What is Shiba Inu сoin? Is Shiba Inu worth buying?

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Shiba Inu, a cryptocurrency project that was launched in 2020, made it to the TOP 10 by capitalization level of CoinMarketCap rating in just one year. And although its price subsequently slidedown from the historical highs, the token has firmly secured a position in the TOP 20. Shiba Inu coin is a meme token that, unlike blockchain payment systems, decentralized networks, DEX, or DeFi platforms, brings no value to users. That's why such interest in a "useless" asset is especially unique. In this review, you will discover what the secret of Shiba Inu success is, whether the token has prospects, and how to earn money with it.

Start Investing in SHIB now with Huobi Global!

What is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?

Shiba was officially launched as a cryptocurrency in August 2020. The platform is a meme project dedicated to the Shiba Inu dog. The start-up is built on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC 20), and the consensus algorithm is Proof-of-Stake.

About 1 quadrillion tokens were issued at the time of launch, and they were distributed as follows:

  • About 50% of the tokens, or 505 trillion coins, were sent to Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the Ethereum platform. This could mean the transfer of the project management authority to him. By doing so, the developers tried to attract the attention of investors to the platform. Buterin decided to irrevocably burn 90% of the tokens from his share.

  • About 50% were transferred to the decentralized exchange Uniswap, and it was among the first exchanges that added the token to the listing. Most of them are currently blocked to maintain liquidity. With a total supply of 589 trillion tokens, only about 549 billion are in free circulation.

The SHIB ecosystem consists of the decentralized ShibaSwap exchange. The ecosystem also includes the NFT art incubator, which offers artists from around the world who love shiba-inu dogs to create their own NFTs with them.

History of Shiba inu

Who owns Shiba Inu coins? The creators of the platform are unknown as are their true motives, including those that prompted them to transfer 50% of their assets to Buterin on a non-refundable basis. The founder is "RYOSHI," but whether it is one person or a group of developers is unknown. According to one version, "RYOSHI" mentions the participation of another very influential person in the project of whom contacts were made at the 2019 Ethereum DevCon Сonference in Japan. There is indirect evidence that this person is Vitalik Buterin, with whom an agreement was reached on the mandatory burning of the tokens after their transfer.

Crypto meme

Shiba was initially conceived as a project that would compete with one of the oldest Dogecoin meme coins. The startup was a kind of a response to the joke coin DOGE; the developers were going to focus on the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, which was launched at the same time. "DOGE killer" - that's how the developers positioned the coin. Nevertheless, the SHIB token managed to become the second most popular meme coin. Today, the token is ahead of Cardano, Solana, and Kraken by the number of Twitter followers.

Shiba Inu Profile

Ticket SHIB

Max supply

N/A

Circulation supply

549,063.28B

Total supply

589,735,030,408,323

1-year price low

$0.00000656

1-year price high

$0.00003591

Current Price

$0.00

Market cap

$17 481 160 822

Markets

Binance, Coinbase

How does Shiba Inu coin work?

The distinctive feature of the Shiba ecosystem is in the observance of three rules in the platform technology:

  • "0 USD per project"

  • The creator has the right to buy tokens on an equal basis with everyone else after the official launch on the market.

  • "0 USD to promote the project".

This way the developers wanted to make the platform unique, and avoid it being controlled by the centralized management.

How is SHIB created?

The Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism means that all coins were issued at the time when the platform was launched. All tokens have already been created and are in private hands or free circulation. Free float tokens can be purchased through token-supported wallets Metamask, TrustWallet, or exchanges, the list of which can be found on the CoinMarketCap portal.

Where is SHIB trading available?

The largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which added the coin to their listings, played a significant role in the growth of token quotes. For example, adding the token to the list of traded assets by Coinbase led to a 33% price increase within one day. The situation with other exchanges is similar. It is hard to say what caused the exchanges to list the coin. According to one version, the technology of the Shiba Inu project turned out to be the closest to Dogecoin, so exchanges decided to diversify the listing by increasing the number of meme tokens. According to another version, the developers found individual arguments, enlisting the support of Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin.

Shiba is listed on over 80 centralized and decentralized exchanges, including Binance and Uniswap, the largest platforms in terms of trading volume. Binance and its divisions account for over 35% of the trading volume, and Coinbase - for over 10%.SHIB can be bought for fiat money such as USD, EUR, AUD, BRL, for stablecoins - USDT, BUSD, for other tokens, and altcoins - DOGE, WETH.

