Shiba Inu (SHIB) Panic: Did Its Lead Developer Really Leave the Project?

TL;DR

• Despite shifting priorities toward other initiatives, Shytoshi Kusama assured the SHIB Army that they remain committed to the meme coin project.
• Earlier this summer, the developer emphasized that Shiba Inu’s future now rests with the community, outlining plans for fair elections to appoint an interim president who will oversee the ecosystem’s growth.

Kusama Remains in ‘The War Room’

Shytoshi Kusama – the anonymous lead developer of Shiba Inu – has limited their interactions on the social media platform X lately. Earlier this week, though, they broke the silence on a matter that seems to be concerning for the SHIB community.

Kusama has previously stated that they will switch their focus outside the meme coin to push for AI initiatives “to better all our tokens.” However, that doesn’t mean they have abandoned the self-proclaimed Dogecoin-killer.

“To suggest that I am anywhere except beside Kaal Dhairyia, the devs and other appropriate parties figuring out next steps is utterly preposterous,” the announcement reads. 

In addition, Kusama said the current situation is “a bit complex and deep,” but assured that they remain in “the war room.” The lead developer also promised that further details on the matter will be shared on Shiba Inu’s official channels.

The Whole Saga With Kusama

Shiba Inu saw the light of day in the summer of 2020 and over the past five years has expanded its ecosystem and blasted through major milestones. Its creator, Ryoshi, deliberately stepped away after setting the foundation of the project, with Kusama emerging as the lead developer and main public voice.

Earlier this year, the latter said they will step down from their role, mostly because “there is no more vision needed, only execution and communications.” Instead, Kusama revealed plans to become Shiba Inu’s global ambassador to drive mainstream adoption of the world’s second-largest meme token.

A few months ago, Kusama disclosed that the project will have an interim president who will be chosen after “fair elections,” and the voting will go through three sessions.

“The first allows for anyone to be nominated, while the top 10 move onto the debate phase. Debates will take place LIVE or recorded on various platforms and times, while a secondary vote to find the top 3 will take place after one week,” the announcement reads.

Any community member can nominate themselves for the position and will be required to create a profile to give some details about who they are. The main goal of the appointed president will be to maintain the well-being of the entire ecosystem and oversee the proper execution of the Shib Paper guidelines.

Kusama said their leadership is in the hands of the SHIB Army, ensuring that they will remain committed to posting information on the election date and related updates.

“We will continue working on innovation, and closely with the Treat Dao and strategies therein, and will continue pursuits outside of SHIB that align with our vision and often contribute to the ecosystem or DAOs. In this way, we continue as valued Shibizens of a system we helped build from nothing,” the developer added.