In an ongoing series of X updates, Shytoshi Kusama—widely known as the lead developer behind the Shiba Inu (SHIB) project—has shared significant insights into the upcoming launch of TREAT, the fourth and last official token in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. With SHIB: The Metaverse having opened its early access phase on December 25, Kusama’s recent comments suggest that TREAT is poised to become the central focus of the Shiba Inu roadmap in early 2025.
TREAT’s Role In The Shiba Inu Ecosystem
On December 31, Kusama took to X to offer clarity on TREAT’s functionality. In a now widely circulated post, he wrote: “What if there was a way to give Transactional Rewards for Engagement and Access through a Token? What if it served as the backbone of an operating system that could power a Network State and global adoption could solve many of the world’s problems? What if indeed. #TREAT”
Kusama’s statement hints that TREAT is not merely intended as another tradable asset in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, but a multifaceted token designed to incentivize participation, grant access to advanced features, and foster what he calls a “Network State.” While the details remain partially under wraps, these remarks underscore the development team’s ambition to propel TREAT to the forefront of Shiba Inu’s global reach.
In a post on December 27, Kusama highlighted the Shiba Inu Metaverse launch and then pivoted to the imminent launch of the TREAT token: “So now that the Metaverse is rolling out well and those who said it wasn’t coming have been once again silent, it’s time to start talking about TREAT, the future of our state and what we’ve been up to the last few years to ensure we are ahead of the pack. Stay tuned…”
Kusama’s comment suggests TREAT’s development has been in progress for an extended period. The collective storyline now appears to move rapidly from Metaverse expansion to TREAT’s debut.
Further fueling anticipation, Kusama revealed on December 30 that he plans to unveil more detailed information via a podcast, streamed within the newly launched Metaverse. In his words:
“My podcast will consist of 44 episodes of yours truly talking from the heart and explaining something very important…all the tech we’ve built (some of which you’ve seen), how it all ties to #Treat, and how everything fits together (ideally) to save the world. Ready? I am… Mondays we will speak on Memes. Tuesdays about Treat and how it fits. […] Next year will be epic, and I am so excited to share what we’ve built. LFGGGGGGOOOO!!”
Earlier this month, Kusama also confirmed TREAT’s role in powering fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) through a longevity research partnership with Ogai, stating: “Of course it is! And OGAI using FHE is just ONE use case of FHE. But TREAT actually has many more uses outside just FHE and we have many more pieces of tech too.”
Highlighting prior discussions regarding Shiba Inu’s development, Kusama referenced broader trust and governance solutions within the ecosystem, tweeting in November: “Karma and Reputation built into the foundational elements of Shib’s ecosystem and advanced features powered by Treat will solve this once and for all.”
His comment alluded to a memecoin “rug pull” incident by streamer Jack Doherty—an example of how many digital assets can fail without robust trust mechanisms. Kusama’s post implies that TREAT’s integrated reputation systems could mitigate such risks for Shiba Inu community members.
Longtime followers of Shiba Inu’s token landscape know that SHIB, LEASH, and BONE each serve distinct purposes. According to Kusama: “Each token has its own utility and governance, and TREAT is the access token to all the advanced features of our system, in contrast to Leash, which is about exclusivity, or Bone, which focuses on technology.”
At press time, SHIB traded at $0.00002180.
Featured image from X, chart from TradingView.com