Shiba Inu Markets

Dogecoin Chart

Shiba Inu Performance

For a long time, no one was interested in the token. At the time of the key event, the listing on the Uniswap exchange in August 2020, the value of the token was $0.0000000421.

In January 2023, Elon Musk showed interest in the coin, and at that time, in March-April the first large purchase volumes appeared, pushing the price up by over 5.000%. The situation itself turned out to be a funny one since Musk only said he planned to buy a dog of the Shiba-Inu breed, but the investors could not be stopped then.

Elon Musk's tweet about buying Shiba Inu

Elon Musk's tweet about buying Shiba Inu

Logically, the pump was followed by a dump - the coin dropped almost to its initial price. But the investors did not lose interest. Subsequent news about listing on other exchanges, Musk's tweets, and other factors led to an incredible growth of the coin’s price. The general fall of the market hurt the token again.

Shiba Inu to USD Chart

Shiba Inu to USD Chart

A comparative table of quotes as of 10.05.2023 is shown below.

SHIB

1m return

109.12%

1y return

102.51%

Maximum return

USD 0.00007482

52 Week Range

USD 0.00000011

Shiba Inu coin mining

The PoS consensus algorithm does not involve mining, as coins are issued immediately at the launch of the platform. But the project does have staking, which involves earning a profit from holding coins in the network to provide liquidity and validate transactions. This is similar to deposits. An investor has to take the following steps in order to stake SHIB:

Register on a cryptocurrency exchange, get verified, and buy SHIB.

Select the Stacking option. In the settings specify the amount of the deposit, and the staking period. At the end of the period, your deposit will be unblocked and you will receive a reward. Withdrawal of the deposit before the scheduled date is not desirable.

Shiba Inu Staking

Shiba Inu Staking

There is an option of staking on wallets without the involvement of the exchange. The percentage may be slightly higher, but the method is more complicated.

Shiba Inu Coin uses

Partnerships with large corporations in both real and cryptocurrency sectors is one of the strategic marketing directions of the developers. First of all, it means trust in the platform, and trust means potential interest of investors and expansion of the partner network:

The developers launched a decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, which supports SHIB tokens. It is also built on the Ethereum blockchain and, according to the developers, the network's transition to the PoS consensus algorithm will allow the exchange to take the lead due to scaling synergies. Also, the Bone project was presented. It is designed to work as a platform management token with a total volume of 250 million coins. And there is the Doge Killer (LEASH), which was conceived as a risk hedging token into which SHIB investors "overflow" when the coin price drops.

SHIB’s Projects

SHIB’s Projects

In 2023, the startup developers joined the Metaverse movement. In the SHIB metaverse you can buy land plots by paying with SHIB and LEASH. Negotiations are underway with other metaverses to include SHIB as a payment method.

Shiba Inu payments are available on the major marketplaces Amazon and eBay.

The nature of the "relationship" between Shiba Inu, Tesla, and Elon Musk is unknown. However, the tweets on the subject repeatedly moved the price in both directions.

Shiba Inu Criticism

Compared to BTC or top altcoins, SHIB has some disadvantages, which caused its price to move well away from its historical highs. This increases investment risks compared to more conservative coins.

High level of centralization

The situation with the key owners of the project is confusing. According to publicly available information, Vitalii Buterin intentionally spent 90% of his half by sending it to a non-existent address, arguing the need to prevent inflation and the fall of the already low token price. A total of 410 trillion tokens worth USD6.5 billion at the exchange rate at the time of spending (January 2023) were destroyed. The remaining 10% went to India to support the fight against the pandemic. The developers under the nickname Ryoshi confirmed that they actually put the project in Buterin's hands.

The other half is frozen on Uniswap. Therefore, out of 1 quadrillion of ‘minted’ tokens, only 60% or 589 trillion are left. 41% of them are concentrated in one wallet address. This owner could easily crash the market.

The biggest holders of Shiba Inu Coins

The biggest holders of Shiba Inu Coins

Pump and Dump Cases

The value of a token in thousandths of USD can cause a "pump and dump", an artificially induced rise in price followed by a collapse. However, as long as there is a small percentage of coins in free circulation, a "dump" is unlikely. Exceptions are possible.

