A day after his address at the 5th annual Futurist Conference, Canada’s premier blockchain and cryptocurrency event, Shiba Inu’s project lead, Shytoshi Kusama, took to Telegram, hinting at what he describes as the “most cutting-edge keynote” of 16 minutes.
The tease was accompanied by claims of launching “Shibarium,” the much-awaited layer-2 solution for Shiba Inu. It comes after what some in the community saw as a promotional focus on his new book during his speech.
As reported by U.Today, Kusama’s speech at the conference covered a broad vision for the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, emphasizing its strong community, known as the “Shiba Army”, and the distinct place of Shiba Inu in the vast crypto landscape. Further, he unveiled a detailed “Shiba Paper” and a guide, “The 44 Tenets to Triumph in Crypto.” The latter, a “perfume scented” collectible, is priced at one Ethereum (ETH) and promises to assist newcomers to the crypto world. Its more affordable version will soon be released on Amazon.
The community’s reactions to the speech were mostly negative. Some users on Telegram and X criticized Kusama for seemingly prioritizing the promotion of his book over more eagerly anticipated announcements about Shibarium. Accusations ranged from Kusama using the community’s anticipation to promote his questionable product to questions about his choice of Ethereum for the book’s pricing, given that he leads a competing cryptocurrency project. “Are you a blogger by selling books and perfumes?”, one user pointedly asked.
Kusama’s subsequent messages on Telegram urged a deeper look into his speech’s content, suggesting there might be more in store for the community. It remains uncertain what the Shiba Inu lead is alluding to, but the community clearly remains on edge after months of promises.
Arman Shirinyan
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin