SHIBAINU (SHIB) Tokenomics

Shiba Inu (SHIB) was launched on July 31, 2020, as a decentralized, community-led meme project on the Ethereum blockchain. Its tokenomics are characterized by a unique initial distribution and a multi-token ecosystem that includes SHIB, BONE, LEASH, and the recently introduced TREAT.

Issuance Mechanism

The SHIB token was launched with a total supply of 1 quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) ERC-20 tokens. Unlike many projects that utilize Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or private sales, Shiba Inu employed a "fair launch" style approach:

• Initial Liquidity: 500 trillion SHIB (50% of the total supply) was locked into the SHIB-ETH liquidity pool on Uniswap.
• Burn Mechanism: As of January 2024, approximately 410.40 trillion SHIB (roughly 41.04% of the total supply) has been burned. This includes a significant portion burned by Vitalik Buterin shortly after the project's inception.
• Shibarium Burns: The project team has indicated plans for an automatic SHIB burn mechanism to be implemented on the Shibarium Layer-2 network to further reduce supply over time.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial allocation of Shiba Inu was distinct in that the project team did not reserve a share of the tokens for themselves. The 1 quadrillion tokens were distributed as follows:

Of the supply sent to Vitalik Buterin, he burned approximately 410 trillion SHIB and donated 50 trillion SHIB to the India COVID relief fund.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The Shiba Inu ecosystem utilizes a multi-token strategy to incentivize different behaviors across its decentralized exchange (ShibaSwap) and Layer-2 network (Shibarium):

SHIB (Community Token)

• Staking ("Bury"): Users can stake SHIB to receive xSHIB. Holders of xSHIB earn inflationary BONE rewards and a 0.10% share of ShibaSwap transaction fees (paid in ETH).
• Liquidity Provision ("Dig"): Users can provide SHIB as liquidity to earn transaction fees.
• Burn Rewards: SHIB can be burned via the ShibaSwap Burn Portal to earn RYOSHI token rewards.

BONE (Technology & Governance)

• Governance: BONE serves as the governance token for the Doggy DAO.
• Gas Fees: It is used as the native gas token for the Shibarium Layer-2 network.
• Staking: Shibarium validators and delegators stake BONE on Ethereum to secure the network.

LEASH (Exclusivity)

• Originally intended as a rebase token, LEASH was "unleashed" and now serves as an exclusive token for loyal ecosystem members, offering access to special perks and land sales in the Shiba Metaverse.

TREAT (Rewards & Access)

• Ecosystem Rewards: TREAT is the newest token designed to serve as the primary reward mechanism for the ecosystem, including "WOOF Wars: Farming 2.0."
• Governance: It grants voting power and governs the "Innovation Branch" of the Network State.
• Utility: It is intended for use in SHIB Pay and for unlocking advanced features within the ShibaOS.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

Shiba Inu does not follow a traditional corporate vesting schedule with monthly unlocks for team members or investors, as no tokens were initially allocated to a central team. Instead, locking mechanisms are primarily user-driven through the ShibaSwap platform:

• Liquidity Locking: The initial 50% of the supply was locked in Uniswap at launch.
• Staking Locks: When users "Bury" (stake) their tokens on ShibaSwap, they receive representative tokens (xSHIB, xLEASH, tBONE).
• Reward Distribution: Rewards from the burn portal and other staking mechanisms are typically distributed every two weeks.
• veTREAT: The ecosystem is introducing veTREAT (vote escrowed TREAT), which allows users to lock TREAT to gain increased governance influence and influence liquidity rewards through gauge voting.

There are no recorded scheduled "unlock events" for the SHIB token itself in the circulating supply metrics, as the vast majority of the supply is already in circulation or permanently burned.