Shiba Inu (SHIB), the second largest meme coin, is trying to advance with new developments. Lucie, the marketing lead for Shiba Inu, recently revealed plans for a new layer-3 blockchain and several new tokens, signaling a pivot towards a more substantive ecosystem.
Despite various development efforts, SHIB has underperformed compared to various other meme coins.
Lucie emphasized the expansion and also talked about two upcoming tokens.
“From SHIB, LEASH, BONE, SHEB, Shiboshis, ShibtheMV, and coming soon: TREAT and SHI, to innovative decentralized applications, our ecosystem offers endless possibilities. One of the most interesting things coming is our very own L3,” Lucie said.
This initiative comes on the heels of Shiba Inu reportedly securing a $12 million investment in April, specifically for this new layer-3 platform. The fundraising rounds escalated to valuations reaching $200 million, according to several reports.
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According to Lucie, the forthcoming layer-3 blockchain, built atop the existing Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Shibarium, is set to integrate Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). This encryption will allow developers to process data securely without the need for decryption through a collaboration with the open-source cryptography firm Zama.
These developments come as Shiba Inu is trying to bring in real-world utility. In December 2023, Shytoshi Kusama, a Shiba Inu developer, shared a vision for moving beyond memes.
However, this rapid expansion has been met with criticism from some community members. Concerns have been raised about the pace and scope of development.
“This is our biggest problem: jumping to something else before finishing one thing. What is L3 before finishing L2? Finish the job at hand first,” a community member said.
Lucie’s announcements arrive at a crucial time when Shiba Inu is still around 80% down from its all-time highs.
Year-to-date, Shiba Inu is up by 65%. However, new meme coins like Pepe (PEPE), Dogwifhat (WIF), and Bonk (BONK) continue to outperform SHIB.
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Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Performance. Source: TradingViewThe community sentiment is a mixture of anticipation for new developments and frustration over existing strategies.
“This is why I went to Bonk coin. [Shiba Inu] got 30 coins when it could just work on SHIB. [The developer] won’t burn tokens and there is no increase in the auto burn,” another frustrated community member said.