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No one could have expected the incredible success of Shiba Inu this year. The rise of meme coins was mostly led by the incredibly popular Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu seems to have mostly ridden in on its coattails. Despite lower volume than other DEX protocols such as Uniswap and Sushi, ShibaSwap’s SHIB token has seen the biggest gains so far this Uptober.
While already up 300% in the first 5 days of the month, SHIB may still have some room to grow. But, what are the risks?
What is Shiba Inu?
Shiba Inu shares the same mascot as Dogecoin, a cute Shiba Inu dog. Both cryptocurrencies have an enormous circulating supply, but SHIB has a far larger supply, causing the per token price to be much lower than the price of DOGE. Since Shiba Inu is built on Ethereum’s blockchain, it has more use cases than Dogecoin, which is merge-mined with Litecoin.
ShibaSwap is a run-of-the-mill decentralized application with a focus on liquidity pool staking. Users deposit (stake) their tokens into the platform to earn interest and fees from other users swapping tokens on the site. You can stake Shiba Inu, Bone and Leash by themselves or with other popular tokens in liquidity pools.
The platform displays relatively high-interest rate estimates for each of their liquidity pools, but most of the pools have at least one extremely volatile crypto in them. Anyone who deposits cryptos into liquidity pools with volatile assets is severely exposed to impermanent loss, one of the most confusing ways to lose cryptocurrency. In essence, impermanent loss demonstrates the difference in value the depositor would have ended up with if they had simply held the assets instead of depositing them into a liquidity pool.
Shiba Inu exploded into the popular consciousness through a few major events and its connection with Dogecoin. When Dogecoin is mentioned in a tweet by a famous celebrity, namely Elon Musk, the price of Doge and Shiba often increases dramatically. Also, Vitalik Buterin, the popular visionary and co-creator of Ethereum, helped the token build the hype that drives its price. Buterin was given 50% of the Shiba max supply, partially as a joke and partially hoping he wouldn’t sell or move them in order to take them out of circulation. Instead, he sent about $1 billion worth of Shiba to the India Covid Relief Fund when they needed help the most. This gift drove a massive amount of hype and interest which helped the token explode in price.
Shiba Inu Market Position
Shiba Inu hasn’t been able to even come close to returning to the all-time high of about $0.0000388 it reached this May. However, it still holds a relatively strong position in the market compared to every other meme coin (except for Dogecoin). At the time of writing, it has the 50th largest market capitalization in the crypto market at around $2.8 billion. Market cap can be a useful metric to get a grasp on the possible future of a crypto. A crypto with a small market cap, despite its current price, will require less inflow of capital for it to increase in price. For example, the same number of purchases will likely make Shiba Inu rise faster than Ethereum or Bitcoin.
Wallet Investor’s Bull Case for SHIB
Wallet Investor provides a useful prediction tool powered by artificial intelligence built on a daily basis. The platform forecasts Shiba Inu to drastically increase in price over the course of the next year. It predicts that by September of next year, it will reach about $0.000014, nearly a 100% increase from now. This prediction will not be exactly correct because no one, not even advanced artificial intelligence, can forecast the price of a volatile asset, especially a year out. However, it can still be useful as a tool for reasonable estimates.
David Hsiao Bear Case for SHIB
David Hsiao, the CEO of the popular cryptocurrency magazine, Block Journal, offers a more negative view of Shiba Inu. He points out that the success of Shiba Inu is almost completely because of its association with Dogecoin. Neither crypto offers any innovation in blockchain technology or finance and instead is driven by hype.
Hsiao’s case illustrates the risks of purchasing Shiba Inu or even Dogecoin well. Eventually, the hype won’t be able to convince enough investors to purchase the tokens. It’s impossible to know when that will happen, however, and it could see massive success before it falters.
Where to Buy Shiba Inu
Shiba Inu is much easier to purchase than it was only a few months ago. It is now listed on many of the best cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinbase, FTX Exchange, Crypto.com and eToro. Before you can purchase Shiba Inu or any other cryptocurrencies you will need to verify your identity. This often entails providing your address, Social Security number and a picture of your driver’s license. As soon as your identity is verified, you can start trading Shiba Inu.
eToro, headquartered in Cyprus, England and Israel, has provided forex products and other CFD derivatives to retail clients since 2007. A major eToro plus is its social trading operations, including OpenBook, which allows new clients to copy trade the platform’s best performers. Its social trading features are top notch, but eToro loses points for its lack of tradable currency pairs and underwhelming research and customer service features
Best For
- U.S. based cryptocurrency traders
- Social and copy traders
- Simple user interface
- Community engagement and following other traders
- 25 cryptocurrencies
- Expansive network of social trading features
- Large client base for new traders to imitate
- U.S. traders can only buy cryptocurrency
Crypto.com strives to make cryptocurrency a part of everyday life by offering a full suite of services for crypto users. The company offers a Crypto.com App, Exchange, Visa Card, DeFi swap, DeFi Wallet, DeFi Earn, Crypto.com Price, staking, crypto lending, and many other services. What really sets them apart, however, is the combination of super low fees and incredibly generous rewards programs for their users.
