Having Scottie Pippen’s name affixed to anything definitely rachets up the attention and interest. His recent tsup to Shiba Inu (SHIB) as one of the altcoins to watch is no exception. And while the price charts and market cap rankings are interesting, let’s be real: do we really care if SHIB hits $0.0001? Or do we need to be asking a deeper question. So can this new meme coin truly change the world for the better?

SHIB Hype Versus Real-World Impact?

Pippen's endorsement and the current "altcoin season" buzz (even if CoinMarketCap data suggests it's not quite here yet, with only 35% of top altcoins outperforming Bitcoin over the last 90 days) are all about potential personal gain. What about collective gain?

I'm not saying profit is inherently bad. If we’re being real for a moment here, the crypto space has largely been marred by the “get rich quick” narrative. What if we flipped the script? There’s so much room for potential here… What if we imagined how SHIB, or any crypto for that matter, could really help underserved communities prosper?

Think about it. These neighborhoods have been systematically left out of traditional financial systems, affecting those who need help most. Discriminatory lending practices and exorbitant fees and lack of access to open fields get folks stuck. Might SHIB, on account of its low transaction charges (theoretically), be a way of micro-lending in creating nations? Might it prove a way to allow more direct charitable donations, cutting through bureaucratic red tape? Might it be able to become a tool for achieving financial inclusion? Now picture extending the reach of digital wallets to the people that would benefit from them the most!

Imagine a scenario: A single mother in a rural village uses SHIB to access a small loan to start a business. A community pools its SHIB holdings to fund a local school. These are the type of stories we need to be amplifying.

Risks Are Real, But So Is Potential

Before we all succumb to utopian fantasies, let’s add some realism. Crypto is volatile. Extremely volatile. Putting money into SHIB, particularly for underserved communities, is an enormous gamble. People could lose everything. We can't ignore this.

Think of it like this: offering someone a lottery ticket as a financial solution. The possible upside is huge. The catch though? The probability of success is astronomically low. And the cost of not getting it right can be tragic.

That's why financial literacy is paramount. Before anyone in a high-risk community buys one SHIB coin, they should know what they’re getting into. They require access to independent, impartial information and sound advice.

The discourse on SHIB (and cryptocurrency as a whole) has been dominated by speculation, finance, and crypto-speak. What about the human stories? What needs to be considered are the voices of those who stand to benefit from crypto’s transformative power the most.

  • How do we ensure responsible participation in crypto, especially for vulnerable populations?
  • How do we protect people from scams and exploitation?
  • How do we promote financial literacy and responsible investing?

Forgotten Voices And Untold Stories

Finally, we’d love to hear from the small business owners in developing countries who are using crypto to access capital. What we need to do is allow the refugees that have now adopted digital wallets to receive aid, listen to those experiences. Now we need to raise the voices of those who are doing the hard work of developing decentralized solutions to actual real-world problems.

Let's look beyond the hype and ask: Who will benefit from this technology? How will it impact their lives?

This isn’t just SHIB good. This is an example of the potential of crypto to be a positive social force. It’s not just about stopping speculative investments; it’s about building a more equitable and inclusive financial system.

So I challenge you to go beyond the price charts. Here’s how SHIB — and the rest of crypto — has the potential to really elevate communities. Let’s reframe the discussion from self-interest to public benefit. Let’s focus on forgotten voices. The potential is huge, we just need to commit to using it securely and wisely.

I challenge you to think beyond the price charts. Let’s explore how SHIB, and other cryptos, can actually lift communities. Let's shift the conversation from personal gain to collective good. Let’s focus on forgotten voices. The potential is there; we just need to harness it responsibly.