Introduction
Meme coins are a popular aspect of the cryptocurrency space. Speculators can purchase them — usually at smaller per-token prices — with the hope for price upside potential, and enthusiasts use them to connect with a broad community of like-minded people. Aside from lower price points, meme coins may also seem more accessible to novices than more complex projects like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), thanks to social media marketing and meme culture.
Dogecoin (DOGE) was the first meme coin, quickly establishing memes as a viable basis for a crypto token. Many projects tried to copy DOGE’s success, and Shiba Inu (SHIB) stands out as a notable token with proven success. There are significant differences between them, however. Dogecoin is the native token of its own blockchain, while Shiba Inu is an ERC-20 token in Ethereum’s ecosystem. DOGE and SHIB also differ in their consensus mechanisms. Below is a closer look at each of their histories, tokenomics, and communities behind them.
Key Differences Between DOGE and SHIB
Dogecoin Overview
Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin in December 2013 by forking Litecoin (LTC). The project was initially intended as a joke capitalising on the popular Doge internet meme, but its creators opined that a fun cryptocurrency with appeal beyond the core Bitcoin audience could help expand the decentralised finance (DeFi) movement. Some initially bought and used DOGE to tip content creators on social media platforms like X and Reddit.
Dogecoin became more popular than anyone expected, serving as a gateway to blockchain technology for the uninitiated. A passionate community formed around the token by laying out some simple goals: being kind, teaching others about crypto, having fun, making memes, and being absurd. This ethos is unofficially called ‘Do Only Good Everyday’ and represents a large part of Dogecoin’s appeal.
DOGE’s unexpected popularity created an issue where Dogecoin’s network lacked the hash power to secure itself. Litecoin founder Charlie Lee proposed ‘merged mining’ DOGE with LTC, allowing both altcoins to share computing resources without compromising network performance. The idea was heavily debated in the Dogecoin community and ultimately accepted. Merged mining commenced on 6 August 2014.
Check out DOGE’s current value and recent price trends.
Shiba Inu Overview
Shiba Inu was created in August 2020 as an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin by an anonymous person or group using the pseudonym ‘Ryoshi’. While DOGE lacks utility, SHIB is compatible with Ethereum’s ecosystem, including ETH wallets and decentralised applications (dapps), as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised lending products. SHIB is intentionally abundant — with a total supply of one quadrillion.
Despite its uses on Ethereum’s blockchain, SHIB is still a meme coin, and its community is its primary value driver. Most core functions have dog-inspired names like ‘woof paper’ instead of white paper and calling staking ‘burying’. SHIB also fuels play-to-earn (P2E) games like the digital card game Shiba Eternity and a line of 10,000 NFTs called Shiboshis. Additionally, The Shib, an online newsletter, covers the latest happenings.
Shiba Inu’s network evolves to meet the community’s ever-growing needs. Shibarium is a Layer-2 (L2) blockchain created to expedite SHIB transactions, and additional tokens were created for specific use cases. BONE is the Doggy decentralised autonomous organisation (Doggy DAO)’s governance token, with a capped supply of 250 million. LEASH provides early access to upcoming projects like games and ‘Shib: the Metaverse’.
Check out SHIB’s current value and recent price trends.
Ecosystem Comparison: DOGE and SHIB
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu’s Consensus Mechanisms
Dogecoin uses a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, where miners compete to solve mathematical puzzles for the right to add a block to the blockchain. Trial and error is the only way to find the solution, so mining requires powerful computers. Winners receive a set block reward of 10,000 freshly minted DOGE, plus the transaction fees associated with the block.
A new block is added about once every minute, making DOGE an inflationary token. Dogecoin uses Litecoin’s Scrypt hashing algorithm instead of Bitcoin’s SHA-256, allowing miners to collect additional revenue streams from merged mining.
PoW is a secure consensus mechanism, but it receives criticism for being slow and environmentally unfriendly. Ethereum shifted from PoW to Proof of Stake (PoS) in a 2022 event called The Merge, bringing altcoins like SHIB along. Validator nodes, or stake pools, are selected by an algorithm to win a block of transactions and claim a corresponding reward.
Average SHIB holders, called delegators, stake tokens with nodes to increase their chances of selection. In return, delegators receive a share of any earned staking rewards, which are sourced from transaction fees and new token issuance, making SHIB inflationary. This system is more scalable and energy efficient than PoW protocols like Dogecoin, but faces centralisation criticism since validators with more stake earn more rewards.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Scalability
Since it uses a PoW protocol, the Dogecoin network processes about 33 transactions per second (tps). Shiba Inu can process up to 200 tps, with future upgrades expected to increase throughput further, making it more scalable than Dogecoin. While much faster than DOGE, SHIB transactions are slower than other performance-focused altcoins like Solana (SOL) and large payment processors like Visa.
