Both SHIB and Dogecoin are popular meme coins that have gained a lot of attention and value recently. SHIB (Shiba Inu) and Dogecoin are based on the Shiba Inu dog meme and have an extremely large circulating supply, with over 1 quadrillion SHIB tokens and over 132 billion DOGE coins. While they share similarities, there are also key differences between the two cryptocurrencies when it comes to their purpose, development activity, community support and growth potential. This article compares SHIB vs Dogecoin to help determine which meme coin is the better investment choice.
Purpose and Creation
Dogecoin was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a joke currency inspired by the popular Shiba Inu meme. It was not designed for any real-world use case but has gained a loyal following and become a popular tipping currency on the internet.
SHIB was created in 2020 by an anonymous founder named Ryoshi as an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin. According to the project’s “Woof Paper,” SHIB was developed with the intention of being an Ethereum-based decentralized meme community with implicit returns through growth. Unlike Dogecoin, SHIB has an ecosystem of tokens and products in development including an NFT art incubator and decentralized exchange called ShibaSwap.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin was created as a joke currency with no real purpose.
- SHIB was created with the goal of developing an ecosystem and community.
- SHIB has an affiliated decentralized exchange and NFT project in development while Dogecoin does not.
Supply and Distribution
One major difference between Dogecoin and SHIB is their total supply and circulation.
Dogecoin has a total supply of 132,670,764,299 DOGE as of October 2022. New Dogecoin are created through mining at a rate of 10,000 DOGE per block. Around 5 billion new DOGE enter circulation each year through mining.
SHIB has a total supply of 1 quadrillion tokens, with around 589 trillion SHIB currently in circulation. The remaining SHIB tokens were gifted to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and have mostly been burned or donated to charity. Unlike Dogecoin, the SHIB supply is capped and no new tokens are created.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin has an uncapped supply that increases yearly through mining.
- SHIB has a fixed 1 quadrillion token supply that does not increase.
- Over 400 trillion SHIB tokens have already been burned or removed from circulation
Current Valuation and Market Capitalization
Despite having a much larger total supply, SHIB currently has a higher valuation per token and overall market capitalization than Dogecoin.
| Cryptocurrency | Price per token | Market Capitalization |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.06 | $8 billion |
| SHIB | $0.000011 | $6.1 billion |
As of October 2022, DOGE is trading around $0.06 per coin with a market cap of $8 billion. SHIB is trading for $0.000011 and has a market cap of $6.1 billion. Despite having a fraction of DOGE’s price, SHIB’s massive circulating supply gives it a comparable market cap.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin has a higher valuation per token at $0.06 vs $0.000011 for SHIB.
- SHIB has a slightly lower total market capitalization than Dogecoin.
- SHIB has been gaining on Dogecoin’s market cap despite having a significantly lower price per token.
Utility and Adoption
When it comes to real-world utility and adoption, Dogecoin is significantly ahead of SHIB at the current stage.
Dogecoin is accepted as a payment method by companies like the Dallas Mavericks, Kronos Advanced Technologies, and AirBaltic airlines. There are over 1,300 businesses worldwide that accept DOGE for payments.
SHIB’s ecosystem and applications are still in development. The ShibaSwap DEX has limited adoption so far compared to top exchanges like Uniswap. Only around 50 merchants globally accept SHIB as payment currently.
However, SHIB has seen growing utility in 2022 as the Shibarium Layer 2 network moves closer to launch. SHIB has also been adopted by merchant payment processor NOWPayments. Adoption is still early but SHIB’s development team is focused on improving real-world utility.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin is accepted by over 1,300 merchants and has far greater adoption currently.
- SHIB’s ecosystem is still early-stage but products like Shibarium could boost adoption if launched successfully.
- SHIB adoption is growing and has potential to catch up to Dogecoin with further development.
Development Activity
Given that Dogecoin was created as a joke, it has relatively little ongoing development activity compared to most cryptocurrency projects. Dogecoin relies on the work of volunteer coders and there is no official roadmap for updates.
SHIB has a pseudonymous core team actively building out products and features for its ecosystem. Planned offerings like the Shibarium Layer 2 network, Shi metaverse game, and Shibanet decentralized internet platform are all in progress. The developers also organize AMA sessions and provide updates on the official Discord channel.
SHIB appears to have significantly more resources and structure around development efforts compared to Dogecoin currently. However, it’s worth noting that neither project has released their core codebases publicly.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin has little organized development activity.
- SHIB has an active core team building new ecosystem products but plans are still early-stage.
- SHIB’s roadmap provides more transparency around future growth plans.
Community Support
As meme-themed cryptocurrencies, both Dogecoin and SHIB have built massive online communities of loyal supporters.
Dogecoin has one of the largest and most active communities in the cryptocurrency space on platforms like Reddit and Twitter. The r/dogecoin subreddit has over 2.3 million members. Dogecoin supporters coordinated high-profile community fundraising events like sponsoring the Jamaican bobsled team.
The self-described SHIB Army has also grown rapidly across social platforms. The r/SHIBArmy subreddit has over 464,000 members. SHIB investors organized community burns and advocacy campaigns that helped drive awareness.
