Shiba Inu (SHIB): What It Is, What Is It Worth and Should You Be Investing?

As the adage goes, every dog has its day. It is particularly true about Shiba Inu, a cryptocurrency named after and based on the Japanese dog breed. Since its introduction to the crypto world, the coin has grown at an astounding rate, garnering attention from investors and enthusiasts alike.

At the end of October 2021, the price of Shiba Inu crypto rose by over 173% in just a matter of a week. While this may seem like the perfect reason to invest in the currency, it is important to know that cryptocurrency, especially meme coins, is a highly volatile investment.

This article discusses the volatility of Shiba Inu, its future potential and everything you need to know about its recent price decline.

What Is Shiba Inu?

Shina Inu is an altcoin created by a pseudonymous entity named Ryoshi in August 2020. Like many other cryptocurrencies, Shiba Inu’s name was also inspired by a dog breed.

According to its white paper, which is known as the ”woof paper” in the Shib community, the founder launched Shiba Inu on Ethereum since the blockchain is readily well-established and secure.

Shiba Inu’s founder claims that half of the coin’s supply is locked on Uniswap in a liquidity pool, while the remaining was sent to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum. The tokens were sent in hopes that Buterin would keep them.

But he burnt most of them, removing them from circulation. He donated a substantial number of tokens to many charities, including the India COVID-19 Relief Fund.

How Much Is Shiba Inu Coin Worth?

According to Coin Market Cap, Shiba Inu crypto is worth $0.00003694 at the time of writing. Its price increased 2.34% in the past 24 hours.

Currently, the coin has a market cap of $20,281,021,743.81 and is ranked at 13th place in CoinMarketCap’s list of the top cryptocurrencies.

Is It Safe?

The safety of any cryptocurrency depends on its structure and utility. Since Shib is an altcoin, it is community-based. It means that the coin’s success depends largely on the growth of the community. The utility has a lesser role to play in this regard.

In Shib’s whitepaper, it has been called an ”experiment” for decentralized community building. Typically, you should only invest in crypto what you can afford to lose since all cryptocurrencies are somewhat risky investments. However, altcoins are even riskier since they have different structures, uses and supply differences from Bitcoin and their investment potential can be somewhat speculative.

When Bitcoin was launched, the intent behind it was to offer a peer-to-peer decentralized finance system. The founder created the blockchain carefully, keeping the ecosystem’s utility and structure in mind.

Moreover, there is a limited supply of Bitcoin. Thus, the cryptocurrency has an in-built scarcity. Due to these features, Bitcoin has the potential to become a digital currency in the future.

But the same cannot be said for Shiba Inu crypto. Thus, it is not exactly a safe investment.

Where Can I Buy Shib?

You can buy Shiba Inu on Binance and many other exchanges. Here are some ways to buy Shib through Binance:

• Bank Transfer: Wire money from your bank account and buy stablecoins on Binance. Then, you can use these stablecoins to buy Shiba Inu.
• Trade: You can also trade your existing cryptocurrencies for Shib on Binance.
• Credit Card: Binance lets you buy Shib using your debit card or credit card, such as Mastercard or Visa.

If you live in a state with unfriendly crypto laws, you can buy Shib from KuCoin. First, you have to buy XLM from Coinbase. Then, transfer these coins to KuCoin and swap them for USDT (Tether). Finally, swap the USDT for Shiba Inu

You can also use the Atomic Wallet app to buy Shib. First, buy Ethereum using Coinbase. Transfer your coins to Atomic Wallet and swap them for Shib.

Is It a Good Investment?

Most of Shiba Inu’s popularity is based on hype. According to Nasdaq, the fear of missing out is emotionally taxing on investors. As you see others making money off Shib, you may be tempted to invest in it too.

However, for most investors, the risk-reward profile of Ethereum, Bitcoin and larger altcoins, such as Cardano, have been more viable than Shiba Inu. If you want to buy a few coins for fun, go ahead. But you should not invest heavily into Shib since it may be worth little, if anything at all, in the future.

Also, Shiba Inu’s price fell significantly in the first week of November. While regular market volatility definitely had a role to play in this decline, the fall is being attributed to a mysterious billionaire.

Potential Crashes

An anonymous individual purchased 70 trillion Shib coins for $8000 earlier in August this year. When the currency peaked, the coin’s were worth $6 billion. However, this person began moving over 40 trillion of his assets to four crypto addresses.

So, it is speculated that trillions of Shiba Inu might come flooding back into the market, creating a significant price crash . But this is not the only concern experts have about Shib. Fearing that the anonymous billionaire might sell his assets any time soon, other traders might sell their coins even if the said billionaire does nothing. In both cases, there will be a huge influx of Shib in the market.

It is also important to note that Shiba Inu does not really have any intrinsic value. It may seem valuable, considering its market cap, but its value is only entertainment-based. Keeping this in mind, it would not be wise to invest too much of your money in Shib. The Shiba Inu crypto may help you make a quick buck, but it is not a reliable long-term investment.

Good To Know

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, of the Shib price hike is definitely tempting. Although Shiba Inu has made some people quite rich, it may also lead to substantial losses, based on the trajectory the community and market sentiment takes in the future. Invest wisely and choose coins that have intrinsic value and utility.

GOBankingRates’ Crypto Guides