Shiba Inu (SHIB) founder Ryoshi may never return, as a veteran community member questions claims that the project’s anonymous creator has resurfaced online.
The discussion comes as other prominent SHIB figures remain silent and the token struggles with declining trading activity.
In a Friday post on X, veteran SHIB community member Mzarael.Shib questioned the authenticity of content attributed to Ryoshi after the Shiba Inu founder disappeared from public view in 2022. He pointed to changes in the account identifier of Ryoshi’s former Medium blog, ALL HAIL THE SHIBA, arguing that another user had taken over the username.
“Same username, different account. Post-deletion content isn’t Ryoshi,” Mzarael wrote.
He explained that Ryoshi deleted his Medium page on May 30, 2022, before another account adopted the same handle.
“Medium page user name is same as they took the same handle but the user ID is the proof in the page,” he added, stressing that retaining the same username does not prove that the account belongs to the same person.
Archived records reportedly show the account ID changing from 70f3e7a9c807 to c8d086596085, supporting his argument that the later account may not belong to the original founder.
Mzarael’s remarks responded to community member KURO SHIBARMY JPN, who noted that SHIB’s ecosystem kept expanding despite Ryoshi’s disappearance and shared a link to the blog.
Ryoshi is not the only prominent Shiba Inu figure whose public communication has diminished.
Lead ambassador Shytoshi Kusama has not posted or interacted on X since May 13. In September, he changed his profile biography to “Polish” and updated his location to “close,” prompting speculation without providing a clear explanation of his plans.
Moreover, Lucie, a prominent Shiba Inu ecosystem and Shibarium representative, last posted on X on June 8, after allegedly draining the bridge recovery with WOOF, as per Mzarael. Elsewhere, developer Kaal Dhairya has also been largely silent, with his last reported X activity dating to June.
This reduced communication has left community members with fewer public updates on the project’s direction, while Shiba Inu’s market indicators point to weak momentum. SHIB has fallen below several key moving averages, while its relative strength index (RSI) hovered near 40, indicating selling pressure without suggesting that SHIB had reached oversold territory.
On-chain data also point to subdued exchange activity, with SHIB reserves at about 87.1 trillion tokens. The seven-day average of exchange outflows fell 42%, while inflows declined 14%, suggesting reduced token movement and trading activity.
The value of SHIB held on exchanges stood at approximately $434.6 million, down just 0.69% over the past 24 hours, as per Cryptoquant data. Meanwhile, burn data showed little evidence that token destruction was meaningfully supporting the price.
Nevertheless, Ryoshi’s anonymity could renew interest in SHIB as the community draws comparisons with Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, who disappeared in 2011. Bitcoin has since surged roughly 5.7 million percent.
Five years ago, the SHIB community widely discussed the founders’ anonymity and perceived similarities, with members highlighting their pseudonyms and links to decentralized projects.
As a result, Shiba Inu could keep evolving without Ryoshi’s return, with its price trajectory and progress toward greater decentralization increasingly dependent on the SHIB Army’s continued involvement.
Strong community support and ecosystem development could help drive future growth, potentially pushing SHIB’s price higher.