Shiba Inu’s (SHIB-USD) official Twitter account tweeted on April 7 that it would begin selling initial plots of land for its version of the Metaverse. Ultimately, Shiba Inu will sell 100,595 plots of virtual land. Unfortunately, while this sounds exciting, the truth is far less glamorous.
With Shiba Inu down almost 12% over the past week and hemorrhaging badly in recent weeks, now is not the time to deliver a dud. However, that’s precisely what it’s done. As best as I can determine, the bid event has not gotten underway as I write this on April 11.
Perhaps it will open soon. It needs to do something. Shiba Inu’s market capitalization has fallen to $12.6 billion, putting it in the 15th spot behind TerraUSD (UST-USD). No longer is it a Doge killer.
To buy the plots of land, purchasers pay with Ethereum (ETH-USD) coins. While the initial bid event is said to make available 32,124 plots for sale, first dibs go to those holding Shiba Inu non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or holders of Doge Killer (LEASH-USD). Minimum bid prices for the plots of land vary from 0.2 ETH to 1 ETH. That’s approximately $645 to $3,225.
The argument for buying a plot of land, according to the SHIB.io website, is that SHIB landowners will “generate passive income, gather in-game resources, and generate rewards” from their landholdings.
Considering the metaverse is still a new concept, it’s hard to understand why someone would want to own virtual land from a second-rate cryptocurrency trying to milk this trend.
Whether you own SHIB or are merely interested in the metaverse, it makes no sense to rush into a bidding war for virtual land. That’s especially true when it appears Shiba Inu has laid an egg when it comes to these land sales.
Until the bidding is underway and you can get a feel for the prices paid for the virtual land, I’d hold off making any bids. As for Shiba Inu, it’s fallen to 15th place by market cap because it’s become evident it possesses very little utility.
The metaverse was an opportunity for Shiba Inu to shine. So far, that’s been an abject failure.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth 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.
