The Shiba Inu ecosystem, often referred to as SHIB or $SHIB, centers around a decentralized altcoin featuring a Japanese Shiba Inu dog as its mascot. The Shiba Inu token operates on the Ethereum platform and boasts a total pool of one quadrillion tokens. It was publicly introduced in August 2020 through a blog post authored by an anonymous founder nicknamed “Ryoshi.” This coin, identified as SHIB or $SHIB, aimed to attain the same level of popularity as its dog-themed counterpart, Dogecoin, SHIB is often referred to as the “Dogecoin killer.”
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ShibaSwap and the Shiba Army
The core of Shiba Inu’s operations, as outlined on their official website, revolves around two key components:
1. Building ShibaSwap: This decentralized exchange facilitates the trading, staking, or “burying” (temporarily hiding) of tokens.
2. Cultivating a loyal fanbase: Known as the Shiba Army or Shib Army, this is a rapidly expanding community with a strong online presence across major social media platforms.
ShibaSwap was introduced on July 6, 2021. The Shiba Army community continues to grow robustly.
Shiba’s Flagship Tokens
Shiba Inu features three flagship tokens, each with its unique characteristics:
$SHIB
This is the primary circulating coin listed on major exchanges, including Binance, Huobi Global, OKEx, FTX, and Hotcoin Global.
A whitepaper from April 2021 revealed that half of the total SHIB tokens were initially distributed by the founders, with the remaining portion, valued at approximately $7 billion, gifted to Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s founder. However, Buterin subsequently disposed of this allocation.
SHIB’s market cap reached an all-time high of over $13.5 billion on May 11, 2021, but has since declined to approximately $3 billion.
$LEASH (a.k.a. Doge Killer)
Shiba Inu’s second token, $LEASH, was initially designed as a rebase token with a limited supply of 107,647 minted tokens.
The intention was to create scarcity, generating artificial demand and higher prices. While $LEASH tokens reached an all-time high of over $8,500, no data is available on $LEASH’s market cap. It is tradable on exchanges such as Uniswap, Bilaxy, LATOKEN, and 1Inch Exchange.
$BONE
With 250 million tokens, $BONE has the potential to become the second-largest token by volume within the Shiba Inu ecosystem. The founders have said that $BONE will serve as a “governance token” for its loyal fans within the Shiba Army. It will operate like shares within Shiba Inu, giving its holders ownership and voting rights over Shiba Inu’s future activities. It remains unclear how the team will manage this distribution.
Popularity of Shiba Inu
SHIB has gained widespread popularity in the cryptocurrency market for several reasons:
- Accessibility: SHIB is affordable and readily tradable on major exchanges.
- Memetic Appeal: Memes have played a significant role in its popularity.
Shiba Inu garnered attention when it was revealed that roughly half of the total $SHIB supply was gifted to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. This move aimed to establish a connection with Buterin, although it later proved controversial as Buterin began selling SHIB. However, he subsequently donated a substantial amount to an Indian COVID-19 relief fund, attracting media attention and new community members.
The Hype Surrounding Listings and Celebrity Endorsements
Shiba Inu price: CoinMarketCap
SHIB experienced a substantial surge in May 2021, with a 1500% increase in one week following its listing on various crypto exchanges, including Binance and CoinCDX. Its founders announced that $SHIB had grown to over310,000 holders. In an online survey, the Shiba coin beat out Doge and Safemoon as the coin of choice.
SHIB also benefited from shilling by its Shiba Army, which has subsequently spawned a large number of popular SHIB-specific Twitter handles. It gained celebrity endorsements by bodybuilder Kai Greene, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Preston Williams, and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins. Shiba Inu may also have benefited after Elon Musk made a tongue-in-cheek remark about rival Dogecoin being a “hustle” in an interview, which drove down Dogecoin’s value and made alternatives like SHIB more attractive.
Understanding Shiba Inu’s Nature
Although SHIB’s underlying value remains low, it serves as a social experiment in community building and memetic behavior among high-risk traders, rather than solely a financial investment. While it has not overtaken Dogecoin in market capitalization, it has successfully sustained widespread interest and engagement.
Risks Associated with Shiba Inu Project
One of the most significant risks associated with cryptocurrencies like $SHIB and $LEASH is the potential for their creators to engage in fraudulent activities or face regulatory challenges leading to shutdowns. To assess these risks, it’s crucial to understand the dynamics of ownership and control within the Shiba Inu ecosystem, despite its general portrayal as a decentralized token.
There is compelling evidence suggesting that the individuals behind Shiba Inu may have connections to Iranian financial institutions sanctioned by the U.S. government. An earlier version of the Shiba token website and a subsequent post by Ryushi referenced a website called leashdoge.com, which is no longer visible on the current Shiba Inu site.
Upon closer examination of leashdoge.com’s domain name, it indicates that an Iranian company called Haytech was its creator. Haytech specializes in developing software for banking, payments, and e-commerce. Some of its clients include Hekmat Iran Bank, Tose’e Ta’avon Bank, Enbank, and Tosan, several of which have ties to the Iranian military and are on US sanctions lists. Notably, Haytech’s IP address (5.144.130.32) is among those blocked for cybercrime. Furthermore, at least two members of Haytech’s staff are blockchain engineers, and they may have been involved in the initial design of $LEASH and possibly $SHIB through their connections to the leashdoge.com project.
In light of the above information, it is essential to recognize that Shiba Inu remains a high-risk investment, despite the surge of popularity it briefly experienced.
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