Pump by media personalities. Examples include the tweets of Elon Musk.

Pump by the main token holder. But then a dump would mean the collapse of the startup.

In any case, for investors, pumps carry additional risksnless an investor manages to be one of the first to sell the token at the peak price.

Weak Technology

SHIB is a meme coin, a coin with no use. It only copies the meme of the Shiba Inu dog that went viral, which also means that it copies the idea of the Dogecoin. There are over 80 meme coins, with half copying the Dogecoin idea. In terms of marketing, however, they were not as lucky as SHIB, which is why they never made it to the top.

The secret to SHIB's success is its support by the cryptocurrency community, which is largely based on enthusiasm. It could actually collapse at any moment. The development team, hiding behind the names of Uniswap and Vitalik Buterin, remains in the shadows although it supports related projects. There is no practical value in this cryptocurrency. Therefore, given the aforementioned shortcomings, the coin may depreciate even more over time. Loss of community interest will cause SHIB to follow other shitcoins. However, with periodic investor buzz from media personalities, the token could once again repeat its historical high.

Should you buy Shiba Inu?

The key to the success of any startup is its functionality and practical usefulness for users. SHIB is a meme coin that was not intended to be a useful startup. It was a kind of joke, just like DOGE. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the startup will remain viable in the future.

So far, the popularity of the token is based on the following factors:

  • Exchange support. The price of the coin increased manifold solely because the token was added to the listing of Huobi, OKX, Coinbase, etc. Perhaps the involvement of Vitalik Buterin as a key coin owner contributed to this. Investors regarded this fact as trust in the project.

  • Market makers support. The price of the token repeatedly spiked after the rumors of their purchase by Elon Musk. And then it dropped once those rumors were disproved. This fact can be used when building a trading system. But at the same time, such a reaction and increased volatility is a disadvantage for a stable investment.

  • The speculative factor. Many investors do not seek to understand the meaning behind the platform and developers' ideas. It is enough for them that the token price rises or falls, is supported by developers, and is in the TOP.

Any of the above factors can drive the price up, causing an influx of money from private investors expecting another pump. The outflow, however, begins just as quickly. There have been repeated cases, when the token price spiked more than 20-fold over four days, and they plunged just as quickly.

SHIBA can be considered an asset for short-term investing in the periods of so-called "price swings", where weekly volatility can reach 15-20%. However, it is better to choose other coins for long-term investments.

Best Crypto Exchanges to Buy Shiba Inu coin

Shiba is available at centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges. The difference is that the DEX only buy/sell coins. There is no personal account, but you need a wallet. CEX has a Personal Account integrated into the platform, which provides access to the entire functionality of the exchange.

Binance and Coinbase are the largest and the best exchanges, which is supported by the fact that they account for more than 50% of the trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap Advantages:

Functionality. You can instantly buy/sell over 100 cryptocurrencies, and earn on staking, and NFT auctions, as well as exchange cryptocurrencies with users of your region on P2P platforms. There are dozens of payment options, although they do depend on the region of the user.

Optimal commissions. The more clients an exchange has and the higher the trading volume, the lower are the fees the exchange can charge, which is a competitive advantage.

Verification takes 1-2 hours.

How to buy Shiba Inu (SHIB): a 3 step algorithm

Open an account
Your capital is at risk.

SHIBA is supported by cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets. The first option is suitable for active trading, and the second is more for long-term investing, although wallets also support cryptocurrency exchanges. Let's look at how to invest in the SHIB using the example of Binance.

Market analysis

1

Analyze the general trend. If the market is in a prolonged decline, it's too late to open a short position. Wait for the end of the decline and buy the coin on a reversal. Pre-construct resistance and support levels to set stops and profit targets.

SHIB to USD Chart

SHIB to USD Chart

2

Analyze fundamental factors. Review news on key cryptocurrency websites in general for the market. SHIB in most cases repeats the general market trend and BTC direction. Separately, search for "SHIBA news" or something similar. Look up information from the last 2-4 weeks.

