Shiba Inu-related cryptos rise. memecoin dreams of 'Shibarium" come within reach.
Cryptocurrencies linked to Shiba InuSHIBUSD +6.19% a digital asset originally based on an internet joke - outperformed as the prospect of a broader blockchain universe linked to these tokens moves closer to reality.
Shiba Inu is a so-called memecoin because it was originally launched primarily as an online joke. The token - the 15th largest cryptocurrency - was named in reference to DogecoinDOGEUSD -0.08% , another Memecoin, which itself is a reference to an internet meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog.
Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and many other smaller offshoots tend to trade in lockstep with the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, although they occasionally buck the trend when Elon Musk tweets about them, for example.
But lately, the prospects for Shiba Inu' have become much more serious, as the developers behind the token have outlined plans to launch a Layer 2 blockchain built on the Ethereum network that would make Memecoin more than just a joke.
In January, the developers revealed plans for "Shibarium," which will dramatically expand the Shiba Inu ecosystem with the crypto of the same name, as well as smaller peer tokens called Bone and Leash. The Shibarium will use Shiba Inu, Bone, and Leash in protocols serving the Metaverse, gaming, and Web3, with Bone being the network's "native token" used to pay for transactions on the blockchain.
The latest news came late Tuesday, when Shiba Inu developers announced on Twitter that the first public beta test of Shibarium would launch this week.
Shiba Inu initially shot up, but has fallen back on Wednesday along with other cryptocurrencies, although it is still outperforming BitcoinBTCUSD +0.29% . Shiba Inu has fallen less than 0.5% in 24 hours, compared to Bitcoin's 1.5% decline.
