After Shiba Inu and Safemoon’s Astronomical Rallies Decentraland Rumored to Prepare to Join the Club

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin (DOGE). It was founded in August 2020 by someone Ryoshi, whose goal was to move away from "rigid social structures and traditional mindsets," according to the coin's 28-page white paper.

Over the past three weeks, Shiba Inu and Safemoon (SAFEMOON) have been the most talked about and wildly searched coins across the entire altcoin universe. Both coin prices have skyrocketed by huge margins, bringing its owners astronomical profits. Since it was launched in March 2021, Safemoon coin price jumped up by almost +1,200,000%, while Shiba Inu (launched early August 2021) surged by over 4,500,000%.

But what many may not realize is about 41% of the token's total supply is burned according to data by Etherscan – meaning those coins are not in circulation anymore. Though the address can look like a single person or entity owns that amount, it is in fact a "black hole," where Shiba Inu coins are burned out of circulation. According to a list of the cryptocurrency's top 10 holders, about 10% of the tokens were purchased by cryptocurrency platforms such as Crypto.com and Binance. In total, there are almost 837 thousand holders of the token.

The remaining 50% was gifted to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who donated the majority of it – about $1 billion at that time – to a crypto-based COVID-19 relief fund for India. He then "burned" the rest, permanently terminating that part of the supply.

Meanwhile, as the altcoin rally continues, Decentraland might be the latest to join the space with big gains in the past day. In the past 24 hours, Decentraland (MANA) has soared 21.05% to $2.73, according to CoinMarketCap. Decentraland is a so-called metaverse token. It was founded by Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich in 2015 before launching its platform to the public in 2020. Specifically, Decentraland operates as a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that models itself as a “world owned by users.” It also claims it is the first-ever virtual world, allowing users to create, explore and trade. Moreover, users can create scenes, graphics, challenges as well as trade digital assets including LAND, estates, and avatar apparel.

The latest gains come as Facebook changed its name to Meta – aiming to “bring the metaverse to life.” A metaverse is a virtual reality experience where users can interact with others.