Tokenomics Comparison
DOGE Use Cases
DOGE is the native cryptocurrency of its blockchain, used to pay for gas fees and compensate miners for securing the network. It is a digital value store that holders can exchange for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies. Trustworthy exchanges like Crypto.com are amongst the best ways to swap DOGE.
Acceptance as a Payment Method
Merchants that accept meme coin payments likely accept DOGE. Some big names taking DOGE include Microsoft, AMC Theatres, AirBaltic, Newegg, and Sheetz convenience stores. Notably, some vendors only accept DOGE for specific transactions. For example, Tesla supports DOGE payments but doesn’t allow customers to buy electric vehicles using cryptocurrency. DOGE can purchase gift cards for popular retailers through a multitude of services.
SHIB Use Cases
SHIB is supported throughout the Ethereum network, and holders can purchase NFTs and access an ever-growing number of dapps. However, Ethereum developers don’t always support SHIB payments. Shiba Inu’s proprietary L2 blockchain, Shibarium, uses BONE instead of SHIB for staking, so SHIB isn’t the native token of any blockchain. It is a value store exchanged on trustworthy platforms like Crypto.com.
Acceptance as a Payment Method
SHIB’s ERC-20 status boosts acceptance, as any vendor accepting ETH can easily add SHIB to their payment options. Some major retailers include Whole Foods, Ulta, SlingTV, Petco, and Office Depot. SHIB is also accepted by multiple gift card services.
Key Pricing Moments
Meme coins are amongst the most volatile crypto assets, and DOGE and SHIB have seen dramatic price swings. Below is a quick timeline for each token.
Dogecoin — Key Price Events
| December 2013 | DOGE launches with a price of US$0.000513. |
|---|---|
| 19 December 2013 | DOGE gains 300% after China announces Bitcoin trading ban. The gain proves short-lived, as China announces the prohibition applies to all cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin. |
| 20 January 2014 | DOGE experiences a 50% increase in the Dogecoin-Bitcoin exchange rate after the asset helped to fund the Jamaican bobsled team’s trip to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The event cements DOGE’s ethos of doing good. |
| 8 May 2021 | DOGE sets a new all-time high (ATH) of $0.70 after billionaire Elon Musk supports the token on social media. Musk has continued to influence DOGE’s price afterwards. |
| 9 November 2024 | DOGE exceeds $0.21 after Donald Trump wins the 2024 United States Presidential Election, with the planned establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Many expect Trump to pursue pro-crypto policies, with long-time DOGE advocate Musk active in his administration. |
| December 2013 | 19 December 2013 |
|---|---|
| DOGE launches with a price of US$0.000513. | DOGE gains 300% after China announces Bitcoin trading ban. The gain proves short-lived, as China announces the prohibition applies to all cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin. |
| December 2013 | 20 January 2014 |
| DOGE launches with a price of US$0.000513. | DOGE experiences a 50% increase in the Dogecoin-Bitcoin exchange rate after the asset helped to fund the Jamaican bobsled team’s trip to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The event cements DOGE’s ethos of doing good. |
| December 2013 | 8 May 2021 |
| DOGE launches with a price of US$0.000513. | DOGE sets a new all-time high (ATH) of $0.70 after billionaire Elon Musk supports the token on social media. Musk has continued to influence DOGE’s price afterwards. |
| December 2013 | 9 November 2024 |
| DOGE launches with a price of US$0.000513. | DOGE exceeds $0.21 after Donald Trump wins the 2024 United States Presidential Election, with the planned establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Many expect Trump to pursue pro-crypto policies, with long-time DOGE advocate Musk active in his administration. |
Shiba Inu — Key Price Events
| August 2020 | SHIB launches with a price of $0.000000000056. The developers gifted 50% of the initial supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. |
|---|---|
| 12 May 2021 | Buterin donates $1.14 billion worth of SHIB to COVID-19 relief efforts in India and burns most of his remaining SHIB, leading to a 38% price decline. SHIB’s price recovers shortly afterwards. |
| 6 October 2021 | SHIB gains 240% in one week after Musk tweets a photo of his pet Shiba Inu. The bullish market drives SHIB to its ATH of $0.00008616 on 28 October. |
| November 2021 | SHIB holders eclipse one million, indicating broad community support. Despite this, SHIB’s value falls 50% in a crypto bear market. |
| 31 October 2024 | SHIB settles into a consistent price range after failing to draw new users into its community. |
| August 2020 | 12 May 2021 |
|---|---|
