Shiba Inu is a crypto coin that has grown increasingly prominent over the last few months as a result of the growing popularity of meme coins. SHIB was launched in August 2020 by an anonymous individual known only by the pseudonym “Ryoshi,” making its release similar to that of Bitcoin, whose creator or creators have also chosen to remain anonymous. The coin’s look was inspired by the well-known Japanese dog breed Shiba Inu, which is also the mascot of its predecessor, Dogecoin. In fact, ever since before its launch Shiba Inu was branded as a potential competitor for Doge, leading many investors to get it in order to diversify their list of holdings and get in on the hype.
Those who have been looking into how to buy Shiba Inu have come across a plethora of different strategies and game plans, given the amount of volatility the ecosystem experiences. On top of that, you must also consider your own financial goals and expectations, as they will inform the choices you make over both the short and the long term. If you’ve been thinking about getting involved in this marketplace, here are a few things you should know about the asset.
What is Shiba Inu?
Shiba Inu is a meme coin, a subcategory of cryptocurrencies based on memes and aspects of internet culture that are often unknown to those who are not connected to this landscape. The tokens are typically relatively low in value, making them great for beginners who are apprehensive about making big trades out of fear of losing sizable amounts of capital. However, others point out that the fact a single coin is so cheap means that the marketplace is devoid of any intrinsic value and that the assets themselves are nothing but a waste of money.
Even more so than standard cryptocurrencies, meme coins are fueled by pure hype. Popularity and the engagement it generates are what keep the marketplace going, so you must always be aware of the volatility this creates. Shiba Inu was initially built on the Ethereum blockchain, shifting to the Shibarium layer-2 blockchain later on. SHIB started off as a parody token, which is nothing new for a meme coin, with its purpose being to provide decentralization and address trust in the crypto community instead of bringing a specific use case or a lot of value. Unlike Dogecoin, it has a limited supply, but it is so immense (1,000,000,000,000,000 coins) that it hasn’t done much for scarcity.
Doge can support about thirty transactions per second, with Shiba Inu being, typically, faster. The block confirmation time is only between 13 to 15 seconds for SHIB, significantly better than the 1 minute required for Dogecoin.
The tokenomics
SHIB was originally run on the Ethereum blockchain, but in 2023, it relocated to a layer-2 solution created on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The token’s popularity has soared since then, with hundreds of thousands of users and projects associated with the community. Shiba Inu was launched with a supply of one quadrillion tokens, half of which were locked in Uniswap at the launch in order to secure liquidity. In May 2021, the remaining amount was sent to Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s co-founders, who ended up burning 90% of the coins in order to boost their value. He donated the remaining 10%
Although it doesn’t sound like much, the 10% actually amounts to tens of trillions of coins, which were worth close to $2 billion at the time. The coin has evolved since its earliest days and now offers a complete ecosystem that is fully equipped with several use cases. Several celebrities have endorsed SHIB as well, further contributing to its appeal among members of the general public.
Shibarium
Shibarium is the eponymous layer-2 solution established on top of the Ethereum decentralized ledger. Its purpose was not just to provide Shiba Inu with its own space to develop and thrive but also to reduce the transaction costs and fees associated with SHIB ventures. Investors are constantly looking for ways to make their buying, selling, and trading ventures more accessible, as exceedingly high fees deter many from being bolder and taking on risks. In a sense, Shibarium operates as a highway system for an incredibly busy city that is crowded with smart contracts and digital transactions that need to be finished.
The number of transactions became too high for Ethereum, leading to congestion. This caused elevated expenses and delays, which convinced the developers that something like Shibarium had to be introduced if things were to change. As a solution, it was designed to interact with the Ethereum blockchain, processing transactions far more efficiently compared to the ventures taking place on the main chain. Transaction speeds increased as a result of the configuration, lowering costs since the ETH network wasn’t experiencing overload anymore. The PoS consensus mechanism was integrated into Shibarium, believed to be the more environmentally friendly alternative to the proof-of-work variant.
Shibarium employs a token-burning mechanism that removes a portion of the transaction fees or even some specific actions permanently. Tokens are taken out of circulation as well, with the move believed to be the best way to manage inflation. The supply becomes much lower over time, something that has the potential to raise the value of the other tokens. Curbing inflation is crucial for crypto environments, as they’re not subjected to the influence of centralized authorities and institutions. Their prices can spin out of control, especially when you consider the fact that the value is often dictated by news, macroeconomics, and geopolitical events.
The bottom line
The cryptocurrency marketplace continues to change the world of finance, with an ever-growing number of investors looking to integrate these coins into their portfolios. If you’ve been keeping up with the latest details and developments, then you will know that meme coins have become increasingly popular over the last few months. Many are looking to diversify their portfolios, others are just trying to get in on the hype, and there are also some who believe the coins are in fact valuable in spite of their relatively diminutive prices.
If you’ve been thinking about investing in these tokens as well, SHIB, one of the sector’s best-known names, is one of your best bets.
