- Shytoshi Kusama, Shiba Inu’s lead developer, has implied that Coinbase’s “Onchain Summer” campaign is a replica of Shiba Inu’s “Summer of Shibarium.”
- Coinbase’s campaign is tied to the mainnet launch of their Ethereum L2 solution, Base, while Shiba Inu’s campaign was associated with the unveiling of their L2 scaling solution, Shibarium.
As the blockchain world rolls out its summer campaigns, accusations of imitation are starting to emerge. Shytoshi Kusama, Shiba Inu’s lead developer, has cast aspersions on Coinbase’s newly introduced “Onchain Summer” campaign, suggesting it has borrowed heavily from Shiba Inu’s own “Summer of Shibarium.”
Coinbase’s Onchain Summer: A Mirror Image?
Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange based in the U.S., is gearing up for the mainnet launch of its Ethereum L2 solution, known as Base. With an aim to usher in the next billion users to the blockchain, Base is tailored to provide efficient tools for a broad range of Web3 product development.
To mark this milestone, Coinbase has scheduled the “Onchain Summer” campaign, set to kick off on August 9. However, this initiative has raised eyebrows within the Shiba Inu community, who see a clear parallel with their own “Summer of Shibarium.”
Expressing his concern, Shytoshi Kusama took to social media to imply that Coinbase had taken a leaf out of Shiba Inu’s book. “If it isn’t a shadowcat, it’s a copycat,” he posted in response to an update from Coinbase’s CEO, Brain Armstrong. Armstrong had been promoting the upcoming Onchain Summer initiative, lauding his recent use of the Base bridge that had just launched.
I just minted Bridge to Base, celebrating the start of @BuildOnBase bringing billions of people onchain.
It’s Onchain Summer. https://t.co/gTcUcuklPF
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— Brian Armstrong 🛡️ (@brian_armstrong) August 3, 2023
Coinbase’s Onchain Summer aims to be a celebratory event, coinciding with the mainnet launch of Base. It is planned to extend over several weeks and promises to be a “festival of art, music, and gaming.”
Shiba Inu’s Summer of Shibarium: The Original?
Just last month, Kusama launched the “Summer of Shibarium” campaign to pave the way for the mainnet launch of Shiba Inu’s L2 scaling solution, Shibarium. Kusama’s remarks strongly hint at his belief that Coinbase has replicated their concept with the “Onchain Summer” initiative.
Despite the similarities in the names and underlying ideas of the two campaigns, their respective activities are markedly different. The Summer of Shibarium is already in full swing, having released several significant developments in the run-up to the Shibarium mainnet launch, including the Shibarium Beta Bridge and the Shibarium YouTube launch.
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