonymous creator(s) going by the name of Ryoshi.
- Ryoshi had given Buterin 50% of the SHIB supply, but Buterin decided to burn most of it and donate the remaining 10% to charity.
Shiba Inu garnered a significant following within the crypto community. In May 2021, the token experienced a surge in price, reaching an all-time high of over $0.000063. This was due in part to the “meme coin” craze that was sweeping the cryptocurrency market at the time.
What is a meme coin?
A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency that is created as a joke or parody, often featuring a popular internet meme as its logo or mascot. Memecoins are typically characterized by low value and a large total supply, and they are often used as a means of speculation or for fun rather than for serious transactions.
In addition to Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, there are many other memecoins that have been created in recent years, each with its own unique features and internet memes. Some examples include Akita Inu (AKITA), which is named after the Akita dog breed and features the “Sleeping Akita” meme as its logo, and the Elon Musk-themed memecoins like HODL Moon (MOON) and RobinHood (RHBTC), which feature references to Musk’s Twitter posts.
Memecoins have become extremely popular in recent years, particularly during the 2021 bullrun, where many of them have experienced significant price movements. However, because they are often created as jokes, memecoins are considered highly speculative and risky.
Shiba Inu vs. Dogecoin
Shiba Inu and Dogecoin are created as parodies of Shiba Inu dogs and crypto coins. They’re both named after the Shiba Inu breed and feature one in their logos. Both the Shiba Inu community and its rival consist of many supporters. However, there are some key differences between the two we should mention.
One of the main differences between Shiba Inu and Dogecoin is their total supply. Dogecoin has a maximum supply of 129 billion tokens, which means that no more than that number of tokens can be created. Shiba Inu, on the other hand, has a total supply of 1 Quadrillion SHIB tokens, with a circulating supply of ~550 trillion. The significant supply difference means that each individual SHIB coin is worth much less than a DOGE coin, accounting for the noticeably lower Shiba Inu price.
Another difference that is key is the underlying platform of both cryptos. Shiba Inu is created and launched on the Ethereum blockchain, while Dogecoin its own blockchain network since launch.
In terms of history, Dogecoin, launched in 2013, has been around for much longer than Shiba Inu, and it has a more established and active community.
Dogecoin is also dominant on the basis of practical use, since it’s been used for charitable donations and online transactions. Shiba Inu, on the other hand, has yet to be widely adopted for practical use as a newer token.
However, SHIB has experienced significant price movements in the past, reaching an all-time high of over $0.000063 in May 2021. Dogecoin, on the other hand, has seen more stable but yet significant price growth.
While both SHIB and DOGE were created as crypto parodies and share some similarities, it seems that they do have a couple of important differences in terms of total supply, history, and price performance.
Shiba Inu Ecosystem
The SHIB ecosystem comprises a collection of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and protocols built on the Ethereum blockchain. The centerpiece of the ecosystem is the Shiba Inu token (SHIB), a meme-based cryptocurrency that was launched in August 2020 and has since gained a significant following among DeFi enthusiasts.
SHIB Token
SHIB is built on Ethereum and uses the ERC-20 token standard, which means it can be stored in any Ethereum wallet and used in DeFi applications that support ERC-20 tokens. The total supply of SHIB is capped at quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) tokens, and the project has a strong emphasis on community governance and decentralized decision-making.
ShibaSwap
ShibaSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on top of Ethereum that allows users to trade Shiba Inu (SHIB) and other ERC-20 tokens directly with each other. ShibaSwap is one of Shiba Inu’s key projects within the SHIB ecosystem designed to provide users with a decentralized, low-fee alternative to centralized exchanges.
In addition to providing a DEX platform to swap tokens, ShibaSwap also includes features such as yield farming, where users can earn rewards by staking their SHIB and other cryptocurrencies. This further contributes to the growth and development of the SHIB ecosystem.
Shiboshis
Shiboshis are a type of non-fungible token (NFT) created in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. The Shiboshi collection includes 10000 unique digital collectibles that represent a virtual Shiba Inu dog.
Each Shiboshi has its own characteristics that are one of a kind, such as an appearance, personality, and backstory. They are traded on various NFT marketplaces, as well as the ShibaSwap DEX.
