Shiba Inu (SHIB) Explained: Supply, Vitalik's Burn and the 2021 Peak
Shiba Inu (SHIB) launched on August 1, 2020 with 1 quadrillion tokens minted by an anonymous creator called Ryoshi. About half the supply went to Vitalik Buterin, who burned most of it in May 2021, and the coin peaked at $0.00008845 on October 28, 2021.
Shiba Inu is a useful study for memecoins on smart-contract chains: it showed that a token with no network of its own could reach a top-20 valuation on community alone. It is also a lesson in why a tiny price per coin tells you nothing.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launched | August 1, 2020, 1 quadrillion SHIB minted |
| Creator | "Ryoshi", an anonymous person or group |
| Type | Token on Ethereum (not its own chain) |
| Positioning | A self-described "Dogecoin killer" |
| Peak | $0.00008845 on October 28, 2021, market cap around $51.4 billion |
The Vitalik transfer and burn
Shortly after minting, about half of the supply was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in three transactions, as part of the launch design. On May 12, 2021 he donated 50 trillion SHIB to an India COVID relief fund, and on May 16, 2021 he burned more than 400 trillion SHIB, roughly 40% of the total supply, according to CoinMarketCap's timeline. The circulating supply fell to about 549 trillion, about half the original, at the time of that article.
A burn sends coins to an address nobody controls, so they are out of circulation for good. It reduces supply, but it does not by itself raise demand. See lock vs burn for how the idea applies to liquidity.
Why the price looks so tiny
With 1 quadrillion tokens, each coin is worth a fraction of a cent even when the whole project is worth tens of billions. That is why the price per coin is not useful for comparison; the market cap is. A "cheap" coin priced at 0.00001 does not have more room to grow than one priced at 5. See how to read screener metrics.
The 2021 run and the exchange question
- September 16, 2021: Coinbase listed SHIB.
- October 28, 2021: All-time high.
- November 10, 2021: Robinhood declined to list SHIB, citing a "safety-first" approach, despite a petition reported at 523,000 signatures.
This sequence is a pattern: listings on large venues bring a wave of new buyers, and the peak followed within about six weeks of the biggest listing news.
The ecosystem tokens
Shiba Inu built extra tokens around the main coin. LEASH was designed as a rebase token tied to Dogecoin's price and later repositioned as a value store with a very small supply. BONE is the governance token of the project's exchange, ShibaSwap, with about 250 million in circulation at the time of that source. Extra tokens widen the project, but they also add more things to understand and more places for risk. Always check each token's contract and liquidity separately.
What to take from it
- Anonymous creators can build real communities. They also cannot be held accountable. See dev wallet tracking.
- Concentrated supply is a risk. A single wallet that held half the supply could have sold. The fact it did not is the exception. See holder concentration.
- Peaks arrive quickly after big news. Listings and viral posts are often followed by a fall.
- Big does not mean safe. Even large memecoins fell sharply from their highs.
Shiba Inu today
CoinCentral's September 16, 2026 data lists Shiba Inu second among memecoins by market cap at $2.95 billion, against $12.59 billion for Dogecoin. See the biggest memecoins by market cap. SHIB's ranking comes from more than five years of history, a trait no new coin on any launchpad can copy.
Sources
- CoinMarketCap Academy: Shiba Inu timeline and price history
- Wikipedia: Shiba Inu (cryptocurrency)
- CoinCentral: Memecoin statistics 2026
Numbers and dates were checked on November 11, 2026 and can change. Nothing here is financial advice.
FAQ
When was Shiba Inu launched?
August 1, 2020, when 1 quadrillion SHIB tokens were minted by an anonymous creator called Ryoshi.
What did Vitalik Buterin do with his SHIB?
He donated 50 trillion SHIB to an India COVID relief fund on May 12, 2021 and burned more than 400 trillion on May 16, 2021.
What was SHIB's all-time high?
$0.00008845 on October 28, 2021, with a market cap of around $51.4 billion according to CoinMarketCap.
Why is SHIB's price so small?
Because the supply is huge. The price per coin is not a measure of value; market cap is.
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