Australia’s property market is hotter than the cheeks of a millennial who forgot their keep cup in front of their environmentally friendly crush. Steamier than the jowls of a boomer who has just been informed their discount coupon expired yesterday. Warmer than the phone case of an iPhone that has been clutched all day by a TikTok addicted Gen Z.

Suffice to say: Australia’s property is ~hawt~.

With that comes whack behaviour – both from real estate agents and buyers alike. This in mind, we figured there’s no better time than now to share some of the wildest stories Australian real estate agents have ever talked about.

First cab (or, several cabs) off the ranks are from a recent article by realestate.com.au. The real estate news and listings site interviewed various Melbourne real estate agents to get their juiciest tales from on the job.

From sex to murders to lingerie thieves, they had truly seen it all.

Biggin & Scott Stonnington director Tom McCarthy, who has had a 30-plus year career, shared the following wild stories with realestate.com.au.

“He’s hosted an auction while a prankster in the house opposite pulled up her shirt and repeatedly flashed her breasts at him during the proceedings,” realestate.com.au reports.

“He didn’t bat an eyelid and the sale went off without a hitch.”

He also shared the story of a duo who thought they were being hilarious when they pulled up in front of an auction crowd and then pretended to have sex on the bonnet of their car.

“Then there was the time,” realestate.com.au reports, “Mr McCarthy ruined his favourite tie chasing a man down the street after he saw him take something from the vendor’s bedroom during an open home.”

That item? Lingerie.

Speaking of weird behaviour, Kay & Burton chairman Gerald Delany shared with realestate.com.au the time he and a colleague commandeered a buyer’s surfboard after he told them he didn’t have enough money to pay the deposit.

“Luckily for the surfer, he turned up at the agency the next business day with the cash and had his surfboard returned,” (realestate.com).

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Reddit has also shone a torch on some of the craziest stuff that has gone down in the Australian property market, on the part of agents themselves.

Under the topic “How are real estate agents so bad,” one member of the r/australia Reddit community wrote: “After moving out of a townhouse and spending an entire day scrubbing every surface and doing the lot, leaving it sparkling and better than we found it, I hand the keys in and go to my new house one hours drive away. Next day phone call from RE: ‘You didn’t leave it in a satisfactory condition, there is some dust in the kitchen drawer underneath the cutlery tray. If you want your Bond back you need to come and pick up the keys and clean it.'”

The Reddit user added: “Next day drive over an hour back to RE, pick up the keys, go back to the house, use a tissue to wipe the literal three specks of dirt underneath the plastic cutlery thing, return the keys, drive another hour home. Half a day and $20 petrol wasted on about three specks of dirt hidden underneath a plastic cutlery tray…”

“I hate RE agents so very, very much.”

“This happened to a mate of mine. They ended up scrubbing the house from ceiling to floor, paid for carpets to be professionally cleaned, dusted the light fittings, scraped out the oven, practically sandblasted the bathroom, and eventually got their bond back,” another Reddit user shared.

“A week later, the owners ran a bulldozer through the place to build units on the site.”

Tales from South Australian real estate agents, also told to realestate.com.au, show it’s not just Victoria where house selling and renting faux pas occur.

Cynthia Sajkunovic, Ouwens Casserly Real Estate told realestate.com.au, “One of my favourites was when my manager and I discovered an owner sunbaking topless outside on the mezzanine, which was also a prohibited area.”

“We thought it was a dead body at first! I had to climb over the railing to get to the owner to wake her up! That was a funny day. The owner didn’t even seem to mind I had seen her naked!”

Further stories from yet another Reddit thread (this one entitled: “Tell me your crazy real estate story. Here’s one of mine”) show crazy real estate antics occur overseas too.

“Had a listing where the seller moved out. When I went to check on the house to make sure it was presentable, it was empty, clean, and swept out. EXCEPT, in the kitchen a shotgun was leaning against the wall and a catheter bag of urine was on the floor next to it,” one user, who appears to be American, wrote.

Yikes.

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• ‘Shagged’ Brisbane Apartment Could Be Australia’s Biggest Missed Opportunity

The post Australian Real Estate Agents Share Their Wildest Open House Stories appeared first on DMARGE.

