Shiba Inu's (CRYPTO: SHIB) started out as a mere internet meme, but has since turned into a Web 3.0 juggernaut boasting a market capitalization that hovers around $4 billion.

The coin's journey is emblematic of the crypto industry’s shift away from irreverence to sophisticated and sizable economic force.

At Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14, thought leaders in the digital asset space will gather to explore how cryptocurrencies like SHIB can shape the future of finance. 

Also Read: From Dogecoin To Shiba Inu, This Crypto Wild West Could Leave You Penniless

Background: The Shiba Inu token burst onto the scene in August 2020 with a prodigious minting of one quadrillion tokens, according to Alpha Transform Holdings. The strategy was seen as a bold play in the decentralized finance (DeFi) arena — half of the tokens were strategically locked into a liquidity pool on Uniswap. The remaining half was sent to Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin, whose subsequent philanthropic actions would lend the project an air of legitimacy and altruism.

The SHIB token gained momentum when X owner and crypto firebrand Elon Musk mentioned it on social media, although he apparently prefers Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE).

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What's Next: SHIB currently has over 1.4 million token holders. And with the release of the so-called "Woofpaper," a comprehensive document outlining the token's economics and vision, observers anticipate the coin's long-term project viability.

The decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, a testament to SHIB's growing utility, achieved a total value locked (TVL) of over $1 billion within just 24 hours of its release, underscoring the community's confidence in the token's potential.

The expansion continued as SHIB ventured into the NFT space with the launch of "Shiboshi" NFTs, which sold out in just 35 minutes. There's also  SHIB: The Metaverse, a virtual platform bolstering its Web 3.0 presence, as well as a proprietary trading card game "Shiba Eternity," released across iOS and Android platforms.

What do you think of Shiba Inu? Tell us at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14.

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Industry titans BlackRock, DTCC, OCC, State Street, Société Générale, Hedera, Citi, BMO, Northern Trust, Citibank, Amazon, S&P Global, Google, Invesco, and Moody’s will join our November 13 Fintech Deal Day and November 14 Future of Digital Assets. Secure a spot here to join them!