In-Depth Analysis of Shiba Inu Coin: From Meme to Ecosystem Completeness

The Evolution of Shiba Inu’s Identity

Shiba Inu (SHIB,柴犬幣) originated in August 2020, created by anonymous developer “Ryoshi” as a token issued on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20). Initially, it carried the mission of being the “Dogecoin killer,” but after five years of development, it has long surpassed its status as a mere meme token.

This token’s initial supply was as high as 1,000 trillion tokens. A key moment after issuance was locking 50% of the liquidity on the Uniswap decentralized exchange, while the other 50% was transferred to Ethereum founder V神. V神 subsequently burned about 90% of that (approximately 410 trillion SHIB), with the remaining donated to the India COVID-19 Relief Fund. Today, the actual circulating supply of SHIB is about 590 trillion tokens, and it continues to decrease due to the burn mechanism.

From Token to Ecosystem Evolution

Multi-layered Token Economic Design

The SHIB ecosystem is not driven by a single token but adopts a three-token system:

SHIB serves as the basic circulating token, supporting payments, trading, and in-ecosystem consumption, with some merchants accepting SHIB for direct settlement. BONE is the governance token, with a total of 250 million tokens, granting holders DAO voting rights, and serving as Gas fees within the Shibarium network. LEASH is a scarce incentive token, limited to 107,646 tokens, with holders enjoying priority access to NFT minting, metaverse real estate sales, and other exclusive benefits.

Layer 2 Breakthrough: Shibarium Mainnet Launch

In August 2023, the SHIB team officially launched the Shibarium mainnet, marking a technological upgrade for the ecosystem. This Ethereum Layer-2 solution reduces mainnet load through off-chain transactions, achieving faster transaction speeds, lower costs, and enhanced scalability. The launch of Shibarium allows SHIB to shed its single meme coin identity and evolve into a comprehensive blockchain platform supporting DeFi, NFT, GameFi, and Web3 applications.

Decentralized Trading Hub

ShibaSwap launched in July 2021, providing users with a decentralized trading experience, supporting SHIB and other ERC-20 token swaps, and offering liquidity mining and other features. As of late July 2025, the platform’s total locked value is approximately $15.28 million.

NFT and Virtual World Expansion

In October 2021, SHIB released 10,000 “Shiboshi” NFTs, with a current floor price of about 0.0945 ETH. The “YARD” metaverse real estate project launched in April 2022 issued 20,900 virtual land plots, with a floor price of about 0.012 ETH. In October of the same year, the card game “Shiba Eternity” was globally released, serving as a cultural extension of the brand and attracting mainstream users.

Multiple Benefits for Investors

Holders of SHIB enjoy four basic rights: realizing price difference gains through market fluctuations, paying network transaction fees, participating in DeFi applications (staking, lending, liquidity mining), and engaging in governance voting.

A unique feature is that SHIB’s burn mechanism provides an indirect dividend effect for holders. As circulating supply decreases, the price rises, locking in profits within the price. The larger the burn scale, the stronger the support for price increases.

Additionally, practical application scenarios are expanding. US-listed company Kronos Advanced Technologies’ air purifiers accept SHIB payments, and food delivery platform DevourGO also supports settlement with this token.

Vertical Comparison with Dogecoin

Both are community-driven meme coins, but their development paths differ significantly:

Shiba Inu was created in 2020, issued based on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard, with an initial total of 1,000 trillion tokens, employing an unlimited burn mechanism to reduce supply. Dogecoin originated in 2013 as a Bitcoin fork, created by two engineers for entertainment purposes, with an unlimited supply and a steady annual issuance.

The SHIB ecosystem is rich in applications (Layer 2, DEX, NFT, gaming), whereas Dogecoin’s functions are relatively simple. In market capitalization, Dogecoin is currently valued at $36.6 billion (ranked 8th), while SHIB is about $8.2 billion (ranked 20th). Dogecoin has a stronger currency attribute, while SHIB’s ecosystem construction is more comprehensive.

Core Advantages and Risk Assessment

Advantages: SHIB has no private placements or team rewards, ensuring fair issuance and eliminating large holder sell-off risks. Its community, composed of 3 million Twitter followers, 100,000 Discord active users, and 100,000 Telegram members, has strong promotional power. Its ultra-low price (once as low as $0.0000000001) lowers the participation threshold; investing $100 can acquire a large number of tokens, providing strong psychological satisfaction.

Risks: Practical scenarios are still limited, and its application maturity is not on par with USDT, BTC, ETH. Price volatility is intense; from the lowest point in February 2021 to the high of $0.000088 in October 2021, the increase was up to 800,000 times. Such extreme volatility can cause psychological shocks to novice investors.

Price Trajectory and Future Outlook

Since its first trading in February 2021, SHIB has experienced significant fluctuations. After reaching a historical high of $0.000088 in October 2021, the overall crypto market entered a bear market in 2022, leading to a sharp correction, with the price oscillating between $0.00001 and $0.00002 throughout the year. The launch of Shibarium in 2023 caused a short-term rebound to about $0.000011 but failed to restart an upward trend.

As of July 2025, SHIB’s price remains stable around $0.000014, far below its previous high, but its trading activity and attention remain second only to Dogecoin among meme coins.

The future trend depends on two major factors. If Bitcoin drives a new bull market, combined with the maturation of Shibarium, ShibaSwap, and other ecosystem applications, SHIB’s price could peak above $0.00003. Conversely, if market sentiment weakens or project progress stalls, the price may consolidate long-term in the range of $0.000015–$0.00002, or even fall below $0.00001.

Although deflationary burns and community effects provide support, as a meme coin, SHIB remains driven by speculative sentiment, with a relatively high risk factor. Short-term trading potential exists, but whether it can transform into an asset with practical value remains to be seen over time.

Overall Evaluation

In terms of ecosystem completeness, Shiba Inu has surpassed the traditional meme coin positioning, possessing independent Layer-2, DEX, NFT markets, metaverse real estate, and card games. It ranks 13th globally in market value, second only to Dogecoin in the meme coin field, with relatively solid fundamentals. For investors interested, small-scale testing is a good strategy, but it is essential to recognize the high volatility risks involved.