Shiba Inu is a decentralized cryptocurrency launched in August 2020 by an anonymous individual or group known as “Ryoshi”. Initially inspired by Dogecoin (DOGE), the Shiba Inu platform has since evolved past its memecoin beginnings and now allows users to stake, swap, and deposit digital assets into liquidity pools on the platform’s native ShibaSwap decentralized exchange. In addition to DeFi functionality, the Shiba Inu team is also working on its own metaverse offering and recently released a non-fungible token (NFT) collection consisting of 10,000 unique digital creations called Shiboshis.
The creators of SHIB locked half of the token’s supply–500 trillion tokens to be exact–to Uniswap. The remaining half was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin as an (unsolicited) gift. The lead developer of Ethereum ended up burning 90% of SHIB he received and donated the remaining 10% to charity.
The Shiba Inu blockchain ecosystem is powered by the primary token called SHIB, also known as the Shiba Inu coin, which is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token. In addition to the trading incentive-bearing SHIB token, the Shiba Inu ecosystem consists of two more digital assets. Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) allows owners to participate in the decision-making process thanks to its governance capabilities, while Doge Killer (LEASH) acts as the network’s store of value due to its artificially capped token supply.
Here’s a quick overview of key facts about Shiba Inu and its core blockchain features:
- Shiba Inu launched as a memecoin inspired by Dogecoin in 2020 but quickly expanded its use cases beyond simple token transfer functionality
- The Shiba Inu ecosystem consists of the native ShibaSwap DEX platform, SHIB Burning Portal, as well as NFT and metaverse offerings
- The platform is powered by a trio of Ethereum-based tokens, namely SHIB, LEASH, and BONE
- The Shiba Inu community, known as “SHIBARMY”, can participate in the decision making process with BONE governance tokens via Doggy DAO
- The SHIB token far outperformed other digital currencies in 2021, having recorded a 42,000x price increase throughout the year
What is Shiba Inu and how does it work?
Shiba Inu is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem powered by a trio of native tokens - namely SHIB, BONE, and LEASH. The cryptocurrency project is named after a Japanese breed of dog called the Shiba Inu, which is the hunting dog breed depicted in Dogecoin’s logo symbol.
SHIB started off as the community-led decentralized equivalent to the popular memecoin Dogecoin, but quickly evolved into a more well-rounded cryptocurrency platform. In the few short years since its founding, the platform expanded to include ShibaSwap (a native DEX product), Shiba Inu Incubator (a digital get together for digital artists looking to share their artwork with the community), and Shiboshis (an NFT collection of 10,000 unique digital items with various utility properties).
Shiba Inu runs on Ethereum, which means that it uses the Proof-of-Work mechanism of its parent blockchain platform. Ethereum’s smart contract functionality allows Shiba Inu users to provide liquidity with the networks’ trio of tokens and earn interest on their deposits.
In addition to DEX and NFTs, the Shiba Inu ecosystem features the Shib Burning Portal as well, which lets users burn their tokens in exchange for cryptocurrency rewards. The token burning portal plays an important role in managing the supply and demand dynamics by putting deflationary pressure on the value of SHIB coins.
Creation of Shiba Inu
The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project was conceived with a simple premise in mind - how to not only decentralize cryptocurrency itself but its community as well. “We are an experiment in decentralized spontaneous community building,” wrote the project’s anonymous founder Ryoshi in the white paper.
The creation of Shiba Inu is shrouded in mystery. There is no public information available about the project’s founder Ryoshi, which is in a way similar to the pseudonymous identity of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
Shiba Inu started with a supply of 1 quadrillion in 2020. Upon its inception, half of all SHIB tokens to ever exist was liquidity locked to decentralized exchange Uniswap, while the other half was sent, or better said “burned,” to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
In addition to its blockchain properties and various DeFi-oriented use cases, Shiba Inu is arguably the best known for its active community, referred to as the “SHIBARMY.” The official Twitter channel of the Shiba Inu token was established in early 2021 and quickly amassed millions of devout followers.
Shiba Inu Price History
Shiba Inu coins first entered circulation in 2020 through a decentralized exchange offering on Uniswap at an initial Shib price of $0.0000000015. According to the Shiba Inu’s price history charts, the price of the Shiba token experienced its first notable rally in May 2021, topping at $0.000038 per Shiba Inu coin.
Another significant rally in the Shiba coin price came in October 2021, when the Shiba Inu coin price reached as high as ?$0.000088. Due to the massive Shiba token price increase, Shiba Inu easily outperformed all other digital currencies in 2021, having recorded a nearly 42,000x price increase during the span of the year.
