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SHIB was initially concocted to dethrone dogecoin and was even nicknamed the “Dogecoin Killer”. Shiba Inu lived up to this expectation as it surpassed DOGE’s market capitalization on October 27, 2021, thanks to market pundits, analysts, and traders warming up to the crypto asset, thus sending its price to the moon.
Although the logic behind its price surge was unexplored, market experts attributed it to speculations rather than technical developments. Supporters of SHIB, who called themselves the ‘Shib Army’ relentlessly promoted the coin on social media, with an occasional remark from billionaire investor and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk sending the group into a frenzied state.
Some market analysts also linked the coin’s growth to the launch of the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap which saw many adherents hold onto their stash for an extended period as that meant they could reap unprecedented yields.
Shiba Inu’s popularity would further grow as the coin was listed on most exchanges in September 2021 which subsequently led to a petition calling on Robinhood to do the same. The price of the digital coin continued its upward trajectory the following month as a tweet from Elon Musk which contained an image of the Shiba Inu dog was posted on his Twitter account, causing a 600% increase in value.
 
 
Shiba Inu, however, wasn’t an exception to the wild market volatility and soon experienced its fair share of market reds.
The buzz around Shiba Inu waned but the coin still looks set to make a comeback this year. Although SHIB has lost almost two-thirds of its value since October 2021, several developments around it have yet again captured the interests of proponents.
Bullish Catalysts
According to a key member of the team behind Shiba Inu known as ‘Archangel’, ShibaSwap 2.0, the planned new version of Shiba Inu’s decentralized crypto exchange, will include a feature that allows the burning of SHIB tokens, consequently reducing its circulating supply and optimistically bolstering prices in the process.
Although ShibaSwap 2.0 is still in the works with no exact launch date announced yet, many market pundits believe it could make a debut before the third quarter of the year with the burning mechanism tipped to be a major catalyst for the coin’s growth.
The imminent launch of Shibarium, a layer-2 solution, is also a major development that could propel the digital coin to greater heights. Shiba Inu listed on prominent crypto exchanges has also made it a popular asset for investors as it is relatively cheaper and has a history of blowing up at any given time.
Paramount among factors keeping investor sentiment up is the ecosystem’s massive metaverse plans. The SHIBArmy has welcomed several developments around the SHIB virtual world already. Last month, an exclusive land sale was held using LEASH tokens, with a public sale expected soon.
“…our Metaverse serves as the anchor in our sustainable ecosystem, as we add even more utility, projects, and benefits for our beloved ShibArmy, the best crypto community out there,” SHIB developers noted in an update at the time.
In a recent update, the developers of the meme coin implored community members to keep their LEASH tokens ready for more exclusive perks in the Shiba Inu metaverse.
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