Shiba Inu (CCC:SHIB-USD) was among the head turners in the crypto space last year. Despite struggling in the past few months, Shiba Inu is up over 47,000,000%. Though it struggled with consumer adoption early on, it seems to be building utility for a more stable growth runway ahead. However, its smattering use-cases won’t have much of an impact when SHIB-USD rebounds.
Shiba Inu quickly became a popular meme token in October last year. If you had invested some chump change in Shiba Inu last year, you’d have a fortune on your hands. However, similar to the rest of the crypto market, the coin has struggled to get going.
Speculation will continue to drive the price of SHIB-USD for the foreseeable future. Its fluctuating price makes it tough for businesses to adopt it, despite the efforts of its developers. However, it would be better to place your bets on assets that boast strong fundamentals with such troubling times in the crypto space.
Is There Enough Utility?
Gone are the days when Shiba Inu was purely a speculative fad. Recent developments have shown that its developers are becoming more serious about a stable pathway for crypto. Last month, the Flexa payment network added Shiba Inu as a payment option for its merchants. Some of the biggest companies in the world use the payment network, which appears to be a major step forward for the crypto.
Moreover, back in July, the ShibaSwap exchange launched. The exchange boosts the liquidity of SHIB-USD and allows its users to earn a recurring income by staking their tokens. It also compels investors to hold on to the crypto for a considerably longer period.
Furthermore, companies such as Ask The Doctor, and AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), have also jumped on the Shiba Inu bandwagon. However, it’s tough for crypto to gain much acceptance as a payment option, given its massive volatility. Merchants are looking for predictability, which is impossible with such an asset. Additionally, Shiba Inu’s founder Ryoshi recently discussed developing a metaverse with SHIB-USD being a major facilitator.
Though Shiba-Inu has a few more use-cases than before, it’s tough to see how they could stabilize the currency. With the price movement we see in the crypto sector, it’s tough to feel giddy about such an asset.
Holding Up in the Bear Market
Bitcoin’s (CCC:BTC-USD) bear run has debilitated the crypto space, with billions of dollars being wiped away from the market in recent weeks. The industry stalwart has shed more than 30% of its value in the past couple of months. With the market reeling, meme coins such as Shiba Inu are tanking, beckoning the question about their ability to withstand the bear market.
To be fair, even the most fundamentally sound cryptos have been taking a hammering over the past few months. However, you wouldn’t want to bet on cryptos like Shiba Inu when the chips are down. These speculative cryptocurrencies can lose a lot of value in virtually no time. Though Shiba Inu has been building a lot of utility lately, it’s still not enough to move the needle in a meaningful way. Moreover, when you add the pressures of the bear market, a few use-cases here or there won’t make much of a difference.
Bottomline on Shiba Inu
Shiba Inu had a rollicking 2021 that saw its value rise by unfathomable levels. However, a lot of these gains have been lost in recent months as the crypto market moves into bearish territory. In such challenging times, it’s tough for investors to bet on speculative coins such as SHIB-USD.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines
Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
