Shiba Inu (SHIB) – more than just another memecoin

When Dogecoin (DOGE) took the open-source Bitcoin code and started the “memecoin” trend as a way to poke fun at the world of crypto, very few expected that it would balloon in terms of overall market capitalization and value. Especially since as a memecoin (a novelty token without any utility) Dogecoin doesn’t have any smart contract functionality like Ethereum (ETH) to allow for the integration of decentralized applications (dApps).

Other memecoins followed suit–hoping to cash in on the same Dogecoin formula. But one memecoin in particular, Shina Inu (SHIB), soon went beyond just being another pet-themed novelty token.

With a massive community supporting it, SHIB soon evolved on the Ethereum network as a more functional alternative to DOGE, giving users the opportunity to avail of decentralized financial services (DeFi) through smart contracts and dApps. 

SHIB was even initially marketed as a “Dogecoin killer” in 2020, and the comparisons couldn’t be avoided given that SHIB took a page from the Dogecoin playbook, adopting the very same dog breed for its brand identity. And though Dogecoin’s popularity has never waned, SHIB and DOGE are still often compared to this day, with each having their own loyal fan base across social media platforms.

The SHIB token can be used to trade with any other ERC-20 tokens, but its utilities also extend into DeFi and staking, particularly on its official decentralized exchange called ShibaSwap. 

SHIB owners who stake their tokens to provide ShibaSwap with liquidity can earn BONE tokens, which are the governance tokens used for SHIB’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), humorously named the “Doggy DAO”. BONE tokens allow their owners to participate in voting for policies and proposals with regard to the network’s future directions.

SHIB can also be used to purchase Shiboshis, which are a collection of 10,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs), each one uniquely generated with different trait combinations. Shiboshis can be purchased and traded on ShibaSwap as well as on OpenSea without transaction fees. 

While there are plenty of other dog-inspired tokens out there like Floki Inu (FLOKI), Doge Dash (DOGEDASH), and Dogelon Mars (ELON), only SHIB has managed to compete in the same league as Dogecoin.

Shiba Inu was created by an anonymous entity operating only under the pseudonym “Ryoshi”. In the published “woofpaper” (whitepaper), it was mentioned that the people behind Shiba Inu have never previously collaborated with each other before, starting with “zero” resources and sharing only a common love for Shiba Inu dogs. 

Shiba Inu has a market capitalization of $4.9 billion as of December 2022 and a current circulating supply of 589 trillion. The total supply of one quadrillion tokens (yes, that’s 1 followed by 15 zeros) were minted upon its launch, and no further tokens are expected to be created.

When the token was first launched, 50% of the token supply went to Uniswap and another 50% went to Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder and inventor, for safekeeping. Buterin decided to burn 90% of the tokens instead, while donating the rest to help fund relief efforts. 

Shiba Inu developers recently launched ShibBurn, a dedicated burning portal that rewards users with different tokens in exchange for burning SHIB coins to help keep SHIB a deflationary token.

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DISCLAIMER: The statements in this article do not constitute financial advice. PDAX does not guarantee the technical and financial integrity of the digital asset and its ecosystem. Any and all trading involving the digital asset is subject to the user’s risk and discretion and must be done after adequate and in-depth research and analysis.