Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB) Has A Fake News Problem

It has been a rather busy month for Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB).

After various price rises culminated in a new All-Time High over the weekend, SHIB briefly crashed when Elon Musk admitted he didn’t own any SHIB. It has recovered since then, with the ‘ShibArmy’ holding strong.

However, underneath the memes, the NFTs, and the community-driven burning, there is a more sinister aspect to the Shiba community.

It is full of misinformation.

Alleged Shiba Robinhood Listing

Last week, a petition asking Robinhood to list SHIB reached 300,000 signatures. A listing on the Robinhood exchange remains a key talking point, and a goal, for many in the ShibArmy.

While Robinhood, which has not added a new cryptocurrency to its platform since 2018, has never hinted at a prospective SHIB listing, there is a consensus among the community that it could happen at any time.

This remains even after an official Robinhood Twitter account debunked any reports that it would soon list Shiba.

So, why is it still an issue? Fake news.

After SHIB first burst onto the scene in mid-2021, various outlets and hodlers circulated an alleged email from Robinhood Support. Riddled with grammatical errors, variants of the email all suggest Shiba Inu is coming to Robinhood.

A more recent incident comes from a CoinMomo listing. CoinMomo is a cryptocurrency hub that, alongside tracking prices, keeps track of upcoming crypto events. Over the weekend, an event appeared on the site suggesting a SHIB listing on Robinhood would happen on October 25.

Several outlets picked up on this listing, sharing it further. Even though the listing had no source and, as we found out, anybody can make a listing, this didn’t stop the news from spreading like wildfire. Tweets garnered thousands of likes and retweets in anticipation.

Of course, October 25 came and went without a Robinhood listing.

This is just what’s public. There’s an entire ecosystem of Telegram communities devoted to cryptocurrency, with Reddit posts suggesting that Telegram groups also push the idea of an imminent SHIB listing.

So, why do a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts want to see the token listed on a platform with an acrimonious history with crypto?

The answer isn’t surprising: pumping up the price.

‘To the moon’ is almost a mantra in many crypto communities now - one that has taken a slightly alarming turn. Rather than an expression of celebration or hope, it has become a goal, one that needs protecting at any cost. Any questioning or criticism is dismissed away as FUD.

When one user posted on r/SHIBArmy asking hodlers to stop with the unsourced news, another replied: “How can you be so cranky with all the money we’re making? Cheer up!”

“Why are people like this?” asked one SHIB fan account in response to claims that the Robinhood listing is fake. “It’s still a good signal for our $SHIB, anyway.”

Another Twitter user disagreed, noting misinformation “can actually tank SHIB”. “Fake news usually is always bad for a stock,” they said.

And SHIB got its first taste of this over the weekend.

Elon Musk Doesn’t Own SHIB

Elon Musk is a prominent advocate of Dogecoin, something which other memecoins have attempted to take advantage of, promoting their tokens in his replies.

This culminated with Musk’s cryptic tweet of a dog holding a rocket emoji. Shiba Inu Coin ran with this tweet, and it triggered a 15% price surge. SHIB hodlers even thanked Musk.

During this period, there was an underlying message that Elon Musk somehow supported, or liked, the Shiba Inu Coin, despite never tweeting about SHIB.

This came undone on Sunday, when a Shiba Twitter account asked Musk if he owned any SHIB. With one word, “None”, Musk crashed the price of SHIB, as reality hit the memecoin hard.

Since Musk’s tweet, SHIB managed to recover, with a current price of $0.0000427 - up 10% in 24 hours. While SHIB hodlers may have avoided a significant loss this time, it could be just one Robinhood tweet away from disaster.

Read More: Shibarium Blockchain: Shiba Inu Coin Layer-2 Is The Next Step For SHIB

[Image: Executium/Joshua Hoehne]