Both communities exhibit strong camaraderie and commitment to their respective projects. However, SHIB’s community has grown more quickly in the past year across key platforms like Reddit and Twitter.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin has one of the oldest and most established meme coin communities.
- SHIB’s community growth has outpaced Dogecoin and driven promotion.
- Both projects rely on grassroots community support over official marketing efforts.
Growth Potential
For investors focused on short and long-term growth, SHIB appears to have greater upside potential than Dogecoin at this point.
Dogecoin saw meteoric growth in 2021 as it rode the meme coin hype to a peak of $0.74 in May 2021. However, it has declined significantly from that peak and traded sideways for most of 2022, indicating slowing momentum.
Meanwhile, SHIB posted even more staggering 2021 gains, surging from $0.0000000001 in January 2021 to an all-time high of $0.000088 in October 2021. That represents a massive 888,363,580% return in less than one year. SHIB has also consolidated but maintained momentum better than DOGE in 2022.
Given its rapidly growing community, aggressive token burns, and emerging ecosystem products, SHIB has demonstrated greater growth potential in the short term. However, both coins remain highly speculative.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin growth has stagnated after peaking in early 2021.
- SHIB gained over 888 million percent in 2021 showing massive growth potential.
- SHIB may have more upside in the near term with new products launching.
Investor Interest
There are a few key signals that indicate stronger investor interest in SHIB compared to Dogecoin currently:
– **Social media buzz** – On platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Google search, SHIB is seeing significantly more discussion and rising interest over the past 6-12 months while Dogecoin conversations have declined.
– **Exchange listings** – SHIB achieved key milestone listings on top platforms like Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, and FTX in 2021. Dogecoin has been listed longer but SHIB listings open it up to new investors.
– **Market capitalization** – As noted earlier, SHIB’s market cap has gained ground on Dogecoin’s and the gap is narrowing as more investors acquire SHIB tokens.
– **Celebrity involvement** – High-profile figures like billionaire Mark Cuban and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have shown support or involvement with SHIB in 2021. Dogecoin has not seen the same level of celebrity engagement recently.
Key Differences
- SHIB momentum and hype eclipsed Dogecoin substantially in 2021.
- Higher social volume, exchange listings, and market cap growth indicate stronger investor interest in SHIB currently.
- Mainstream celebrity support has further bolstered interest in SHIB.
Price History
Looking at the price history of Dogecoin vs SHIB since their creation shows significantly larger growth for SHIB in a much shorter timeframe.
Dogecoin Price History
- Launched in 2013 at a fraction of a penny.
- Traded for under $0.01 until 2021, peaking at $0.74 in May 2021.
- Fell back under $0.01 by July 2021 and has traded sideways since, fluctuating between $0.05-$0.15 for most of 2022.
SHIB Price History
- Launched in August 2020 with a price of $0.0000000001.
- Price remained flat until a surge in April 2021 to $0.000001.
- Peak of $0.000088 in October 2021, a 888 million percent overall gain from launch.
- Declined to $0.000007 in 2022 but maintained value better than Dogecoin.
SHIB’s hypergrowth in its first 12-18 months significantly outpaced Dogecoin’s 8-year price history. However, longevity could favor Dogecoin in the long-term.
Key Differences
- Dogecoin has a longer price history as one of the oldest meme coins.
- SHIB posted far larger gains in a much shorter timeframe, surging over 888 million percent in its first year.
- SHIB’s frenzied early growth indicates greater potential upside.
Volatility and Risk Profile
Both SHIB and Dogecoin are highly volatile compared to major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. As purely speculative assets, they carry exceptionally high risk.
That said, Dogecoin’s longer history and Brooklyn Nets sponsorship by Mark Cuban lend it slightly more legitimacy. The DOGE community has also proven resilient through bear markets, giving it a lower risk profile compared to newer meme coins.
SHIB carries a higher risk profile as a newly created token still building out its ecosystem. Speculative frenzy drove its rapid 2021 surge and pullback. Critics have also identified technical vulnerabilities in the ShibaSwap DEX code.
Until SHIB establishes itself over a full bear market cycle, Dogecoin likely remains the less risky meme coin bet for conservative investors. However, risk-tolerant traders may favor SHIB for its explosive upside potential.
Key Differences
- Both coins are extremely high risk speculative investments.
- Dogecoin’s longevity and its survival of past bear markets reduce its risk profile slightly.
- SHIB has greater technical and volatility risks as a newer asset.
Conclusion
When comparing SHIB vs Dogecoin, there are arguments for both meme coins:
– **The case for DOGE** – Established history and community, greater adoption for payments currently, celebrity involvement, and lower volatility risk.
– **The case for SHIB** – More active development, larger community growth, greater short-term growth potential, more upside from current prices.
While Dogecoin pioneered the meme coin concept, SHIB has built considerable momentum that gives it the edge for now. However, given the extreme volatility in this space, neither SHIB nor Dogecoin are proven long-term investments currently. Both should be viewed as speculative assets with a high risk of losses.
Investors who believe in the meme coin theme are likely better off choosing SHIB in the near term based on community excitement, development activity, and growth potential in 2022. Dogecoin remains a stalwart meme coin but has significant work to do to refresh interest and reclaim its former position as the top dog (or doge) in this niche market segment.