The Shiba Inu project is one of the most hyped in the crypto ecosystem; here is a comprehensive insight into the memecoin project
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is an Ethereum-based memecoin that has become a favorite among crypto enthusiasts and investors. The physical features of Shiba Inu are that of a Japanese breed hunting dog with the appearance of a fox.
Created in August 2020 by an unknown individual or group called Ryoshi, Shiba Inu is described as a substitute for Dogecoin (DOGE), the first memecoin launched in December 2013. Shiba Inu is now the second-biggest memecoin in the crypto ecosystem, with a current market capitalization of $9.4 billion.
Shiba Inu and Dogecoin are amongst a unique breed of cryptocurrencies, initially developed based on humor rather than as a utility currency. Unlike Dogecoin, Shiba Inu can run smart contracts because it is built on the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, SHIB can work with Decentralized Applications (dApps), while Dogecoin does not have this capability.
In general, memecoins are named after characters, real people, animals, works of art, or anything that is replicable. Most of them have garnered dedicated supporters which has helped fuel their hype further. These digital assets are said to have less value compared to mainstream cryptocurrencies.
However, this description does not fit Shiba Inu due to its high market capitalization and acquired social currency. Although SHIB currently trades at $0.00001727, the ultimate goal is to hit 1 cent.
Shiba Inu Ecosystem
The Shiba Inu ecosystem is versatile, consisting of various components like Shibarium, ShibaSwap, the Shiboshis NFT, Shibacals, SHIB The Metaverse, and Shiba Eternity.
Shibarium
Shibarium is Shiba Inu’s Layer-2 blockchain solution developed by core developers to give individuals, innovators, and businesses access to faster transactions at reduced cost. The blockchain ensures the creation and exchange of digital assets are secure and transparent. Shibarium also functions as a base upon which dApps, projects, services, and other products in the Shiba Inu ecosystem stand.
For platform users, Shibarium holds many benefits such as security, transparency, decentralization, and efficiency. Per security, the Layer-2 solution is tamper-proof and can save and transmit sensitive information.
The blockchain is also secured with a network of nodes for validating transactions and keeping the blockchain updated. As regards transparency, the platform allows users to track all transactions and activities in the broader Shiba Inu ecosystem.
A unique tool used on Shibarium is the Shibariumscan, a dominant explorer for tracking general blockchain data such as block transactions and the number of wallet addresses. Additionally, users can verify contracts deployed on Shibarium and check past and current gas pricing data.
ShibaSwap
This is a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform developed to expand the utility and capabilities of tokens in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. ShibaSwap features a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and services like staking, liquidity pools, and yield farming.
ShibaSwap, which debuted in July 2021, is a fork of SushiSwap, a well-known DEX. SushiSwap itself is initially a fork of Uniswap (UNI). However, in contrast to its competitors, ShibaSwap’s primary goal has been to increase the utility of Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens. SHIB, Doge Killer (LEASH), and Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) are the three primary tokens used in ShibaSwap.
Users can exchange supported ERC-20 tokens directly with one another via ShibaSwap. In recent times WETH, SHIB, BONE, LEASH, and USDT, are the top tokens in the platform. The WETH token has acquired a trading volume of $9 million, with SHIB far behind with $2 million.
To earn pre-determined Annual Percentage Yields (APY), owners of SHIB, LEASH, and BONE can stake their coins into ShibaSwap pools for a specific time frame. These yields get paid in the wrapped version of the staked tokens. For instance, staking 1 BONE yields users 1 xBONE.
Reward pool distribution takes place weekly, however, users are only eligible to collect 1/3 of the total. The remaining staked capital gets vested for six months.
The Shiboshis NFT
Shiboshis are specially curated Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) exclusive to Shiba Inu. 10,000 Shiboshis embedded on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain currently exist in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. These NFTs, which come with various quirks can be purchased, traded, and built on ShibaSwap.
Every Shiboshi trait like ‘Laser eyes’ and ‘Party Hat’ forms part of an upcoming game on Shibarium. Shiboshi holders will be allowed to play the game using their NFTs. Additionally, every feature aligns with an improvement or unique capability, fundamentally exhibiting the strength of the Shiboshis that play a role in the game.
Shibacals
Shibacals, a service for integrating Real-World Assets (RWA) with NFTs, was introduced by the Shiba Inu developers in 2023. The Shibacals leverages near-Field Communication (NFC) technology to digitally authenticate physical goods.
For instance, a Shibacal tag can be created for physical goods like a dress and linked to a user’s NFT collection. As a result, the user is authenticated as the same person who owns the dress and NFT. The core aim of the service is to enable buyers to differentiate original items from their counterfeit.
Notably, Shibocals was released as part of the rollout of the Shibarium blockchain. With scammers likely to target tangible assets rather than wallets, upon mass adoption of Shibarium, the need to authenticate such items became important.
SHIB The Metaverse
Shib The Metaverse is an upcoming project that expands the utility of the Shiba Inu ecosystem. It features 100,595 plots of land, which will be released to users gradually in three phases. During the first introductory phase, 36,431 lands will be revealed for users to mint, and just 32,124 will be available for purchase.
Additionally, the project integrates a passive income generation stream for landowners. They can collect in-game resources and generate rewards from their plots. Users can also create their avatars in the Metaverse.
The Metaverse is divided into four districts: Growth District, Defense District, Technology District, and Currencies District. Note that the MetaMask Wallet is the only confirmed wallet that integrated with Shib The Metaverse. Thus, it is advisable to create one to enable participation in the land bid and purchase process.
