No longer just a memecoin, the Shiba Inu ecosystem continues to expand into new areas, with a SHI stablecoin being one of the upcoming SHIB products.
Shiba Inu founder Ryoshi first mentioned SHI in a May 2021 blog post. SHI sits alongside the Shibarium Layer 2 and Shiba Inu NFT Game on the list of decentralised offerings in Ryoshi’s vision.
Here’s what the SHI stablecoin could look like.
SHI Stablecoin: Latest News And Updates
The latest SHI stablecoin update came from a Shytoshi Kusama blog post in which he confirmed SHI will still launch in 2022. Shytoshi said that SHI is being created through a "group of developers in our decentralised network", and is more independent compared to other projects.
He also stressed the need for caution after the Luna crypto collapse and UST depeg. He said: "Needless to say, SHI is a concern after watching other stable tokens collapse and billions in dollars get wiped off the market completely."
The latest update regarding SHI comes from Shiba developer Kaal Dhairya. In a Twitter post that touched on several Shiba projects such as the Shiba Metaverse, he also referenced SHI. Dhairya said SHI is "In development, vote for your favourite collateral."
The 'collateral' in this case is the stable asset that SHI may be pegged to. Stablecoins often use fiat currencies such as the USD, but Dhairya's comments suggest this peg has yet to be decided.
Before Kaal's update, the most up-to-date statement on SHI came from fellow developer Eric M. On March 15, he posted some information regarding SHI's governance within the Shiba Discord.
"Leash is not confirmed to be the gov token for SHI," he said, referencing a previous medium from 2021, from which details may have since changed. However, he clarified that this does not mean Leash is not the governance token, just that it isn't confirmed and "things might change depending on how SHI development advances."
"Whatever a Medium from months ago says is not set in stone."
Eric also confirmed SHI is in development, stating: "Teams are working on some dummy tests before we launch official SHI."
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What is SHI Stablecoin?
In their blog post, Ryoshi describes SHI as “an algo-stable coin that always pegs to 1c”. Alternatively, he describes it as “the global exchange of value for plebs”.
According to Ryoshi, the end goal is for SHI to become a “global stable currency that plebs across all countries are able to use as both a store of value and method of payment”.
Stablecoins ‘peg’ themselves to a more stable asset, often a fiat currency such as the US Dollar. This allows them to make use of the benefits of cryptocurrency while reducing the volatility associated with it.
For SHI, it could be pegged to $0.01, acting as a more stable store of value for the Shibarium blockchain. Shiba Inu’s volunteer project lead, Shytoshi Kusama, explained the necessity of this in a blog post. “This is especially important when dealing with businesses that have invoices that get paid 30 days out, or when dealing with transactions that aren’t instantly settleable (credit cards),” they said.
Linking this to the wider Shiba roadmap and ecosystem, SHI will be the currency of choice for ShibaNet - the Shiba marketplace.
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To maintain their price stability, stablecoins often hold reserves - or collateral. However, Ryoshi did not lay out a specific idea for how SHI will manage its stability, instead touting various methods.
The first would see SHI lock up reserves to “to mint SHI that always pushes it back to 1c”.
Alternatively, Ryoshi also suggested a partially-backed (fractional-reserve) stablecoin. This would feature a “‘catcher coin’ to absorb the fluctuations in value to help maintain the peg”.
“Which way is better or is there another way, I am not sure,” Ryoshi said. “Whatever it is, it needs to be built with care not to rely on 3rd party oracles, they need to be built to be fully contained, perpetual and autonomous.”
SHI Stablecoin Release Date
Ryoshi did not give a release date for SHI, but we do know it is in the works. Posting on the Shiba Inu Discord server on January 21, Shytoshi Kusama said:
Shi update I expect soon. There is a dedicated and very smart team working on it.
A day earlier, Shytoshi said they have completed a "private acquisition that bolsters our content and technology stack" that should help with SHI, alongside Shibarium.
We’ll keep this page updated when any more Shiba Inu news about SHI comes out.