Down 70%, will this popular crypto return before 2023?

Shiba Inu (SHIB 4.98%) impressed investors last year with a gain of 45,000,000% during 2021. But this year, the popular meme token has not taken the same path. Shiba Inu fell 70% in the first half. Reason? There are many.

Concerns about the economy have weighed on more risky assets – and this includes the cryptocurrency market. Investors were also concerned about Shiba Inu’s ability to stand out from other rivals – and justify big gains.

Now, with six months left of the year, can Shiba Inu return? Let’s find out.

The power of the Shib army

Let’s first look at why Shiba Inu increased last year. Much of the credit should be given to the Shib army. It’s the token group’s loyal fans. They have invested in this young crypto player and supported it on social media. As the token increased in value, others jumped in. Fear of missing out drove this movement. Since the crypto has always traded at a fraction of a cent, investors could easily afford to try it.

Shiba Inu’s winnings did not come from any competitive advantage. It’s a token based on Ethereum blockchain. And it is used mainly for payments and efforts.

So what can help Shiba Inu recover from this year’s loss? A lot is happening in the Shiba Inu world right now. Developers are working with Shibarium. This is a layer 2 solution that will help solve the big problem of operating on Ethereum – slow transaction speeds and high fees. All Shiba Inu tokens will move to Shibarium once the platform is launched. It is expected to happen this year.

Shiba Inu also goes into the meta-verse. It will eventually offer more than 100,000 plots of land with virtual land for sale. The first land offer included around 36,000 plots. And so far, 53% of these have sold, according to Planet Crypto.

The latest news is that developers are working on a stack coin called Treat. It will be used as a reward token in the meta verse and will be linked to Shiba Inu trading card games. It is also under development right now.

A reason for a rebound

All these projects are either about to be launched or come on the market this year. And together they provide a great reason for Shiba Inu to rebound and even get. But I do not think it will happen, at least not to any great extent.

Here’s why. Of course, these projects are good news. They want to make Shiba Inu better and more useful tomorrow than it is today. But they still do not solve one big problem: Shiba Inu still does not offer anything unique. Rivals such as Sandboxes is already far ahead when it comes to metaverse. In terms of speed and transaction fees, Ethereum is working on an update to address these issues.

Many cryptocurrencies offer betting opportunities and can be used for payment. With thousands of cryptocurrencies in place for a player to rise to the top and stay there, it will have to offer some sort of significant advantage. And from what I can see so far, Shiba Inu does not.

So the latest developments can help Shiba Inu regain some momentum. But I do not think they will be enough to lead to a big upswing by next year – or lasting gains.