The popularity of Shiba Inu led to listings on most major cryptocurrency exchanges, which means that SHIB can now be bought on Binance, Kucoin, Kraken, and virtually all of the most prominent digital asset trading platforms.
Here is what the historical SHIB price data tells us about key milestones in the token’s price history:
- $0.00000005 - Our earliest SHIB historical data shows Shiba Inu coins changed hands at $0.00000005 in Jun 2020
- $0.00000030 - By early Feb 2021, the price of Shiba Inu coin reached $0.00000030
- $0.00000100 - In the span of roughly a month, Shiba Inu coin’s price tripled to $0.00000100 in March 2021
- $0.00003000 - Broader crypto bull run pushed SHIB’s price to $0.00003000 in May 2021
- $0.00008000 - The price SHIB surpassed $0.00008000 in October 2021
With a monumental price increase after its launch, many investors have been looking at the possibility of Shiba Inu token reaching new milestones in the future. While Shiba Inu reaching $1 is all but impossible, lower milestones like $0.001 or even $0.01 remain within the realms of possibility.
For a glimpse into potential future SHIB price movements in addition to the Shiba Inu coin live price, you can follow our algorithmically generated Shiba Inu price predictions that take into account SHIB’s current price and a number of market indicators, including Fear & Greed Index, market sentiment, overall volatility, and more. You can also check the up-to-date market rate of 1 SHIB to USD via our handy crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto conversion feature.
Shiba Inu Tokens - SHIB, LEASH, and BONE
Shiba Inu crypto token has a capped supply of one quadrillion tokens. Since its launch in 2020, the token’s circulating supply had nearly halved, primarily due to Buterin’s burning of the 500 trillion gifted SHIB tokens he received when the token launched.
In addition to SHIB, the Shiba Inu ecosystem consists of two more tokens, each with various use cases and tokenomics. Here’s a quick overview of the three tokens:
- Shiba Inu (SHIB): An ERC-20-based digital currency launched in 2020 with a total supply of 1 quadrillion tokens. Used as the primary incentive token for the Shiba Inu’s suite of DeFi services and allows users to earn staking rewards.
- Doge Killer (LEASH): Initially designed as a rebase token tied to the value of Dogecoin, a functionality that was later removed. LEASH is used as an incentive mechanism for users participating in the platform’s liquidity-providing pools.
- Bone ShibaSwap (BONE): Governance token with a total supply of 250 million coins that allows the Shiba Inu community to vote on protocol proposals.
Shiba Inu Market Cap
Shiba Inu experienced a sharp price increase shortly after entering circulation in 2020. With a circulating supply of more than 500 trillion tokens, the Shiba Inu market capitalization reached a multi-billion dollar valuation less than a year after its launch.
Here’s what the SHIB historical price charts tell us about the most notable Shiba Inu market cap milestones:
- $1 million - Shiba Inu surpassed a $1 million market cap for the first time in March 2021
- $100 million - The Shiba Inu coin market cap surpassed the $100 million milestone in April 2021
- $1 billion - Shiba Inu reached unicorn status and surpassed the $1 billion market cap milestone in May 2021
- $10 billion - SHIB market cap reached a $10 billion valuation just two weeks after exceeding $1 billion in May 2021
- $30 billion - ETH market cap reached a $30 billion valuation in October 2021
The most important Shiba Inu milestones
Since its launch in 2020, the Shiba Inu team has managed to achieve several notable milestones. Here is a list of important dates and events that have shaped the Shiba Inu ecosystem and helped elevate the project past its memecoin origins:
- August 2020 - Shiba Inu launches with half of the total supply liquidity locked on Uniswap and the other half “burned” to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin
- May 2021 - Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, lists SHIB trading pairs
- July 2021 - ShibaSwap decentralized exchange goes live
- September 2021 - Several crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, roll out SHIB trading pairs
- October 2021 - The Shiboshis NFT collection sells out in just over 35 minutes
- January 2022 - Decentralized autonomous organization Doggy DAO launches and gives Shiba Inu community to vote on protocol proposals
- April 2022 - The launch of the SHIB Burning Portal and the auction of the metaverse real-estate
Shiba Inu Governance - Doggy DAO
The developers of the Shiba Inu coin launched a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Doggy DAO at the start of 2022. The DAO allows the Shiba Inu community to vote on protocol proposals with their BONE tokens to steer the development of the Ethereum-built blockchain ecosystem.
Doggy DAO users can vote on proposals involving the launch of new features and the listing of new trading pairs on the ShibaSwap platform. The Shiba Inu team has put safeguards in place to protect smaller SHIB holders from having their opinions stifled by whales.