The Shiba Inu (SHIB) cryptocurrency is getting more and more popular within the realm of cryptocurrencies, and nowadays, every trading or transfer platform is expected to include this asset for trading. In the year 2023, SHIB has even emerged as one of the most frequently traded assets, standing out from the larger category of stablecoins—these are cryptocurrencies tied to the value of traditional fiat currencies.
This presents a prime opportunity to provide you with a thorough review and guide to the Shiba Inu crypto this year. Frequently drawing comparisons to Dogecoin, Shiba Inu appears to hold a promising future. We’ll delve into the reasons for this below.
Despite being considered a “meme coin,” which essentially means a cryptocurrency initially created as a joke or ironic statement, Shiba Inu has been steadily gaining traction over the past months. And even though it carries this persistent label, the creators the of the Shiba Inu crypto appear to be focused on a specific development program and medium-term ambitions, unlike other assets that fall into the category of the famous “meme coins.”
According to its whitepaper, which is referred to as the “woofpaper” in connection with this cryptocurrency, Shiba Inu has different objectives. In the medium term, Shiba Inu aims to build a decentralized community and, from a philanthropic standpoint, contribute to the protection of Shiba breed dogs, from which this asset gets its name.
With significant speculative potential due to its wide, frequent, and substantial price fluctuations, Shiba Inu has all the elements to become a real cryptocurrency of reference. Unlike its rival Dogecoin, it’s registered as an ERC-20 altcoin on the Ethereum blockchain, rather than having its own blockchain. It operates logically on a proof-of-work system to validate token transactions, the famous SHIB.
It’s rare to witness an altcoin make so much noise in such a short period of time. In fact, we only need to go back to August 2020 to trace the very beginnings of this cryptocurrency. Its creation was initially intended to be almost ironic. The anonymous developer “Ryoshi” led this project with the simple goal of creating a cryptocurrency based on the same principle as Dogecoin, which itself had gained traction since the beginning of 2014.
While Dogecoin had popularized the iconic Japanese Shiba Inu dog by featuring its likeness in its logo, “Ryoshi” took the joke further by basing the asset on the same principle and giving it the namesake of the breed.
Initially, Shiba Inu might have seemed like nothing more than a joke, even though development didn’t halt after the asset’s creation. Everything changed in the first half of 2021 with a native popularity on social media—possibly due to the unconventional nature of the cryptocurrency—and an impressive surge in its value.
Today, unlike the multitude of other altcoins on exchange platforms, Shiba Inu appears to have genuine development objectives, suggesting that this cryptocurrency has its own specific future, rather than just the potential to rival Dogecoin. However, as Shiba continues to assert, it’s not without a touch of provocation.
Initially, Shiba Inu was clearly designed for some light-hearted entertainment and amusement, drawing inspiration, and maybe even poking a bit of fun, at Dogecoin. Remember that back in the early 2010s, the Shiba Inu dog breed was the star of a huge series of internet memes. It had this inherent likability and a massive reservoir of public goodwill, which made it hold considerable commercial potential.
For a long time, the intentions and ambitions of Shiba Inu’s anonymous creator were a mystery. But now, it’s become quite evident that Shiba aimed to compete with Dogecoin, the most popular asset in the memecoin category. However, Shiba Inu has continued to develop, distancing itself from that other famous dog-faced token. By striving to build a community and after releasing a substantial number of tokens, Shiba Inu now stands as a serious cryptocurrency, particularly accessible to newcomers in this investment space.
By creating an ecosystem around itself with other available tokens like LEASH and BONE, Shiba Inu kind of diverted from its initial goal of directly challenging Dogecoin, but it’s still gaining popularity.
The Shiba Inu token (SHIB) is built on the Ethereum ERC-20 standard. This means SHIB operates on the Ethereum blockchain, and its entire protocol is intertwined with Ethereum’s services. When it was created in 2020, SHIB was launched with a whopping quadrillion tokens—exactly this many: 1,000,000,000,000,000.
