What is Shiba Inu? 'Dogecoin killer' cryptocurrency turned 2 nearly jobless brothers' $7,900 investment into $9M
Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days. You can become a literal millionaire if you invest wisely, as two Westchester brothers discovered. The brothers, who along with their mother and sister invested $7,900 in Shiba Inu, have found their investment surge to over $9M.
The story isn't uncommon, but what makes it stand out is the fact that they invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB). The crypto is a hot new attraction in an increasingly crowded market, after starting out as pretty much a joke. Today its got a lot of attention. Like Bitcoin, Etherium and Dogecoin have all become well known and now investors are on the lookout for the next big thing. Could that be Shiba Inu? Judging by the early reactions, it certainly could be.
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What is Shiba Inu?
The currency is widely referred to as a 'memecoin', that is a cryptocurrency set up as a meme or a joke. In this case, SHIB refers to the Shiba Inu dog that is often found in 'Doge' memes. It's unclear who exactly started the currency, but whoever it is jumped on the meme branding. Its founder reportedly goes only by the name Ryoshi, who created SHIB in August 2020. The Shiba Token website calls the crypto "Decentralized Meme Tokens that grew into a vibrant ecosystem". The tokens are listed on ShibaSwap, the crypto's own decentralized exchange.
On launch, the developers sent 50 per cent of the supply to Etherium founder Vitalik Buterin, mainly as a joke. Buterin also recently donated that value towards multiple charities, including a fund that's helping fight Covid-19 in India. We do know that the crypto was launched to compete with Dogecoin, another memecoin. It even features the same Shiba Inu dog as Dogecoin, if there was any doubt.
The developers claim that everyone will have to buy the crypto on the open market, "ensuring a fair and complete distribution where devs don't own team tokens they can dump on the community". However, if you plan to invest, note that the crypto is still in its early stages. The website even calls it "an experiment in decentralized spontaneous community building". ShibaSwap is also currently undergoing "security tests, audits, and final updates" and is still some way from launch. If you are still interested, you can buy the crypto from Uniswap.
Like Dogecoin, SHIB started out as a joke but has quickly made some serious money. Its trading volume is now over $8B and has a market capitalization of around $11B as Coin Market Cap noted. That's impressive, given it is currently priced at $0.00001769. It lived in relative obscurity until earlier in 2021, when it became a key target for investors looking beyond Dogecoin.
To make matters better (or worse, depending on your perspective), SHIB also benefitted from Elon Musk's 'Saturday Night Live' appearance, with its price jumping up after he called Dogecoin a "hustle". It may be a long way from dethroning Dogecoin, but SHIB has found favor with many high-profile names, including Musk. The CEO recently asked Twitter if Tesla should accept the crypto for payments, before abandoning all crypto payments entirely. Now, two Westchester brothers have jumped on SHIB's rising popularity.
Two brothers turned $7,900 into $9M
The two brothers, who only identified themselves as Tommy and James, recently revealed to CNN how they turned into millionaires. In late February 2021, the brothers along with their mother and sister invested close to $8,000 after much skepticism and debate. By mid-April, it had shot up to $100,000. "We woke up the next morning and it doubled. We were like, 'Oh my god,'" Tommy said. As of Thursday, May 13, their investment was worth around $9M.
The family, who runs a business filming weddings, found their incomes dry up due to the pandemic and invested in the crypto as a last-ditch effort. "The government stimulus checks weren't enough to sustain us. I'm a positive person but it was really tough, and not knowing the future was kind of scary," Tommy said. A friend though convinced them to make the investment. "I trusted my friend and I figured if it went to zero, that's OK. I thought of it as a lotto ticket that wouldn't expire," Tommy added.
Luckily for the family, their gamble paid off. They also have advice for any other potential investors. "Don't put in any money that you aren't willing to lose," Tommy said. "The meme tokens are very high-risk and you really don't know what is going to happen with them. We know this is not what typically happens, although shiba has changed our lives. When you see it fluctuate so much, it does keep you up at night."