No longer just a memecoin, the Shiba Inu ecosystem continues to expand into new areas, with a SHI stablecoin being one of the next SHIB products.
Shiba Inu founder Ryoshi first mentioned SHI in a May 2021 blog post. SHI sits alongside Shibarium Layer 2 and shiba Inu NFT Game on the list of decentralised offerings in Ryoshi’s vision.
This is what the SHI stablecoin might look like.
SHI STABLECOIN: LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
The latest update regarding SHI comes from Shiba developer Kaal Dhairya.
In a Twitter post that touched on various Shiba projects, such as the Shiba Metaverse, he also made reference to SHI. Dhairya said SHI is “in development, vote for your favourite collateral”.
The “collateral” in this case is the stable asset to which SHI can be linked. Stable currencies often use fiat currencies such as the USD, but Dhairya’s comments suggest that this peg has not yet been decided.
Prior to Kaal’s update, the most up-to-date statement on SHI came from fellow developer Eric M. On 15 March, he posted information about SHI’s governance within Shiba Discord.
“Leash is not confirmed to be the government token for SHI,” he said, referring to an earlier media from 2021, of which the details may have changed since then. However, he clarified that this does not mean that Leash is not the governance token, only that it is not confirmed and “things could change depending on how SHI development progresses”.
“What a Medium says months ago is not written in stone.”
Eric also confirmed that SHI is in development, stating, “The teams are working on some dummy tests before launching official SHI”.
WHAT IS SHI STABLECOIN?
In his blog post, Ryoshi describes SHI as “a somewhat-stable coin that is always fixed at 1c”. Alternatively, he describes it as “the global exchange of value for the commons”.
According to Ryoshi, the ultimate goal is for SHI to become a “global stable currency that the commoners of all countries can use as a store of value and method of payment”.
Stable currencies are “pegged” to a more stable asset, often a fiat currency such as the US dollar. This allows them to make use of the benefits of the 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 volunteer project leader Shytoshi Kusama explained the need for this in a blog post. “This is especially important when dealing with companies that have invoices that are paid 30 days later, or when dealing with transactions that cannot be settled instantly (credit cards),” they said.
Linking this to Shiba’s broader roadmap and ecosystem, SHI will be the currency of choice for ShibaNet, Shiba’s marketplace.
To maintain their price stability, stable currencies often hold reserves or collateral. However, Ryoshi did not present a specific idea on how SHI will manage its stability, but touted several methods.
The first would see SHI locking reserves to “mint SHI which always pushes it back to 1c”.
Alternatively, Ryoshi also suggested a partially backed stablecoin (fractional reserve). This would rely on a “‘receiving coin’ to absorb fluctuations in value to help maintain the peg”.
“Which way is better or there is another way, I’m not sure,” Ryoshi said. “Whatever it is, it should be built with care not to rely on 3rd party oracles, they should be built to be fully contained, perpetual and autonomous.”
SHI STABLECOIN LAUNCH DATE
Ryoshi did not give a release date for SHI, but we do know that it is in the works. Posting on the Shiba Inu Discord server on 21 January, Shytoshi Kusama said:
Shi update I hope soon. There is a dedicated and very smart team working on it.
A day earlier, Shytoshi said they had completed a “private acquisition that strengthens our content and technology stack” that should help with SHI, along with Shibarium.