The last eighteen months have seen somewhat of a camping renaissance in Australia.With both domestic and international border closures racking the nation; strict lockdown rules in many of our biggest cities and most Aussies feeling a general need to get away from it all, camping – as well as associated activities such as bushwalking, road trips and off-roading – has become the #1 way to holiday. We’ve been exploring our own backyard like never before.This newfound love of adventuring has also added fuel to the fire that is the Australian car market. There’s currently a pronounced shortage of new cars in dealerships and second-hand car prices are hotter than a vinyl singlet, whether you’re looking for a minivan or a muscle car, but bush-bashing 4x4s like the Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol, Ford Ranger and Land Rover Defender have seen exceptionally sharp price rises.Camping supply stores have also been having a field day, naturally – now that you’ve got a rig, you need to load it up! But there’s one car-related camping accessory that seems to be popping up around Australia more than any other… Quite literally.Car rooftop tents – sometimes called ‘pop tops’, in reference to how many are transported in roof pods you can mount to roof racks – are dominating Australian roads and campsites in 2021.

While they might not be the prettiest thing in the world, there’s a good reason why pop tops have become so popular, beyond a simple correlation between a spike in car ownership.RELATED: Toyota Land Cruiser ‘Blood Pact’ Shows How Crazy Australia’s Car Market Has BecomeFirstly, rooftop tents avoid everyone’s least favourite aspect of camping: having to pitch a tent. Messing around with tentpoles, fudging all the knots you learnt during your Scouting days, having to clear a spot… It’s a pain in the arse. Pop tops are a far simpler proposition, with many literally just popping up, no assembly required.There’s also a strong safety benefit to a rooftop tent. Being off the ground, you’re less likely to be harassed by wildlife, whether that’s caterpillars or crocodiles. On top of that (or should I say under that), being off the ground aids ventilation – perfect during a hot Aussie summer. Having a flat base also makes them more comfortable than a tent pitched on uneven ground.Finally, they’re a great space saver. It’s become very cool to live the #vanlife and sleep in your car lately, but a rooftop tent means you’ve got more room for passengers and luggage in your vehicle. It’s also somewhat more socially acceptable… Although we wouldn’t recommend setting your tent up in the middle of a parking lot.

The thing that’s really interesting is the sheer variety of size and setups on offer. Tent manufacturers are offering solutions for everything from the popular pint-sized Suzuki Jimny (really, seeing one of these little 4x4s with a roof tent is actually kind of hilarious) to full canopy modifications for Land Cruiser ‘troopies’ that replace the actual roof of the car as opposed to simply securing a pop top on top.RELATED: Suzuki Jimny SUV Suffering ‘Rolex’ Price Surge In AustraliaWhat we haven’t seen too much of yet Down Under (but would very much like to) is campers running rooftop tents on cars that aren’t big four-wheel drives. This is something Americans have pretty good form in, like the Porsche 911 build above.We’re pretty sure you could fit a pop top on top of an HSV Maloo. Just saying.

Read Next

• ‘Tradie Approved’ Cars Fast Becoming Unlikely Status Symbols For Australian Men
• Mercedes-Benz’s Most Outrageous Vehicle Sees Popularity Spike During COVID
• Australian Drivers Foolishly Ignoring This Car Maintenance Essential

The post Australia’s Latest 4×4 Trend Solves Camping’s Biggest Problem appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The last eighteen months have seen somewhat of a camping renaissance in Australia.

With both domestic and international border closures racking the nation; strict lockdown rules in many of our biggest cities and most Aussies feeling a general need to get away from it all, camping – as well as associated activities such as bushwalking, road trips and off-roading – has become the #1 way to holiday. We’ve been exploring our own backyard like never before.

This newfound love of adventuring has also added fuel to the fire that is the Australian car market. There’s currently a pronounced shortage of new cars in dealerships and second-hand car prices are hotter than a vinyl singlet, whether you’re looking for a minivan or a muscle car, but bush-bashing 4x4s like the Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol, Ford Ranger and Land Rover Defender have seen exceptionally sharp price rises.

Camping supply stores have also been having a field day, naturally – now that you’ve got a rig, you need to load it up! But there’s one car-related camping accessory that seems to be popping up around Australia more than any other… Quite literally.

Car rooftop tents – sometimes called ‘pop tops’, in reference to how many are transported in roof pods you can mount to roof racks – are dominating Australian roads and campsites in 2021.

While they might not be the prettiest thing in the world, there’s a good reason why pop tops have become so popular, beyond a simple correlation between a spike in car ownership.

RELATED: Toyota Land Cruiser ‘Blood Pact’ Shows How Crazy Australia’s Car Market Has Become

Firstly, rooftop tents avoid everyone’s least favourite aspect of camping: having to pitch a tent. Messing around with tentpoles, fudging all the knots you learnt during your Scouting days, having to clear a spot… It’s a pain in the arse. Pop tops are a far simpler proposition, with many literally just popping up, no assembly required.

