Jan 26, 2025: Kusama steps down as "Lead Visionary"
His words: "I have accomplished my initial goal with flying colors."
SHIB dropped 11%. Burn rate collapsed 91%.
His "initial goal"? SHIB was down 80% from ATH at the time.
THE PROMISE FACTORY — Kusama's playbook:
1. Announce something huge
2. Post cryptic "something big is coming" teasers
3. Go silent for weeks/months
4. Underdeliver or abandon
5. Repeat
This cycle ran for 5 years straight.
The stolen funds? ~260 ETH laundered through Tornado Cash to 48 KuCoin deposits.
Community investigator Shane Cook noted: THE SHIB TEAM NEVER FILED A FORMAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT.
KuCoin couldn't legally freeze the funds.
Money gone forever.
Kusama's response to the hack? SILENCE. For three days.
When he finally spoke: "I am wise enough not to speak until I fully understand situations."
He then pivoted to talking about his AI project.
His own dev Kaal Dhairya led the actual emergency response.
What was stolen:
• ~$1.3M in SHIB
• ~$1M in ETH
• ~$717K in KNINE
• ~$680K in LEASH
• ~$260K in ROAR
• ~$143K in TREAT, USDC, USDT & others
$SHIB dropped 11.5%. $BONE crashed 43.5%.
$800M+ in market cap erased.
THE SHIBARIUM BRIDGE HACK — Sep 12, 2025
An attacker flash-loaned 4.6M $BONE, seized control of 10 of 12 validator keys, and drained 17 tokens worth $4.1M.
Only 12 validators securing a bridge with millions in assets.
No multisig protection.
The SHI Stablecoin — Promised since 2021
First mentioned by Ryoshi in May 2021.
Repeatedly promised by Kusama from 2022 onward.
Status in April 2026: NEVER LAUNCHED.
Latest excuse: "waiting on clear stablecoin regulations."
4 years waiting.
Shibarium today:
• TVL: ~$1.4M (Base, launched same month: $8.4B)
• Daily transactions crashed to 557 on Apr 5, 2026
• Gaming ecosystem: 228 active players across 31 games
• Bridge hacked for $4.1M
This is what "utility" looks like apparently.
Shibarium — The Layer-2 blockchain
Launched Aug 2023 — a YEAR late. Immediately crashed.
Block production halted 24+ hours.
$1.7M in ETH trapped in the bridge.
Kusama's response? A blog titled "Shibarium: ALL IS WELL."
SHIB Metaverse Land — Sold 19,600+ plots (Apr 2022)
Investors paid $650–$3,200 per plot.
Now worth: ~$6 each. Down 98.6%.
Over $20M raised. 6,000+ holders sitting on worthless digital dirt.
The "metaverse" is a basic PC chat app.
🧵 THREAD: Shytoshi Kusama has shilled 14+ projects under the $SHIB ecosystem. Every single one has lost 93–99.99% from its peak. Combined value destroyed: ~$38.4 BILLION. Here's the full breakdown. 👇
@cryptojourneyrs Hey bro, I explain here how https://t.co/akL4o07gOP hit $50K+ in volume under 48 hours since launch.
The $SAIKO pool holders got about $250+ in mixer rewards.
$ETH meme coins can now join and create their own pool.
$SOL Memes will be able to join too