Shiba Inu (SHIB) is a cryptocurrency that calls itself “a community-driven decentralized experiment” and “the Dogecoin killer.”
It was launched in August 2020 as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network, inspired by the popular Shiba Inu dog internet meme. Its creator, known as “Ryoshi,” stated that he wanted to create a currency that was “totally fair and transparent, with no development team, no marketing funds, no allocated supply, and no tokens sold.” Additionally, Ryoshi sent 50% of the total SHIB supply (1 billion tokens) to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin as a way to remove it from the market and create scarcity. However, in May 2021, Buterin decided to donate more than $1 billion in SHIB to the India Covid Relief Fund, a charity helping to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the Asian country. This action caused SHIB's price to drop as many investors feared Buterin might sell or give away more tokens in the future. Furthermore, SHIB faced strong competition from other dog-inspired cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Akita Inu (AKITA) or Kishu Inu (KISHU), which also benefited from the market boom and support from celebrities such as Elon Musk. .
Despite these setbacks, SHIB has managed to remain one of the most popular and profitable cryptocurrencies in the world. According to CoinMarketCap, SHIB has a market capitalization of over $3 billion and a price of $0.000007 per token at the time of writing. This means that if you had invested $100 in SHIB when it was launched, you would now have over $14 million. Additionally, SHIB has proven to have a large community of followers, called “ShibArmy,” who support and promote the coin on social media and forums.
But what makes SHIB a good investment for the future? What plans does the team behind this cryptocurrency have? What risks and challenges should you be aware of before purchasing SHIB? In this article, we are going to answer these questions and analyze the reasons why we believe SHIB can be an interesting option to diversify your crypto asset portfolio in 2024.
Shiba Inu's strengths:
One of SHIB's main strengths is its decentralized ecosystem, called ShibaSwap. It is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that allows users to exchange ERC-20 tokens with each other, without intermediaries or commissions. Additionally, ShibaSwap offers other features such as:
Liquidity pools: Users can deposit their SHIB or LEASH tokens (another currency of the ecosystem) in common funds called liquidity pools, and receive in exchange special tokens called BONE (the third currency of the ecosystem). These BONE tokens represent the user's participation in the pool and allow them to earn rewards for providing liquidity to the market.
Staking: Users can lock their SHIB, LEASH or BONE tokens in smart contracts called xSHIB, xLEASH or tBONE, respectively. By doing so, they receive interest for keeping their tokens tied up and also gain governance rights over the ecosystem. This means they can vote on important decisions that affect the development and future of SHIB.
Farming: Users can stake their xSHIB, xLEASH or tBONE tokens in projects associated with ShibaSwap, called “woofing”. By doing so, they receive additional rewards in the form of other ERC-20 tokens, such as DAI, USDT or WBTC. These tokens can be exchanged for more SHIB, LEASH or BONE, or withdrawn to an external wallet.
Another strong point of SHIB is its potential for growth and expansion. The team behind this cryptocurrency has several projects underway that could boost its adoption and popularity in the future. Some of these projects are:
Shiba Inu Incubator: This is an initiative that seeks to support and finance developers and entrepreneurs who want to create innovative projects based on the SHIB ecosystem. The goal is to encourage creativity and diversity in the crypto space, as well as generate more value and utility for SHIB, LEASH and BONE tokens.
Shiba Inu Art: This is a collection of digital art inspired by the SHIB universe. Artists can create and sell their works in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT), which are unique and unrepeatable pieces that are stored on the blockchain. Buyers can purchase these works with SHIB or BONE, and enjoy their beauty and originality.
Shiba Inu Rescue: This is a charity organization dedicated to rescuing and caring for Shiba Inu dogs that have been abandoned or abused. Users can donate their SHIB or BONE tokens to this cause, and help improve the lives of these animals. Additionally, they can adopt one of these dogs and receive an NFT certificate proving their ownership.
These projects show that SHIB is not just a meme currency, but has a vision and mission beyond humor and fun. SHIB wants to be a cryptocurrency that has a positive impact on the world, both socially and economically.
The Risks and Challenges of Shiba Inu However, investing in SHIB also involves taking on certain risks and challenges. Some of the main ones are:
Market volatility: Like any other cryptocurrency, SHIB is exposed to market fluctuations, which can be caused by external or internal factors. For example, the price of SHIB may be affected by news about regulations, hacks, competition, demand, supply, or investor sentiment. These factors can cause sudden rises or falls in price, which can result in significant gains or losses for investors.
Competition from other coins: As we mentioned before, SHIB faces competition from other dog-inspired cryptocurrencies, such as DOGE, AKITA or KISHU. These coins may offer similar or better features than SHIB, or have support from influential personalities or media outlets. This may cause investors to prefer these coins over SHIB, which may reduce their demand and value.
The dependence on Vitalik Buterin: Although Buterin has stated that he has no intention of selling or donating more SHIB tokens, the truth is that he still owns 45% of the total supply. This means that you have great power over the fate of this cryptocurrency, as you could affect the market with your actions. Furthermore, if Buterin were to become the victim of an attack or theft, his tokens could fall into malicious hands, which could jeopardize the security and stability of SHIB.
Shiba is a coin that is striving to remain a good investment for 2024 but the risks are still there for this crypto. Everyone must make their own judgment as to whether or not it is a good investment for 2024.
