The Shiba Inu (SHIB) community is buzzing with speculation about the possibility of the token reaching a value of $0.01, a target that many have long dreamed of. A recent suggestion from a prominent community figure has reignited the discussion, proposing a potential pathway to this ambitious goal—Shiba Inu becoming a gas token on the Ethereum network. While the idea has generated excitement among some, others remain skeptical, given the challenges and technical hurdles involved.

Shiba Inu as an Ethereum Gas Token: A Dual-Token Proposal

The core of the proposal centers around Shiba Inu being integrated into Ethereum’s ecosystem as a gas token, alongside Ethereum’s native token, ETH. The idea was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by community member “Lola,” who argued that Shiba Inu could benefit from a model similar to Solana’s transaction system, where a portion of every transaction fee is burned, reducing the overall supply of the token over time.

By adopting a similar mechanism, where every transaction on Ethereum contributes to SHIB’s burn, the proposition is that such a high volume of transactions could create upward price pressure due to the reduction in circulating supply. As a result, this automatic burn mechanism could gradually drive Shiba Inu toward a price of $0.01.

The Challenges of Integrating SHIB into Ethereum’s Gas System

However, the idea of integrating Shiba Inu as a gas token on Ethereum faces significant technical and regulatory challenges. Ethereum’s infrastructure is already tightly intertwined with its native token, ETH, which has been the sole gas token for transactions since the network’s inception. This built-in reliance on ETH for transaction fees, particularly after the Ethereum upgrade to Proof of Stake (PoS), means that altering the fundamental architecture of the Ethereum network to accommodate SHIB would require extensive changes.

Shiba Inu marketing specialist Lucie recently addressed these challenges, noting that Ethereum’s design and the Proof of Stake system are structured around ETH, and altering this to support an additional gas token like SHIB would introduce several complications. These could include the need to overhaul existing software, protocols, and even introduce security measures to protect the Ethereum ecosystem from any vulnerabilities this change might cause. Such a significant shift could take considerable time and resources, and it might face resistance from the broader Ethereum community, which is deeply invested in the role of ETH as the network’s primary utility token.

Previous Considerations and Alternative Solutions

While the idea of Shiba Inu becoming a gas token for Ethereum is certainly ambitious, it isn’t the first time the community has considered creative methods to drive up SHIB’s value. In fact, one solution that has already been put into practice is the Shibarium blockchain, which burns SHIB tokens as part of its transaction process. Shibarium, a Layer 2 solution built on top of Ethereum, allows for faster and cheaper transactions, and a portion of the transaction fees is burned, helping to reduce SHIB’s circulating supply.

When Shibarium experienced a surge in transactions, SHIB’s burn rate spiked accordingly, leading some community members to suggest that efforts should focus on increasing the volume of transactions on Shibarium rather than attempting to restructure Ethereum’s entire gas token model. This approach would be more in line with the Shiba Inu ecosystem’s goals and would avoid the logistical and regulatory hurdles of altering Ethereum’s core structure.

The Long Road Ahead

Ultimately, while the proposal of Shiba Inu becoming a gas token for Ethereum is an intriguing one, it appears to be a long shot at best. The technical and regulatory challenges involved in altering Ethereum’s gas system would require significant effort from developers and the broader blockchain community. Additionally, Ethereum’s established network is already functioning smoothly with ETH as the primary token for transactions, and any major changes to this would likely face resistance.

In the meantime, the Shiba Inu community seems to be focusing more on Shibarium’s growth, aiming to boost transaction volumes and burn rates organically through the blockchain’s native features. With ongoing developments in the Shiba Inu ecosystem and its growing utility within the crypto space, the price target of $0.01 could still remain within reach, but likely through more feasible and sustainable mechanisms, rather than an overhaul of Ethereum’s core infrastructure.