Shiba Inu (SHIB), a memecoin with a market capitalization of approximately $5.66 billion, has been officially classified by Grayscale Investments within its “Consumer & Culture” sector. The classification is part of a broader crypto-sector framework developed in partnership with global index provider FTSE Russell.

According to SHIB marketing lead Lucie, the move represents a significant endorsement from one of the industry’s leading digital asset managers. She noted that the project’s foundation remains strong and its vision is clear.

A New Framework for Crypto

Grayscale and FTSE Russell launched the FTSE Grayscale Crypto Sector Index Series on October 24, 2023, to provide investors with a structured method for categorizing the digital asset landscape. The initiative was driven by growing investor interest in diversifying beyond major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The framework divides assets into distinct sectors, including Currencies, Smart Contract Platforms, Financials, and Utilities & Services. The Consumer & Culture sector, where SHIB now resides, focuses on projects related to digital goods and services, such as art, collectibles, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, and social networks. Other tokens in this category include ImmutableX (IMX), Decentraland (MANA), and ApeCoin (APE).

Potential Path to an ETP

The Grayscale report also highlighted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of Generic Listing Standards (GLS) for commodity-based trust shares, which includes spot crypto assets. This regulatory development allows exchanges to list crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) that meet specific criteria without needing individual SEC approval for each token through a lengthy rule-change process.

To qualify, the underlying asset must either have a futures contract listed on a regulated exchange for at least six months or trade on a market within the Intermarket Surveillance Group (ISG). Within the Consumer & Culture sector, the report noted that only Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu currently meet these criteria.

Ecosystem Updates and Market Performance

In other project news, the Shiba Inu team announced it will shut down the legacy public Shibarium RPC endpoint, a gateway that allows wallets and decentralized applications to connect with the blockchain. Users will need to update their settings to maintain connectivity. This change is designed to improve decentralization and network resilience by reducing reliance on single points of failure.

Despite these developments, SHIB’s market performance has been challenging. The token’s price has fallen 5.65% in the last 24 hours, 7.3% over the past week, and 22.3% over the last month. To counter supply inflation, the community continues its token burn initiative. So far, 410.75 trillion tokens have been permanently removed from circulation, leaving a supply of 589.25 trillion SHIB. In the last day alone, the burn rate increased by nearly 958%, with another 11.3 million SHIB destroyed.