Is Shiba Inu launching a metaverse?

SHIBA Inu coins are one of the latest cryptocurrency tokens to hit the market, created as an alternative to Dogecoin.

Now, the developers of Shiba Inu have teased they are creating their own Metaverse - here's everything we know so far.

Is Shiba Inu launching a metaverse?

The developers of cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (SHIB) have announced on Twitter they are launching their own Metaverse project in 2022.

They are calling the virtual world Shiberse, named after the Japanese dog breed which also inspired the name of their coin.

They of a Shiba Inu dog holding a hammer in its mouth in a jungle, and a caption containing the exciting announcement.

The tweet read: "As promised, we are so excited to announce our first special surprise for the year #ShibArmy!

"In 2022, we are reaching new heights and welcoming the #Shiberse. An immersive experience for our ecosystem and the Metaverse space!"

SHIB is one of the cryptocurrency token created as a 'meme' coin, posing as a "Dogecoin killer".

In February 2022, its value shot up by 50 percent in the space of just 24 hours, amid the general recovery of crypto.

Shiba Inu's decentralised virtual world will follow the example of many metaverses with a similar concept, which are becoming increasingly popular.

In October 2021, Facebook announced their plans to create a next-gen "metaverse" internet, alongside the announcement they are changing their name to Meta, prompting a massive surge in the value of cryptocurrencies.

What is the 'Shiberse'?

The Shiberse will be an immersive virtual universe where users can interact, shop for virtual assets and land, and participate in virtual events.

The Shiba Inu developers first unveiled their plans for the new metaverse in a November blogpost, saying the Shiberse will be an immersive experience with state-of-the-art graphics.

It has been speculated that the Shiberse will follow the example of other metaverses such as Decentraland, The Sandbox and Axie Infinity, where users can purchase virtual land and assets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Shiba developer Eric M described it as "a place where our community, tokens, game, ShibaSwap and way more is going to meet together."

What other metaverses are there?

There are already many metaverses out there, with play-to-earn metaverse games promising a fair chance for their players to make real-life profits.

Tech giant Meta (previously Facebook) has its own metaverse, which can be accessed through an Oculus virtual reality headset.

Players create avatars that look like themselves, and can interact with other players – including with physical movements and voice.

Retail giant Walmart is also planning to venture into the metaverse, as documents revealed the company's plans to create its own cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Nike has already teamed up with Roblox to make a virtual world known as Nikeland.

Shiba Inu developer Eric M said: "Other metaverses are being built by people like Facebook, Walmart etc., so we are playing with the big boys."