TL;DR
- Kraken added Shiba Inu as collateral for futures trading, enhancing its support for the popular meme coin.
- Robinhood and Coinbase have also enabled new trading services for SHIB earlier this year.
SHIB’s Adoption on the Rise
The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken officially listed Shiba Inu (SHIB) on its platform in November 2021. Since then, it has increased its support for the self-proclaimed Dogecoin-killer, enabling various trading services with it.
Earlier this month, the company added SHIB/EUR to the list of offered margin pairs. The option allows users to employ loaned funds in leveraged trades. It could lead to higher returns but is linked to a bigger risk of liquidation.
Kraken did not stop there, adding Shiba Inu as a new collateral asset for futures trading on August 29. “You can now use SHIB to get exposure to over 200 perpetual futures. Simply transfer SHIB from your Kraken spot wallet to your Futures wallet to get started,” the exchange announced on X.
In crypto futures trading, a collateral asset is a token that market participants deposit to back their position. The stash serves as security to cover potential losses and ensure the trader can fulfill the financial obligations under the contract.
One of the key developers and leaders of the Shiba Inu project, using the nickname Shytoshi Kusama, retweeted Kraken’s announcement, sharing a simple happy emoji symbol. SpecialK – another pseudonymous member of the SHIB community – was more eloquent, saying:
“This is a massive milestone for the Shibtoken community! Last Bull Run, this very catalyst ignited the momentum for us, and now, with Kraken Pro – known for its strict standards and fully decentralized ethos like Bitcoin – we’re on the brink of something big again. This is huge!”
Who Else Hopped on the Bandwagon?
Other well-known companies that have recently enabled trading services with the meme coin include Robinhood and Coinbase.
The former made SHIB available to New York State residents, while the latter launched 1000SHIB-PERP perpetual futures contracts.
This type of derivative product allows traders to speculate on the future price movements of the underlying assets without holding them. It offers high leverage, has no expiration date, and requires people to have a certain margin level to keep their positions open.
