Crypto trading is full of unpredictability and volatility. But it is precisely this very nature of the sector that often leads to windfalls for some investors. The new year started with great hopes for major players like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but they have yet to see a rally. Bitcoin has been in an ongoing downward spiral so far this year. However, a little-known meme coin, Alien Shiba Inu (ASHIB), surprised everyone with a surge of more than 500 percent in just 24 hours on Jan. 9. But soon the profits were equal. The coin appears to be targeting those who missed last year’s bull runs of popular dog-themed coins such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
According to CoinMarketCap, a market research firm, the crypto traded at an all-time low at $0.0003603 (about Rs. 0.027) on Jan. 8. Hours later, it had registered an astonishing growth of over 500 percent to touch $0.009869 (about Rs. 0.73). However, some of the profits have declined since then.
The rally comes at a time when Bitcoin’s value has been falling since mid-November. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization started the year around $47,000 (approximately Rs. 34.74 lakh) and is now trading at $42,717 (Rs. 31.57 lakh) on Wednesday afternoon. Ethereum has also lost value since the beginning of the year.
Given the backdrop, the incredible rise of Alien Shiba Inu has taken many by surprise. Experts advise caution for those thinking of joining the quick money cart, pointing out that little information is available about this new coin.
On their website, the developers only say that they are working on “three flagship utility projects” – a collection of NFT characters for gaming to earn, a decentralized exchange (DEX), and a merchandise marketplace called AlienShibaInuCrew.
However, the coin, which was launched last November, is not yet available for trading on some exchanges. It is ranked at 3,673 on CoinMarketCap.