In an ongoing series of X updates, Shytoshi Kusama—widely known as the lead developer behind the Shiba Inu (SHIB) project—has shared important details about the upcoming launch of TREAT, the fourth and final official token in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. With SHIB: The Metaverse having opened its first access phase on December 25, Kusama’s latest comments suggest that TREAT is poised to become the focus of the Shiba Inu road in early 2025.
The Role of TREAT in the Shiba Inu Ecosystem
On December 31st, Kusama took to X to provide clarification on TREAT’s performance. In a post that has now gone viral, he wrote: “What if there was a way to reward shared exchanges and token access? What if it served as the backbone of an operating system that could power the Network State and global adoption could solve many of the world’s problems? If you really. #HERE”
Kusama’s statement indicates that TREAT is not intended to be just another commodity in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, but a multi-faceted token designed to encourage participation, provide access to advanced features, and promote what she calls the “Network District.” Although the details are still partially under wraps, these comments underscore the development team’s desire to make TREAT the forefront of Shiba Inu outreach around the world.
In a December 27 post, Kusama highlighted the launch of the Shiba Inu Metaverse and then looked at the imminent launch of the TREAT token: “Now that the Metaverse is well underway and the naysayers are silent again. , it’s time to start talking about TREAT, the future of our region and what we’ve been doing for the past few years to make sure we’re ahead of the pack. Stay tuned…”
Kusama’s comments suggest that the development of TREAT has been ongoing for a long time. The combined story now seems to move quickly from the expansion of the Metaverse to the beginning of TREAT.
Continuing the anticipation, Kusama revealed on December 30 that she plans to reveal more detailed information via a podcast, which will be broadcast within the newly launched Metaverse. In his words:
“My podcast will have 44 episodes of you really speaking from the heart and explaining something very important…all the technology we’ve built (some of which you’ve seen), how it relates to #Treat, and how everything fits in. together (properly) to save the world. Are you ready? I… On Mondays we will talk about Memes. Tuesday about Management and how it fits. […] Next year is going to be an epic one, and I’m excited to share what we’ve built. LFGGGGGGOOOOO!!”
Earlier this month, Kusama reaffirmed TREAT’s role in enabling fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) through a long-term research collaboration with Ogai, saying: “Of course it is! And OGAI using FHE is just ONE use of FHE. But TREAT actually has many uses outside of FHE and we have many pieces of technology as well. “
Highlighting earlier discussions about Shiba Inu’s development, Kusama talked about broader solutions for trust and governance within the ecosystem, writing on Twitter in November: “Karma and Reputation built on Shib’s ecosystem fundamentals and advanced features powered by Treat will solve this forever.”
His comments referred to the memecoin “rugby pull” incident by broadcaster Jack Doherty—an example of how many digital assets can fail without strong mechanisms of trust. Kusama’s post suggests that TREAT’s integrated dignity programs can reduce such risks to members of the Shiba Inu community.
Long-time fans of the Shiba Inu token scene know that the SHIB, LEASH, and BONE each serve different purposes. According to Kusama: “Each token has its own function and management, and TREAT is a token for access to all advanced features of our system, unlike Leash, which is about specialization, or Bone, which is focused on technology.”
At press time, SHIB traded at $0.00002180.
Featured image from X, chart from TradingView.com