| SHIB launches with a price of $0.000000000056. The developers gifted 50% of the initial supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. | Buterin donates $1.14 billion worth of SHIB to COVID-19 relief efforts in India and burns most of his remaining SHIB, leading to a 38% price decline. SHIB’s price recovers shortly afterwards. |
| August 2020 | 6 October 2021 |
| SHIB launches with a price of $0.000000000056. The developers gifted 50% of the initial supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. | SHIB gains 240% in one week after Musk tweets a photo of his pet Shiba Inu. The bullish market drives SHIB to its ATH of $0.00008616 on 28 October. |
| August 2020 | November 2021 |
| SHIB launches with a price of $0.000000000056. The developers gifted 50% of the initial supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. | SHIB holders eclipse one million, indicating broad community support. Despite this, SHIB’s value falls 50% in a crypto bear market. |
| August 2020 | 31 October 2024 |
| SHIB launches with a price of $0.000000000056. The developers gifted 50% of the initial supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. | SHIB settles into a consistent price range after failing to draw new users into its community. |
Performance and Market Metrics
DOGE ranks seventh by market capitalisation at $53.44 billion as of this writing. It originally had a supply cap of 100 billion, but removed it to discourage hoarding, now issuing five billion tokens annually, which leads to an unlimited supply. DOGE currently has approximately 147 billion tokens in circulation, so it may lack the price upside potential of cryptocurrencies with lower floats. DOGE also lacks utility, though a strong community drives enough demand for a price of $0.36 (at the time of writing).
SHIB ranks 18th by market cap at $11.92 billion as of this writing. It has no maximum supply and a float of 589,255 billion tokens. SHIB is currently trading at $0.00002, but boasts a strong community dedicated to building an ecosystem around the token, generating demand and value.
Developments and Roadmap: DOGE and SHIB
Dogecoin’s Roadmap
Dogecoin is governed by a decentralised community, so no central authority dictates its future. Dogecoin’s ‘trailmap’ details incremental upgrades, such as a site makeover for Dogecoin.com, efforts to broaden the community, and clear developer documentation called Dogecoin Standard. The biggest potential upgrade would be switching to a PoS consensus mechanism. Buterin joined The Dogecoin Foundation as a board advisor on 19 August 2024, and suggested using Ethereum code to expedite the transition. Still, there is no established timetable or confirmation a switch to PoS will take place as of this writing.
Dogecoin’s Community
All cryptocurrencies are sensitive to price fluctuations based on public sentiment, and meme coins are particularly reliant on their communities to drive value. Therefore, tracking social media engagement can provide invaluable insight. DOGE has over four million X followers and 2.5 million Reddit followers as of this writing, giving it one of the largest and most engaged communities in crypto.
Shiba Inu’s Roadmap
The Doggy DAO community governs the promotion and development of Shiba Inu. SHIB’s roadmap includes upgrades to multiple services, including P2E games, Shib: the Metaverse, the Shibaswap exchange, and a Layer-3 ‘testnet’. Furthermore, Shib Hub will bring the entire ‘Shibaverse’ under one roof. Shiba Inu also plans to introduce a new token to its ecosystem, called TREAT, to “unlock advanced functionality,” though no specifics are available as of this writing.
Shiba Inu’s Community
SHIB has over 3.9 million X followers and over 546,000 Reddit followers as of this writing, indicating a solid user base that may not be as engaged as Dogecoin’s. SHIB’s ambitious roadmap may drive future engagement.
Conclusion: Dogecoin vs Shiba Inu
SHIB was created as a direct competitor to Dogecoin, so it’s somewhat surprising how different they are. Dogecoin has its own blockchain, while SHIB is an ERC-20 token. DOGE is linked to Litecoin through merged mining, while SHIB shifted to a PoS consensus mechanism with Ethereum, which also means it’s not the central token in its ecosystem like DOGE.
The historical price movements of Shiba Inu and Dogecoin exhibit similar trends, with notable surges largely driven by social media influencers, memes, and various unpredictable factors. Merchants might prefer SHIB for its relatively steady price, while speculators may opt for DOGE’s higher price upside potential or SHIB’s accessibility. Neither token offers much for developers since DOGE doesn’t support smart contracts and SHIB lacks a dedicated blockchain.
Always consider a token’s tokenomics, price history, development team, and roadmap before considering a purchase.
Due Diligence and Do Your Own Research
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