There’s also a strong safety benefit to a rooftop tent. Being off the ground, you’re less likely to be harassed by wildlife, whether that’s caterpillars or crocodiles. On top of that (or should I say under that), being off the ground aids ventilation – perfect during a hot Aussie summer. Having a flat base also makes them more comfortable than a tent pitched on uneven ground.

Finally, they’re a great space saver. It’s become very cool to live the #vanlife and sleep in your car lately, but a rooftop tent means you’ve got more room for passengers and luggage in your vehicle. It’s also somewhat more socially acceptable… Although we wouldn’t recommend setting your tent up in the middle of a parking lot.

The thing that’s really interesting is the sheer variety of size and setups on offer. Tent manufacturers are offering solutions for everything from the popular pint-sized Suzuki Jimny (really, seeing one of these little 4x4s with a roof tent is actually kind of hilarious) to full canopy modifications for Land Cruiser ‘troopies’ that replace the actual roof of the car as opposed to simply securing a pop top on top.

RELATED: Suzuki Jimny SUV Suffering ‘Rolex’ Price Surge In Australia

What we haven’t seen too much of yet Down Under (but would very much like to) is campers running rooftop tents on cars that aren’t big four-wheel drives. This is something Americans have pretty good form in, like the Porsche 911 build above.

We’re pretty sure you could fit a pop top on top of an HSV Maloo. Just saying.

Read Next

• ‘Tradie Approved’ Cars Fast Becoming Unlikely Status Symbols For Australian Men
• Mercedes-Benz’s Most Outrageous Vehicle Sees Popularity Spike During COVID
• Australian Drivers Foolishly Ignoring This Car Maintenance Essential

The post Australia’s Latest 4×4 Trend Solves Camping’s Biggest Problem appeared first on DMARGE.

Sneakerheads have a saying: wear your kicks.

Sneaker culture and collecting might be more prominent than it's ever been – these days, sneakers are one of the best asset classes one can invest in – but at the end of the day, they're shoes; they're meant to be worn. Just as it's a shame to see watches or cars squirrelled away and never enjoyed by their owners, it's a shame to see sneakers never make it onto people's feet.

But there's another reason why you should wear your sneakers: unlike shares or precious metals, sneakers degrade. Dramatically and quickly, too, as this now-viral video demonstrates.

Nick Bennett, a vintage Nike restorer and enthusiast, shared this video to TikTok of him restoring a pair of Nike Air Jordan 3 'White Cement' basketball sneakers from 1994. The video shows how the polyurethane midsoles of the sneakers have completely degraded over the sneaker's 27-year lifespan, as has the plastic 'Nike Air' back tabs at the sneaker's heel. It's enough to make a sneakerhead (or clean freak) cry.

Watch how the ravages of time have taken their toll on these rare sneakers below.

 

It's fascinating to see Bennett painstakingly restore these rare retro sneakers; the meticulous prep work, Frankensteining bits from other shoes, painting, gluing... The end result speaks for itself. It's also worth the hassle: real Air Jordan 3 'White Cements' from 1994 are worth easy four figures, with a US size 8 pair currently selling on StockX for US$2,500.

RELATED: Kanye West’s Million-Dollar Sneaker Auction A Turning Point For Modern Luxury

Sadly, virtually all athletic shoes with a polyurethane foam midsole are likely to meet this fate over time. The phenomenon has a name: hydrolysis.

"Hydrolysis is the chemical breakdown of the PU [polyurethane] polymer and the resulting physical breakdown or crumbling of the PU sole by the attack of water (usually in vapour form), occurring over a period of several years (even when the shoes are in store!)," Safety Jogger explains.

"This process is accelerated by warmth and high humidity. It will, therefore, happen more quickly in tropical climates, but also in confined spaces (such as lockers) if the safety shoes are put away damp. In the most advanced state of hydrolysis, the PU sole will lose all its physical strength, thus cracking or crumbling."

[caption id="attachment_303773" align="alignnone" width="920"] A shoebox full of crumbled vintage Adidas sneaker midsoles found in a Buenos Aires sneaker store. Image: The Guardian[/caption]

Because of this, vintage sneakers that haven't undergone significant hydrolysis or degradation are worth big money – but they're incredibly rare, as the foam becomes so fragile. It's also why the 'retroing' of some of these popular vintage sneakers has become such big business for Nike and others: it gives new customers the chance to get their hands on vintage-looking sneakers that they can actually wear, without fear of doing irreversible damage.

Not all sneakers will inevitably succumb to this sort of fate. Other common midsole materials, such as the vulcanised rubber found in Converse or Vans sneakers, is far more hardy and holds up better over time. Of course, leather-soled shoes can last for decades if maintained properly, too.