Today, SHIB still operates on the same blockchain and employs a Proof of Stake (PoS) system to verify transactions. Validators naturally receive SHIB tokens for their work on the blockchain.
From a technical and economic perspective, the SHIB token comes with three specific features that set it apart, which might also differ from other assets of its kind, including Dogecoin.
The major perk of this cryptocurrency is that you can get your hands on it from both centralized and decentralized platforms. Nowadays, it serves as a great entry point for newcomers to dip their toes into the water and start buying or trading assets, given its significant commercial presence.
Indeed, Shiba Inu is impressively accessible on a multitude of cryptocurrency platforms in 2023. Compatible with numerous wallets and abundantly available on a plethora of exchange platforms, the SHIB token is highly sought after and easily obtainable online.
While there are many options for acquisition, we’ve chosen to highlight three platforms where buying or selling the Shiba Inu token is commonly done.
If you opt for a centralized platform to acquire SHIB tokens, Binance is frequently the top choice. An absolute reference in the cryptocurrency exchange space for many users, Binance naturally offers SHIB tokens, along with numerous others.
Another major and historical player that we’ve also reviewed, Coinbase is equally popular when it comes to purchasing SHIB tokens. With a user-friendly interface designed for beginners, Coinbase pairs perfectly with Shiba Inu, which, as a reminder, holds strong potential among cryptocurrency newcomers.
This platform deserves special attention as it’s one of the strong suits of the organization overseeing Shiba Inu. In a decentralized manner, you can acquire and exchange (swap) SHIB tokens directly from this asset’s official platform.
This is a rare feature for tokens of this kind and even more so for altcoins. Thus, Shiba Inu gains a significant advantage here, allowing users to trade on its own platform and increase liquidity reserves by staking their own cryptocurrencies for rewards.
Without a doubt, this platform offers numerous possibilities and is a cornerstone of the ecosystem, especially when it comes to buying or exchanging tokens.
But which platform should you prioritize? According to us, Binance! It’s the world’s number one cryptocurrency trading platform. It’s secure and highly liquid. The demand is substantial, ensuring a stable price. You won’t be taken aback by sudden spikes or drops in the price of Shiba Inu. Using the platform is straightforward and swift. Signing up doesn’t take much time, and you’ll be able to start buying or selling $SHIB tokens in no time!
Just like with all cryptocurrencies, predicting the evolution of Shiba Inu is quite unpredictable. The significant increase in the value of this asset truly began in May 2021, a few months after its launch, and especially a few days after the creation of the Shibaswap exchange platform just mentioned.
Shortly after this historic surge, the SHIB token then experienced a notable drop. While this might seem typical and normal in the cryptocurrency world, we emphasize it to remind everyone how the SHIB token and, more broadly, Shiba Inu crypto as a whole, is a highly volatile cryptocurrency.
Today, the Shiba Inu ecosystem is still in development, with various goals in mind, and it seems to be oriented toward the future for these very reasons. This aspect is undeniably positive. However, as always, it’s simply impossible to predict the trajectory of a cryptocurrency, even if it’s structured as well as Shiba Inu. Nonetheless, the growing popularity of Shiba Inu is a positive indicator for the cryptocurrency, and from our standpoint, investing could make sense based on these points:
What we like
A healthy ecosystem with a promising future outlook
Endorsed by several platforms
What we don’t like
Significant price fluctuations
Risks associated with altcoins
As ever in the cryptocurrency world, and in the world of investments in general: opinions vary, and in any case, it’s impossible to truly predict the future value of an asset. However, it’s possible to focus on the facts and efforts put in place, specifically for Shiba Inu.
In 2021, following its explosive rise, many observers believed this new crypto trend was just a flash in the pan and that Shiba Inu’s popularity was merely a passing fad. It’s evident that several months later, the cryptocurrency is still as popular as ever and continues to build an intriguing ecosystem focused on the future, far from its origins as a “meme coin.”
Whether this investment could be interesting in the long run remains uncertain. Nevertheless, due to its substantial fluctuations—much like other cryptos (see prices)—Shiba Inu is already appreciated for its frequent trading and potential for gains.