Best For
- Traders who want access to a secure, low-cost cryptocurrency exchange
- Passive investors who want to earn interest on their balance without frequent trading
- Mobile investors who prefer to handle all their crypto needs via their phone or tablet
- Low fees
- High security
- One-stop shop for all your crypto needs (wallet, trading, spending, and more)
- Lots of ways to earn interest, rewards, and rebates
- Low privacy
- Customer service response time could be improved
How Long Will it Take for Shiba Inu to Reach $0.0001?
How high can Shiba Inu go? Many investors in the Shiba Inu community discuss when it will reach $0.01 or even $1, but the question is far from useful. If Shiba reached $0.01 at around the same token supply, its market capitalization would be more than 4 times what Bitcoin’s is today. If it reached $1, its market cap would tower over Bitcoin’s by 100 times.
A more reasonable goal for Shiba Inu is $0.0001, although it would still be an amazing feat because it would be a 1,300% increase. If it can drive even more hype than it did when it reached its all-time high in May, it could reach this price in a matter of 1-2 weeks after major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum reach new all-time highs. However, this is still unlikely to happen and would require a tremendous amount of publicity and capital.
Shiba Inu Price Prediction 2025
The price of Shiba Inu is ridiculously hard to predict 1 year in the future, let alone 4 years. If it continues to gain adoption in the public at large year after year, it could break its all-time high and perhaps reach $0.000045 by 2025. This is an extremely tenuous prediction, but it may be a good estimate of the limits of the token. It won’t reach $1 or anything close unless it becomes the largest crypto, or the USD becomes close to worthless. Wallet Investor predicts a similar number, saying it may reach about $0.000048 by September 2025.
Where to Store Shiba Inu Safely
Many beginner investors don’t know the risks of storing their cryptocurrencies on trading platforms. Cryptocurrency exchange hacks have lost users hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. Luckily, the exchanges recommended above are extremely secure, but they can’t be invulnerable to attacks.
Personal wallets give you complete control over your cryptocurrencies and most are safer than exchanges. Hardware wallets are the most secure because they don’t store your personal information online, but they can be clunky to use. Software wallets are almost always free and are extremely easy to use, although they are less secure than hardware wallets.
Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger
Ledger is the leading hardware wallet brand in the world. The company produces 2 similar hardware wallets: the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X. The Nano S is the simpler model and is perfect for crypto investors looking for a secure and easy-to-use hardware wallet. The Nano X is even easier to use because it has a larger screen and Bluetooth functionality.
Both devices use the same certified secure chip that randomly generates, encrypts and safely stores your wallet’s private key offline. The private key is what lets you access your wallet and no one but you is able to see it, not even Ledger. Both wallets support more than 1,000 different cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple and all ERC-20 tokens (including Shiba Inu).
Best software wallet: Coinbase Wallet
Many crypto investors store a majority of their portfolio in a hardware wallet and have a software wallet for day-to-day use. If you plan on using any DeFi platforms like ShibaSwap, you will likely want to use a software wallet. Some platforms let you use hardware wallets, but it’s often clunky and slow.
One of the best software wallets on the market is Coinbase Wallet. It is available as a mobile application on iOS and Android devices. The app supports 1,000s of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and all ERC-20 tokens. It has more features than most wallets including a place to store your non-fungible tokens, a trade tab for buying other cryptos, and a DeFi browser.
Bonus Section:
Shiba Inu almost completely relies on the success of Dogecoin and the hype behind both tokens. If large celebrities start to talk about either publicly, it could mean large price swings.
Current Crypto Prices
The crypto market has been tumultuous recently, marred with a few sharp drops after a promising rally that began in June. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum suffered recent decreases to levels that haven’t been reached since August. This may be the final nail in the coffin of the amazing bull run of 2020 and 2021.
Many investors believed the run ended with the stark 40%-50% crash in May, but the recent rally seemed to prove them wrong. Unfortunately, the rally may have simply been the final bounce before a new bear run begins. We won’t know for sure until the market either tumbles even more, or it recovers again.
So, Is Shiba Inu a Good Investment?
Shiba Inu has been an amazing investment for anyone who purchased the token before its initial explosion in May. However, it’s extremely risky and many people have lost a lot of money investing in Shiba. Remember that Shiba’s price relies on hype and popularity, so if it becomes less popular, it will likely be a worse investment.
Benzinga crafted a specific methodology to rank cryptocurrency exchanges and tools. We prioritized platforms based on offerings, pricing and promotions, customer service, mobile app, user experience and benefits, and security. To see a comprehensive breakdown of our methodology, please visit see our Cryptocurrency Methodology page.
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