RELATED: Don't Wash Your Sneakers Until You've Learnt This Right Way To Do It

But it's a timely reminder that sneakers, like all clothes, are ultimately ephemeral. Collect them if you like, but they're meant to be worn. Better to have fun with them in the present rather than end up with a box filled with dust and broken dreams down the line...

Read Next

• Sneaker Resellers Are Ransacking Lidl For These ‘Ugly’ Kicks
• Why Are The World’s Biggest Male Celebrities Suddenly Wearing Skirts?

↬ READ FULL STORY

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The post ‘My Worst Nightmare’ Video Has Sneaker Collectors Clutching Their Jordans appeared first on DMARGE.

Sneakerheads have a saying: wear your kicks.Sneaker culture and collecting might be more prominent than it’s ever been – these days, sneakers are one of the best asset classes one can invest in – but at the end of the day, they’re shoes; they’re meant to be worn. Just as it’s a shame to see watches or cars squirrelled away and never enjoyed by their owners, it’s a shame to see sneakers never make it onto people’s feet.But there’s another reason why you should wear your sneakers: unlike shares or precious metals, sneakers degrade. Dramatically and quickly, too, as this now-viral video demonstrates.Nick Bennett, a vintage Nike restorer and enthusiast, shared this video to TikTok of him restoring a pair of Nike Air Jordan 3 ‘White Cement’ basketball sneakers from 1994. The video shows how the polyurethane midsoles of the sneakers have completely degraded over the sneaker’s 27-year lifespan, as has the plastic ‘Nike Air’ back tabs at the sneaker’s heel. It’s enough to make a sneakerhead (or clean freak) cry.Watch how the ravages of time have taken their toll on these rare sneakers below.

It’s fascinating to see Bennett painstakingly restore these rare retro sneakers; the meticulous prep work, Frankensteining bits from other shoes, painting, gluing… The end result speaks for itself. It’s also worth the hassle: real Air Jordan 3 ‘White Cements’ from 1994 are worth easy four figures, with a US size 8 pair currently selling on StockX for US$2,500.RELATED: Kanye West’s Million-Dollar Sneaker Auction A Turning Point For Modern LuxurySadly, virtually all athletic shoes with a polyurethane foam midsole are likely to meet this fate over time. The phenomenon has a name: hydrolysis.“Hydrolysis is the chemical breakdown of the PU [polyurethane] polymer and the resulting physical breakdown or crumbling of the PU sole by the attack of water (usually in vapour form), occurring over a period of several years (even when the shoes are in store!),” Safety Jogger explains.

“This process is accelerated by warmth and high humidity. It will, therefore, happen more quickly in tropical climates, but also in confined spaces (such as lockers) if the safety shoes are put away damp. In the most advanced state of hydrolysis, the PU sole will lose all its physical strength, thus cracking or crumbling.”

Because of this, vintage sneakers that haven’t undergone significant hydrolysis or degradation are worth big money – but they’re incredibly rare, as the foam becomes so fragile. It’s also why the ‘retroing’ of some of these popular vintage sneakers has become such big business for Nike and others: it gives new customers the chance to get their hands on vintage-looking sneakers that they can actually wear, without fear of doing irreversible damage.Not all sneakers will inevitably succumb to this sort of fate. Other common midsole materials, such as the vulcanised rubber found in Converse or Vans sneakers, is far more hardy and holds up better over time. Of course, leather-soled shoes can last for decades if maintained properly, too.RELATED: Don’t Wash Your Sneakers Until You’ve Learnt This Right Way To Do ItBut it’s a timely reminder that sneakers, like all clothes, are ultimately ephemeral. Collect them if you like, but they’re meant to be worn. Better to have fun with them in the present rather than end up with a box filled with dust and broken dreams down the line…

Read Next

• Sneaker Resellers Are Ransacking Lidl For These ‘Ugly’ Kicks
• Why Are The World’s Biggest Male Celebrities Suddenly Wearing Skirts?

The post This Nightmare Video Will Make You Reconsider Investing In Vintage Sneakers appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Sneakerheads have a saying: wear your kicks.

Sneaker culture and collecting might be more prominent than it’s ever been – these days, sneakers are one of the best asset classes one can invest in – but at the end of the day, they’re shoes; they’re meant to be worn. Just as it’s a shame to see watches or cars squirrelled away and never enjoyed by their owners, it’s a shame to see sneakers never make it onto people’s feet.

