Shiba Inu chief developer Shytoshi Kusama responded to inquiries about the ambitious goal of burning 99% of the circulating SHIB token supply. Kusama initially engaged with the community by inviting questions for his podcast, saying, 'What topics or questions would you like to hear on my podcast? #shyspeaks.'
Burning 99% of Shiba Inu tokens 'can be achieved'
This participation calls for subsequent discussions regarding potential token destruction strategies. LSP Finance CFO Zhang Fang directly inquired about the feasibility and strategic planning behind such a large-scale burn: 'The timeline and roadmap for burning 99% of the Shib Token in circulation, please.'
In response to Zhang's inquiry, Kusama explained the challenges and considerations involved in burning 99% of the SHIB tokens. He acknowledged that such an effort was historically impossible, noting, 'Just a few years ago, burning 99% of Shib seemed impossible, but with many projects coming together to accomplish this daunting task, it is actually achievable.'
Kusama elaborated on the necessary conditions for this outcome, emphasizing that multiple projects, especially large ones, must adopt the Shib tech stack to facilitate burning. 'More and more projects or some large projects must adopt the Shib tech stack,' said the SHIB chief developer.
Kusama highlighted several significant obstacles to achieving the burning goal. He explained that if the burning process starts to accelerate, it could drive up the price of SHIB as investors expect a surge, making the burn more expensive and slowing the process. 'Assuming things start to spiral up to huge burns, considering the price will skyrocket, people will buy. In that case, burning Shib will become more expensive, thereby slowing down the burning rate,' Kusama said.
Moreover, he stressed that the strategic intent behind the burn is as important as the actual burning process itself, saying, 'What matters is not the burn, but the intent.'
Additionally, Kusama pointed out that token destruction is not the only path to SHIB's success. He clarified that developing the utility of meme coins is equally important, stating, 'Ultimately, burning is not the only way for Shib to win. If I say, oh, I estimate that it would take any time, it’s not short enough for the bastards. Therefore, we found other ways to provide meme coin utility and ensure we reach a point where people no longer want to burn the tokens through viral distribution.'
He emphasized the importance of increasing SHIB utility through mechanisms such as staking and developing new use cases for related tokens like BONE, LEASH, and Treat.
The proposed destruction of 99% of SHIB's total supply would create extreme scarcity. If demand remains stable or increases, the reduced supply could lead to a significant rise in the value of each remaining SHIB token. This shift has the potential to elevate SHIB from its current status as a low-cost meme token to a more valuable asset.
However, Kusama clarified that this destruction would be a gradual process driven by the potential adoption and integration of SHIB in various projects over several years, rather than an immediate reduction.
As of the time of writing, SHIB is attempting to break through the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement level of $0.00002823. This technical level is derived from the high of $0.00004567 observed on March 5 and the local low of $0.00001067 noted on August 5. In the short term, successfully breaking the 0.5 Fibonacci level could pave the way to reach the 0.618 Fibonacci target of $0.00003235.
