Shiba Inu millionaire retires from supermarket warehouse after 700,000% price rise in 2021

‘I could never have even fantasized about having this much money,’ warehouse worker says

Anthony Cuthbertson
Friday 12 November 2021 09:11 GMT
Comments
Related video: The Rise of Shib Coin and the State of the Crypto Markets
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A warehouse worker has quit their job and retired at the age of 35 after investing £6,000 in the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Shiba Inu.

The risky bet turned the husband and father into a millionaire in less than a year, according to Fortune, after the meme coin sky rocketed in price by more than 700,000 per cent in 2021.

Follow The Independent’s live coverage of the crypto market

The former supermarket warehouse manager, who gave his name as Rob to preserve his anonymity, told the publication he became interested in Shiba Inu after reading the coin’s “woofpaper” white paper.

The woofpaper, which was written by Shiba Inu’s pseudonymous creator Ryoshi in August 2020, describes how the cryptocurrency builds of the Ethereum network in order to serve as both a currency and a decentralised platform for technologies like smart contracts.

It also claims to be an “experiment in decentralised spontaneous community building,” adding that “Shiba Inus are incredible dogs” – the same dog breed that inspired the dogecoin cryptocurrency.

“After reading that, I was hooked. I just believed the words,” he said.

“I come from quite a poor background. I could never have even fantasized about having this much money.”

The volatility of the crypto market means Shiba Inu coin has since dipped in price considerably from its record high, losing more than 40 per cent of its value.

This means anyone who made the same £6,000 investment at its peak last month would now have less than £3,500 today.

A market report from the cryptocurrency platform Luno recently noted: “Shiba Inu was among the highest gainers, but it looks like some of the meme coin’s holders have started cashing out.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in