Shiba Inu set to launch TREAT, its new governance token

Memecoin ecosystem Shiba Inu will launch TREAT, a new token for governance and ecosystem rewards. In a post on social media platform X, the project said that TREAT will launch this January without specifying the exact date.

TREAT’s arrival comes after the project teased its launch for several months. According to its official announcement, TREAT will be a token that unlocks access to the Shib network, and holders can use several features and services.

The announcement read:

“By holding TREAT, you gain exclusive access to forward-looking features and services designed to reshape digital interactions. Whether you’re exploring cutting-edge payment solutions or diving into new realms of virtual collaboration.”

With the launch of TREAT, the Shiba Inu project continues its attempt to transition from being a memecoin to becoming a valuable blockchain project. In its efforts to achieve this, the project has already launched several products, including the Shibarium Layer-2 network and several other tokens.

Many believe that TREAT, which came after Shiba Inu announced that it would launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), would mark the start of a new era for the project. However, the token will not be available for US investors as the X post announcing its launch specifically says, “Not intended for US audiences.”

What are the use cases of TREAT?

Meanwhile, the TREAT page on the Shiba Inu website explained the different use cases of the token within the Shib ecosystem. According to the website, TREAT will unlock advanced features, including SHIB Pay, an on-chain payment system for the Shiba Inu network.

It said:

“With TREAT, users can make direct payments, bypassing traditional processors, while ensuring transparency and trust through blockchain verification. This innovation paves the way for a new era of crypto-powered commerce.”

Beyond that, it also serves as a reward token by powering advanced yield farming through the WOOF Wars: Farming 2.0. Based on the TREAT page information, holders can utilize veTREAT (vote escrowed TREAT) to influence pair rewards, while liquidity providers will get additional rewards and trading fees.

However, TREAT will also serve as the governance token, with holders using it to shape the direction of the Shiba Inu ecosystem and staking it to increase their voting influence. The Shib ecosystem plans to have an innovation branch for the network, where users vote on proposals about what projects to develop and use available liquidity on.

SHIB is up to a good start in 2025, but can it last?

With the launch of TREAT, Shiba Inu investors hope that its flagship memecoin, SHIB, will continue to show the positive performance it has seen in 2025. According to CoinMarketCap, the token is up almost 10% since the year started despite finishing 2024 in a bearish state that saw it lose more than 23% in 30 days.

The Shiba Inu ecosystem now has four tokens – SHIB, LEASH, BONE, and TREAT- with different functions. While the project has its other tokens in a multichain ecosystem through its partnership with Chainlink, SHIB remains the most popular and largest by market capitalization.

However,  it is uncertain whether SHIB will be able to maintain its bullish momentum, given that it has already seen a drop in value today. While many holders hope for a bull run that will spur the memecoin to $1, its massive supply and slow burn rate, where only 44.6 billion tokens were burned in 2024, continue to slow down any real price growth.

From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan