The cryptocurrency market has exploded in popularity over the last few years. One token that has recently caught a lot of attention is Shiba Inu (SHIB). Launched in August 2020, Shiba Inu has quickly become one of the top meme coins and amassed a huge community of supporters.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the Shiba Inu token – what it is, how it works, how to buy it, and how to stake it to earn rewards.
What is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?
Shiba Inu was created anonymously by someone who goes by the pseudonym Ryoshi. It started off as an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin, another popular meme coin.
The name and logo pay homage to the Shiba Inu dog breed that became famous as the face of the “Doge” meme. But unlike Dogecoin, there is no hard cap on the total supply of Shiba Inu tokens.
SHIB runs on its own decentralized, open source blockchain called the Shiba Inu ecosystem. This ecosystem also contains two other tokens:
- Leash (LEASH) – A rebase token pegged to the value of DOGE
- Bone (BONE) – The governance token of the ecosystem
The main appeal of Shiba Inu is its low price and meme status. While it was created mainly as a joke, it now has a market capitalization of over $6 billion. The community has also funded projects like an NFT art incubator and is working to reduce the total token supply.
How to Buy Shiba Inu
If you want to buy Shiba Inu tokens, the process is similar to purchasing other cryptocurrencies:
- Set up a crypto wallet to store your SHIB. Software wallets like MetaMask or hardware wallets like Ledger are good options.
- Fund your wallet with a cryptocurrency like ETH that you can trade for SHIB.
- Find an exchange that lists SHIB tokens. Popular options include Coinbase, Crypto.com, KuCoin, and exchange Shiba Inu.
- Create an account on the exchange and complete the KYC verification process.
- Deposit crypto from your wallet into your exchange account.
- Use the exchange interface to trade your crypto for SHIB tokens. Then withdraw them back to your wallet for security.
The process is very quick and simple once you have a funded wallet and account on an exchange. SHIB can also be purchased directly using a credit card through services like Crypto.com.
How to Stake Shiba Inu
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Once you have some SHIB in your wallet, you can earn passive income on your investment by staking your tokens.
Staking essentially means locking up your tokens in a wallet to participate in transaction validation and earn rewards. As an Ethereum-based token, Shiba Inu relies on proof-of-stake to secure its blockchain.
Here are two ways you can how to stake Shiba Inu your SHIB tokens:
SHIB Staking Platforms
There are platforms like ShibaSwap and Crypto.com that allow you to stake your SHIB directly on their site. The process involves:
- Connecting your wallet that holds SHIB
- Selecting how many tokens you want to stake
- Approving the staking transactions
- Watching your staked SHIB grow over time as you earn rewards
The reward rate varies by platform but is around 0.5-3% annually. Your staked SHIB is locked up for a set period to earn the optimum rewards.
Liquidity Pools
Another option is providing liquidity for SHIB trading pools on decentralized exchanges like ShibaSwap and Uniswap. This involves:
- Pairing SHIB with ETH in equal values
- Adding the pair to liquidity pools
- Earning a share of trading fees based on your share of the pool
Providing liquidity helps facilitate trading and usually earns higher returns than simple staking. But it is a bit more complex and does come with risks of impermanent loss.
The Future of SHIB
While Shiba Inu started off as just a meme coin, it now has an extensive ecosystem and strong community. The developers are working on utility like an NFT art incubator, Metaverse integrations, and merchant payments to move beyond just speculative trading.
With the current crypto market downturn, SHIB has dropped from its all-time highs in 2021. But it still maintains a solid top 15 position. The upcoming growth of the Shiba Inu ecosystem could lead to a resurgence of SHIB once the crypto market recovers.
Additionally, the developers are burning trillions of tokens over time to reduce the circulating supply by up to 1,000T tokens. With lower token counts, this could greatly increase the value of SHIB.
So the future looks promising for Shiba Inu, both as a meme coin and a serious cryptocurrency project. The community enthusiasm makes it likely to stick around and potentially even thrive long-term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is a meme-inspired cryptocurrency token built on the Ethereum blockchain. It features the Shiba Inu dog as its mascot and aims to be an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin.
Shiba Inu was anonymously launched in August 2020 by someone using the pseudonym Ryoshi.
Shiba Inu was created by an anonymous individual or group called Ryoshi. The founder(s) have remained anonymous since its launch.
There is no hard cap on the total supply of SHIB tokens. The current circulating supply is around 549 trillion SHIB as of September 2022.
You can buy SHIB on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, KuCoin etc. You first need to purchase another crypto like ETH, then trade it for SHIB tokens and withdraw them to a secure wallet.
SHIB can be stored in any ERC-20 compatible wallet like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet etc. For security, store your tokens in a hardware wallet like Ledger.
You can stake your SHIB tokens on platforms like ShibaSwap to earn annual rewards up to 10%. Staking locks up your SHIB for a set period of time in return for rewards.
The Shiba Inu ecosystem includes the SHIB token plus two other tokens called LEASH and BONE. It also includes the ShibaSwap decentralized exchange platform.
Price predictions vary greatly, but some analysts forecast SHIB potentially reaching $0.0001 in the next 5 years if crypto market conditions are favorable.
Final Thoughts
For a coin that started off as a joke, Shiba Inu has seen incredible growth and traction. Its ecosystem is rapidly evolving, and SHIB could see renewed spikes in valuation.
Hopefully this beginner’s guide has helped demystify Shiba Inu tokens – how to buy them, store them, and stake them to earn rewards. As with any cryptocurrency investment, do your own research and only invest money you can afford to lose. But SHIB presents an intriguing opportunity as both a short and long term investment.
The Shiba Inu community is passionate and growing. With more utility on the horizon, the future looks bright for the top meme coin. So consider adding some SHIB to your portfolio if you want exposure to this unique cryptocurrency project.