Funding your account

Registration and verification. Registration on the exchange takes 5 minutes, All you need is to provide your email address and username. However, you will need to pass full verification in order to gain access to the wallet and personal account. It involves the provision of passport screenshots, confirmation of phone number (in the future a code will be sent to your phone as additional protection for your account), and personal identification. Personal identification involves sending a unique photo and visual contact (blinking) with the exchange camera. The last step is to install the Binance app on your smartphone and scan the QR code during synchronization.

Verification on Binance

Verification on Binance

Buying SHIB

Deposit funds to your accountand buy cryptocurrency. Note: Binance offers several ways to buy cryptocurrency: directly on the exchange or without the participation of the exchange from a private person on the P2P-platform. Depending on the method different wallets are used - deposit wallet, general wallet, etc. Internal transfers between wallets are almost instant and commission-free. You will need the P2P-platform to buy the native token BNB, stablecoin USDT, etc., for which you can buy SHIB.

SHIB purchase example:

Click Buy Crypto.

Specify the details, and perform the transaction.

How to Buy Crypto on Binance

How to Buy Crypto on Binance

Purchased cryptocurrency will be credited to the wallet.

Summary

Brief conclusions about Shiba Inu:

Shiba inu is a meme token that has no practical value. There are attempts to use the token as a means of payment, but for several reasons, it loses out to other tokens.

The price of Shiba Inu partially repeats the movement of the market but has much greater volatility. Investors buy the asset on the rise, but when it falls, Shiba Inu drops faster and stronger than the Top 10 coins.

Shiba inu is interesting for short-term investing, including the opening of short positions. Long-term investing carries high risks.

Statements of media personalities have a strong influence on the quotes.

You can buy Shiba Inu at minimal fees at Binance and Coinbase.

Good luck!

FAQs

What is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?

It is a meme token built on the Ethereum blockchain, which was created as a competitor to another meme project Dogecoin. The cryptocurrency is not intended for mining, has no practical value for users, and is solely for speculative interest on the wave of high fundamental volatility of the entire market.

What are the benefits of Shiba Inu and is it worth investing in the token?

Shiba Inu has several key advantages:
- support of cryptocurrency exchanges and market makers, including key developers of other startups and exchanges.
- Information support and a marketing campaign. As long as the startup is "all over” there is investor interest in it.
- Developer support for related projects. In particular, Shibaswap is a DEX based on Ethereum with its own tokens. This suggests that the SHIBA project itself is also unlikely to be abandoned.
- Low cost. The token costs less than a cent, which makes it affordable for any category of traders.
Shiba Inu is a speculative asset for short-term trading and risk diversification. It is recommended to buy it at the bottom of the market or during a deep correction and sell it at the first opportunity after the price increases by 15%-20% or more.

What are the risks of investing in SHIB tokens?

The token tends to be highly volatile. When BTC and ETH fall in price by 10%-12%, SHIB becomes cheaper by 15%-18% or more. Since the startup has no practical use, it is impossible to determine the real cost of the token. The main risks are the volatility of the entire cryptocurrency market, the actions of market makers capable of influencing the price with a few words/tweets, and the risk of developers abandoning the project.

How to invest in Shiba Inu?

Mining is not provided for the coin, which means there are two ways to make money on it: buy/sell at cryptocurrency exchanges (as an option with the use of cold/hot wallets), and staking, which is similar to a bank deposit.

Team that worked on the article

Mikhail Vnuchkov
Author at Traders Union

Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.

The area of responsibility of Mikhail includes covering the news of currency and stock markets, fact checking, updating and editing the content published on the Traders Union website. He successfully analyzes complex financial issues and explains their meaning in simple and understandable language for ordinary people. Mikhail generates content that provides full contact with the readers.

Mikhail’s motto: Learn something new and share your experience – never stop!

Dr. BJ Johnson
Dr. BJ Johnson
Developmental English Editor

Dr. BJ Johnson is a PhD in English Language and an editor with over 15 years of experience. He earned his degree in English Language in the U.S and the UK. In 2020, Dr. Johnson joined the Traders Union team. Since then, he has created over 100 exclusive articles and edited over 300 articles of other authors.

The topics he covers include trading signals, cryptocurrencies, Forex brokers, stock brokers, expert advisors, binary options. He has also worked on the ratings of brokers and many other materials.

Dr. BJ Johnson’s motto: It always seems impossible until it’s done. You can do it.