In addition to being collectible assets, Shiboshis can also be used in various ways within the ecosystem. For example, they can be used as collateral to borrow Shiba Inu tokens or as voting rights in community decisions.
SHIB-powered Metaverse and Shibarium
Shiba Inu has introduced a metaverse powered by NFTs, where users can mint parcels of digital land using ETH or SHIB tokens. Other Shiba Inu-related tokens, such as BONE and LEASH, will also play various roles in the metaverse. The goal of the metaverse is to create a fun, interactive environment where users can explore, earn passive income, and collect in-game resources.
Users will also be able to develop and launch their own projects within the metaverse. There are a total of 100,595 plots of land in the SHIB metaverse, with 36,431 of them unlocked on the launch date of April 13, 2022.
Initially, the plan was to only allow the use of ETH to mint lands, but the Shiba Inu team later decided to add the SHIB token as a minting currency to expand its utility.
The metaverse will not officially launch until Shibarium, a layer 2 scaling network that will eventually host the entire Shiba ecosystem, is deployed. The team is also planning to deploy a stablecoin called SHI on the layer 2 solution.
What Makes Shiba Inu Unique?
Shiba Inu focuses on community building and decentralization. The project’s website invites artists from around the globe to partake in the “artistic Shiba movement” and to bring their community into the non-fungible token (NFT) market.
The community has also campaigned for donations to rescue real Shiba Inu dogs by creating the Shiba Inu Rescue Association.
After initially being just one of many meme coins, Shiba Inu skyrocketed to popularity after Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, burned 90% of his share of the SHIB supply.
Ryoshi had given V. Buterin 50% of the total SHIB supply, but Buterin decided to burn a major chunk of it and donate the remainder to charity – around 10% of his total funds, along with 50 trillion SHIB that he had donated to a COVID-19 relief fund. This caused a significant value drop on SHIB, but the community recovered from it after a period of time, and agreed on the charity.
Shiba Inu FAQ
Who created Shiba Inu (SHIB)?
The creator of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, known as “Ryoshi,” remains anonymous, similar to the mysterious founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Little is known about the individual behind the dog-themed coin.
In his blog RYOSHI RESEARCH, Ryoshi describes himself as “just some guy of no consequence tapping at a keyboard.” He explains that in most projects, there are specific roles such as CEO, “tech guy,” and a roadmap, which results in “someone plebs can bitch at.” However, with Shiba Inu, no one person is accountable or responsible. Ryoshi emphasizes that he does not own any SHIB to this day, which allows him to remain “pure and unbiased” and get satisfaction from Shiba Inu “in other ways.”
How did Shiba Inu Coin become popular?
Shiba Inu became popular since it was created as a competitor to Dogecoin. The token is named after Shiba Inus, a dog breed which is the same mascot behind DOGE. It was intended to compete with Dogecoin as a more serious alternative. Because of this, Shiba Inu garnered a lot of the attention of those interested in Dogecoin and other cryptos of the space as a whole.
What does the future hold for Shiba Inu?
Shiba Inu plans to implement several upgrades to its network and add new features. One of these features is the development of its own layer-two solution on the Ethereum blockchain, as well as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) called Doggy DAO, which will allow the community to have a say in the future of SHIB.
Additionally, the team at Shiba Inu is planning to create an NFT marketplace specifically on Shibarium, where users will be able to buy and sell non-fungible tokens using SHIB tokens. This marketplace will be integrated with their metaverse, SHIB: The Metaverse, and other games like Shiba Eternity within the ecosystem. To support this, Shiba Inu has launched the Shiba Artist Incubator, which aims to recruit ten artists to create works that can be minted as official Shiba NFTs.
Final Thoughts
Shiba Inu has shown us what community building can achieve, and positive impact it can have on an exponential scale. All of this goes back to the project’s intent from the beginning – community first! We are also implementing this very principle for out upcoming token – DUA. The dua app ecosystem has grown to a strong community of +5M users combined, and what it lacks is a financial layer akin to that of SHIB. That changes with DUA Token. Learn about DUA here and follow our Twitter for updates!