When most people begin investing, their portfolios consist solely of the basics -- stocks, bonds, and cash. Cautious newcomers might even sidestep individual stock picking in favor of passive vehicles like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds.
Over time, as investors gain confidence and learn more sophisticated strategies, they might branch out into alternative assets such as real estate, commodities, or collectibles. In recent years, however, a new contender has entered the alternative asset conversation: cryptocurrency. Both prominent stock market personalities and institutional funds have embraced the idea of digital assets as a slice of diversified portfolio allocation.
While heavyweights such as Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate the spotlight, a wave of highly speculative tokens have captured the attention of retail investors.
Among them is Shiba Inu (SHIB 0.43%), a meme coin with a dedicated fanbase online, a beloved dog mascot, and playful endorsements from high-profile figures such as Elon Musk.
Let's explore the dynamics of the token, and assess if buying Shiba Inu at its launch five years ago has paid off.
What is Shiba Inu coin?
At its core, Shiba Inu is an altcoin created in homage to another internet favorite, Dogecoin. Launched in 2020 by a team of anonymous developers collectively known under the pseudonym Ryoshi, Shiba Inu's original purpose leaned more toward capitalizing on culture-driven trends and meme-fueled hype rather than serving as a prudent investment vehicle.
Where it differs from Dogecoin, however, is in its technical foundation and subsequent product ecosystem. Unlike Dogecoin, Shiba Inu runs on the Ethereum blockchain network as an ERC-20 token. This is an important differentiator, as the Ethereum architecture provides Shiba Inu with access to a broad suite of sophisticated utilities beyond simple decentralized payments.
One of its major offerings is ShibaSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) where users can trade the SHIB token, stake their positions to earn rewards, and even engage with metaverse-adjacent projects -- including initiatives featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Image source: Getty Images.
Is Shiba Inu a good investment?
In theory, Shiba Inu's expansion into numerous applications across decentralized finance (DeFi) should help position the token beyond the speculative nature of meme culture. Let's take a look at Shiba Inu's price action since it launched to get a sense if these investments have helped the token transcend its affiliation with meme culture.
Since its debut about five years ago, the price of Shiba Inu token has fluctuated dramatically, with volatility levels outpacing the turbulent norms of the cryptocurrency market. Unlike mainstream opportunities like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or XRP, the price of Shiba Inu has never traded for more than mere fractions of a penny.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Shiba Inu's price when it launched hovered around $0.00001008. In 2021, the token rose by more than 770% to a whopping $0.000088 following its listing on Coinbase.
As of this writing on Aug. 14, Shiba Inu trades for $0.000013, representing a 29% gain from its launch price. That means a $1,000 investment at Shiba Inu's debut would be worth about $1,290 today.
While this is respectable, it vastly underperforms the gains seen across the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.29%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.40%) over the same time frame.
