Shiba Inu Elects President in Governance Shift Toward DAO Model

Shiba Inu is undergoing a governance transformation as it prepares for elections to select its next leaders, marking a pivotal shift toward a decentralized model. The initiative, announced by project lead Shytoshi Kusama on X, aims to transition decision-making power from the core team to the community. This process, outlined in a detailed blog post, describes a structured election system with three voting rounds, starting with candidate nominations and culminating in a final vote to determine the first interim president of the Shib Network State [1].

The election process involves selecting a leader who will guide the project’s transition into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)-led structure. Kusama emphasized that the president will be responsible for executing the Shib Paper’s vision, establishing DAO councils, and managing the community and technological infrastructure. The role also includes organizing the first Shiba Inu congress and ensuring the long-term execution of the project’s strategic goals [1].

Despite the emphasis on community governance, the structure of the voting system—where one token equals one vote—gives significant influence to large token holders, or "whales." Kusama himself acknowledged that the ideal candidate should be a whale, as they have the most skin in the game and, therefore, the strongest incentive to ensure the project’s success. This effectively means that the election may still be dominated by a small group of token holders, raising questions about the extent of true decentralization [1].

The Shiba Inu team retains certain powers, including the ability to veto candidates and require them to complete KYC and sign an NDA with the Shiba Inu Foundation. This adds a layer of oversight during the transition, although the ultimate direction of the project will increasingly rest with the decentralized community [1].

This move comes as Shiba Inu marks five years since its inception. Over the past five years, the ecosystem has evolved beyond a simple memecoin, introducing tokens like TREAT and BONE, as well as launching layer-2 solutions like Shibarium and NFT initiatives like Shiboshi. Despite these developments, the SHIB token’s value has struggled, having lost approximately 44% of its value this year and slipping from the top 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization [1].

The election process is being viewed as a potential turning point for Shiba Inu, with hopes that community-led governance could result in more impactful decision-making and renewed interest in the project. However, any meaningful recovery in SHIB’s value would likely require significant token burns to reduce the massive supply of over 589 trillion tokens currently in circulation [1].

The upcoming election has already sparked active discussions within the community, with candidates presenting their visions and engaging in debates. While the identity of the next leader remains uncertain, the process itself has reinvigorated participation among Shiba Inu holders and signaled a new phase in the project’s evolution [1].

Source:

[1] Shiba Inu to elect president in power shift, whales likely ... (https://www.cryptopolitan.com/shiba-inu-to-elect-president-whales-to-vote/)

[2] Shiba Inu Starts Voting Process To Elect First Network ... (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1015913-20250806)