Shiba Inu (SHIB) is a decentralised meme coin launched in August 2020 by an anonymous developer known as “Ryoshi.” Marketed as the “Dogecoin Killer,” SHIB runs on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token, distinguishing it from DOGE which operates on its own blockchain. An extraordinary 50% of the total 1 quadrillion SHIB supply was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s wallet at launch — a move intended as a PR stunt. Buterin subsequently donated and burned the majority of his holdings.
The Shiba Inu ecosystem has expanded beyond a simple meme coin to include: ShibaSwap — a decentralised exchange; LEASH and BONE — ecosystem tokens; and Shibarium — a Layer 2 blockchain designed to reduce transaction costs and support dApp development. This ecosystem development has given SHIB more substance than a typical meme coin.
SHIB’s 2021 bull run was legendary: it gained approximately 46,000,000% from January to October 2021, briefly making early investors into millionaires on tiny investments. However, such gains are impossible to sustain — SHIB fell over 90% from its peak.
Example: An investor who put $100 into SHIB in January 2021 at $0.000000000056 saw that investment grow to over $4.6 million at the October 2021 peak of $0.00008845 — an astonishing but unrepeatable return.
Learn more: ShibaToken.com — Official Site
