Where Will Shiba Inu Be in 5 Years?

Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) was created as a parody of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) -- which itself was a parody of Bitcoin -- back in 2020. Many investors initially dismissed it as a joke, yet it generated millionaire-making gains during the following five years.

Shiba Inu started trading at just $0.00000000051 per token, but it's now trading at $0.000011. That rally would have turned a $100 investment into about $2.16 million. Let's see why this little meme coin soared -- and if it can surge even higher during the next five years.

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How was Shiba Inu created?

Shiba Inu is one of the many tokens minted on the Ethereum blockchain, which supports use of smart contracts to develop decentralized apps (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other crypto assets.

Ethereum was once an energy-intensive proof of work (PoW) blockchain that required its tokens to be mined like Bitcoin. But in 2022, it transitioned to a more energy-efficient proof of stake (PoS) mechanism, which simply required tokens to be staked (locked up for interest-like rewards) on its blockchain instead of being mined.

So as an Ethereum-based PoS token, Shiba Inu cannot be mined. Instead, its anonymous founder Ryoshi minted its entire supply of one quadrillion tokens before its launch, then gave 500 trillion of those tokens to Ethereum's co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Buterin subsequently burned (removed from circulation) over 40% of those tokens to tighten up its supply. Since no new tokens can be minted, but they can still be burned, it's still considered a deflationary token.

What are Shiba Inu's potential catalysts?

Shiba Inu's near-term future depends on the growth of its developer ecosystem and the willingness of its investors to burn their tokens. The biggest near-term catalyst should be the expansion of Shibarium, its Level 2 blockchain, which offers lower gas (user) fees and higher transaction speeds than Ethereum's underlying Level 1 blockchain.

Those advantages could increase the utility of its own token and ShibaSwap tokens -- like BONE and LEASH -- within its own ecosystem. They could also draw in more developers and enhance its network value.

Shiba Inu's developers also recently launched a metaverse platform with more than 100,000 plots of virtual land. Shiba Inu's tokens could be used to fund sales of digital land and experiences in this digital world, which could become similar to other metaverse platforms like Decentraland.

Shiba Inu's investors could continue to burn their tokens to boost its price, and it might gain more traction in mainstream crypto payments through partnerships with bigger companies. Declining interest rates, fewer restrictions for the crypto industry under the Trump administration, and other industrywide tailwinds could drive its price higher.

If Shiba Inu's price keeps rising, some crypto firms might consider launching their own exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the token -- as they already did with Bitcoin and Ethereum. Reaching that milestone could stabilize its price and draw in more retail and institutional investors.

But where will Shiba Inu be in five years?

Shiba Inu could go through some wild price swings during the next five years, but some investors expect big gains. The crypto trading firm Changelly predicts Shiba's price will soar more than 1,150% to $0.000138 by 2030. On the popular price prediction platform Telegaon, investors expect Shiba's price to surge more than 6,370% to $0.000712.

But we should take those bullish estimates with a grain of salt. Shiba Inu already has a market cap of $6.8 billion, and hitting Changelly's target would boost its value to $85 billion. Reaching Telegaon's target would drive its valuation to $440 billion. That would make exceed Ethereum's current market cap of $300 billion and make it one of the world's most valuable assets -- which seems like an unrealistic near-term target for this little meme coin.

I'm not nearly as bullish on Shiba Inu as those investors. I think it might gradually rise along with the broader crypto market during the next five years, but it could be overshadowed by faster PoS blockchains like Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL). Unless Shiba Inu finds other ways to differentiate itself from other meme coins, it should remain a speculative play for short-term traders instead of a viable long-term crypto investment like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

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Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.