Shiba Inu, the popular memecoin, has secured $12 million in funding to develop a new layer-3 blockchain with a focus on privacy.
The funding round involved the sale of TREAT, an unreleased token, to a consortium of venture capital firms including Polygon Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Shima Capital, Animoca Brands, and several others.
According to reports from The Block, Shiba Inu began raising funds a few months ago, finalizing the round in early April.
TREAT is designed to serve a dual purpose within the Shiba Inu ecosystem, functioning as both a utility token and a governance token. The Shiba Inu layer 3 will be built on Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s Ethereum layer-2 blockchain.
While TREAT is a non-stable token, the project plans to introduce a second token called SHI later in 2024. The layer-3 blockchain want to address privacy and trust concerns within the Shiba Inu ecosystem by utilizing fully homomorphic encryption technology.
This technology allows for the performance of computations on encrypted data without decryption, enhancing user privacy.
This move is a major step forward for Shiba Inu as it strives to move beyond its memecoin origins and establish itself as a relevant player in the blockchain industry.
The focus on privacy and regulatory compliance suggests a more mature approach, potentially appealing to a wider range of users and investors.
The success of TREAT, and the upcoming launch of the layer-3 blockchain will be closely watched by the crypto community in the coming months, however, the institutional investment in the layer-three shows a growing institutional interest in memecoins.
This institutional interest can be seen in the $10M investment in Floki by the DWF Labs in February. Aside from DWF Labs, the Avalanche Foundation had in early January this year, the Avalanche Foundation announced plans to acquire community coins that meet certain criteria.
Shiba Inu plans to launch the testnet for the project in the third quarter of this year, followed by a full mainnet release after thorough testing.