To acquire land, one must use Ethereum and a MetaMask Wallet to participate in bids and purchases. While priority is given to holders of the LEASH token or Shibacals, land can only be purchased with ETH also.
Shiba Eternity
Shiba Eternity is the first play-to-earn game set to launch on the Shibarium. It will be mostly dependent on Shiboshi NFTs, which will serve as in-game items that offer a personalized touch and grant access to specific features, activities, and levels.
Every transaction on Shiba Eternity will require payments using the BONE token with a minor burn of SHIB tokens. In addition, another token, SHEB, associated with Shiboshi breeders known as Sheboshis, will also be introduced into the play.
Shiba Inu Ecosystem Tokens
The primary tokens in the Shiba Inu ecosystem are SHIB, BONE, and LEASH. These tokens give holders access to participate in various ecosystem activities.
SHIB
SHIB is the foundational token in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, with an initial token circulating supply set at 1 quadrillion. To enhance liquidity, Founder Ryoshi locked 50% of this supply on the Uniswap decentralized exchange, while the other 50% was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for safekeeping.
However, Buterin has since dispersed a substantial amount of these tokens. First, in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ethereum founder donated over 50 trillion SHIB to India. Not long after, Buterin removed 40% of the total SHIB tokens from circulation by transferring them to a “dead wallet,” through a burning mechanism.
The SHIB token can be used to settle digital payments as well as for purchasing physical goods and services. The token can also be traded on decentralized crypto exchanges. Crypto traders and investors can trade SHIB on crypto exchange platforms like Binance, Crypto.com, and KuCoin.
Like any other cryptocurrency, SHIB’s price has seen a lot of fluctuations since it debuted. As of this writing, the token is ranked as the 13th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization which is at $9.9 billion. Accordingly, the token’s price moved upwards to $0.00001727. Crypto analysts now see an unusual pattern in SHIB, which could set its price higher.
Bone (BONE)
This is one of the most important native cryptocurrencies in the ShibaSwap ecosystem. With BONE, community members popularly referred to as the Shib Army can vote on ecosystem proposals and are allowed access to future NFTs. In addition, BONE is the gas token for Shibarium transactions.
BONE has a total supply of 250,000,000 tokens, which fits in between the other two tokens in terms of circulation supply. Originally intended to serve as a governance token, BONE is also utilized in the Shibarium Layer 2 to incentivize validators and delegators.
The token is currently trading at $0.4857, with a market capitalization of $111.6 million, and a trading volume of $6.3 million. The circulating supply is currently at 229,923,351 from the initial 250 million tokens.
Leash (LEASH)
LEASH, or “DOGE killer,” is a special token in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. The token gives Shiba VIPs can access benefits and perks like enhanced BONE rewards, Shiboshi NFT minting, and early access to land sales in Shib The Metaverse. Furthermore, LEASH can be used for ShibaSwap DeFi functions, like liquidity yield farming, to earn crypto rewards paid in BONE.
Although these functions enhance LEASH’s utility, the token was initially developed as a rebase ERC-20 token to stabilize its value. Compared to the other two ecosystem tokens, LEASH has the lowest circulating supply, set at 107,646.
The token’s price has faced substantial fluctuations in the past year, and even declining by 19.6%. However, LEASH has regained balance, and even risen as of the time of writing. The market cap and trading volume both stand at $35 million and $1.5 million respectively.
The Brain Behind Shiba Inu
Shytoshi Kusama is now in charge of affairs at the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Serving as the ecosystem’s lead developer, Kusama took over the position from Ryoshi, the creator of Shiba Inu.
Despite remaining anonymous, Kusama has remained committed to projects in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. In a recent disclosure, the developer unveiled plans for the blockchain. He focused on the yet-to-be-released TREAT token, highlighting its functions and characteristics.
Kusama has a large online presence on social media X (formerly Twitter), where he periodically drops updates. While he registered on the platform in January 2021, he started being active in April of the same year.
Notably, Ryoshi and Shytoshi Kusama have worked to build new features to optimize existing protocols and inspire the community to promote SHIB on the internet. Other notable figures contributing to the development of Shiba Inu are LucieSHIB and Kaal Dhairya.
Lucie functions as the ecosystem Marketing Lead, updating the Shib community on innovative developments and addressing concerns. Meanwhile, Kaal Dhairya is another key developer, who has been instrumental in shaping the Shiba Inu ecosystem.
Conclusion
Besides the core ecosystem tokens, Shibarium, ShibaSwap, Shiboshis, Shibacals, SHIBThe Metaverse, and Shiba Eternity, other products have been created in the blockchain. The Shiba Inu team aims to drive further use cases for the memecoin, with expectations of mass adoptions.
To further speed up price gains for the SHIB, the ecosystem periodically removes a large amount of the token from circulation. To do this, the team employs a method known as “burning” to send SHIB tokens to a dead wallet. The sole purpose is to create scarcity and increase the value of the remaining tokens in circulation. Users can preview the latest burn transactions on the Shibburn website.
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin are notable figures who have endorsed Shiba Inu. Their endorsement has brought credibility to the blockchain, with more users flocking to acquire the token.
As with an investment, it is important to exercise caution when trading with SHIB, as the crypto market is volatile. Ensure that you stay updated with the latest news in the ecosystem while keeping watch on your investment in Shiba Inu.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, financial, trading, or any other sort of advice. You should not treat any of BGECrypto’s content as such. BGEcrypto does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do your due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making decision.