But there’s another reason why you should wear your sneakers: unlike shares or precious metals, sneakers degrade. Dramatically and quickly, too, as this now-viral video demonstrates.

Nick Bennett, a vintage Nike restorer and enthusiast, shared this video to TikTok of him restoring a pair of Nike Air Jordan 3 ‘White Cement’ basketball sneakers from 1994. The video shows how the polyurethane midsoles of the sneakers have completely degraded over the sneaker’s 27-year lifespan, as has the plastic ‘Nike Air’ back tabs at the sneaker’s heel. It’s enough to make a sneakerhead (or clean freak) cry.

Watch how the ravages of time have taken their toll on these rare sneakers below.

It’s fascinating to see Bennett painstakingly restore these rare retro sneakers; the meticulous prep work, Frankensteining bits from other shoes, painting, gluing… The end result speaks for itself. It’s also worth the hassle: real Air Jordan 3 ‘White Cements’ from 1994 are worth easy four figures, with a US size 8 pair currently selling on StockX for US$2,500.

RELATED: Kanye West’s Million-Dollar Sneaker Auction A Turning Point For Modern Luxury

Sadly, virtually all athletic shoes with a polyurethane foam midsole are likely to meet this fate over time. The phenomenon has a name: hydrolysis.

“Hydrolysis is the chemical breakdown of the PU [polyurethane] polymer and the resulting physical breakdown or crumbling of the PU sole by the attack of water (usually in vapour form), occurring over a period of several years (even when the shoes are in store!),” Safety Jogger explains.

“This process is accelerated by warmth and high humidity. It will, therefore, happen more quickly in tropical climates, but also in confined spaces (such as lockers) if the safety shoes are put away damp. In the most advanced state of hydrolysis, the PU sole will lose all its physical strength, thus cracking or crumbling.”

Because of this, vintage sneakers that haven’t undergone significant hydrolysis or degradation are worth big money – but they’re incredibly rare, as the foam becomes so fragile. It’s also why the ‘retroing’ of some of these popular vintage sneakers has become such big business for Nike and others: it gives new customers the chance to get their hands on vintage-looking sneakers that they can actually wear, without fear of doing irreversible damage.

Not all sneakers will inevitably succumb to this sort of fate. Other common midsole materials, such as the vulcanised rubber found in Converse or Vans sneakers, is far more hardy and holds up better over time. Of course, leather-soled shoes can last for decades if maintained properly, too.

RELATED: Don’t Wash Your Sneakers Until You’ve Learnt This Right Way To Do It

But it’s a timely reminder that sneakers, like all clothes, are ultimately ephemeral. Collect them if you like, but they’re meant to be worn. Better to have fun with them in the present rather than end up with a box filled with dust and broken dreams down the line…

Read Next

• Sneaker Resellers Are Ransacking Lidl For These ‘Ugly’ Kicks
• Why Are The World’s Biggest Male Celebrities Suddenly Wearing Skirts?

The post ‘My Worst Nightmare’ Video Has Sneaker Collectors Clutching Their Jordans appeared first on DMARGE.

Working out and getting yourself fit doesn't have to be hard. But we're well aware that the mere thought of going to a gym in the hope of seeing results is one that is often met with negativity. "What's the point?", "I'm not strong enough"; "I haven't seen results before" are just some of the phrases many of us have likely muttered.

Indeed, if you're a complete novice in the fitness game, knowing which workouts and exercises to perform can be more confusing than figuring out the meaning of life. Thanks to the internet, however, information is right at your fingertips. Although you shouldn't trust everyone with 100k followers and a shiny set of abs, you only need to jump onto platforms such as Instagram to find genuinely good content and industry figures to follow (just do so discerningly, or allow us to bring you good recommendations).

On that note: you'll soon find that there are plenty of easy-to-do workouts that will help you obtain the results you crave.

Case in point: this simple circuit breaker workout recently posted by Josh Goldberg (@bodybyberg). It involves three movements and a pair of dumbbells. What could be simpler?

Urging anyone who wants to try the workout to complete "6 rounds with as little rest as possible in between sets," Josh's workout doesn't even require you to have a huge amount of space, so you can easily perform it in your garden, living room or another spare room in your house.

Check out this circuit breaker workout in the video below.

 

Josh's circuit breaker workout comprises the following movements:

1. Renegade Rows x 15: Starting in a standing position with a dumbbell in each hand down by your sides, drop down into a push-up position. Place the dumbbells on the floor (still in your hands) slightly wider than hip-width apart, and perform a push-up. At the top of the push-up, row each dumbbell up towards your hip, alternating your arms, so that one arm (and one dumbbell) stays on the floor. Once you've completed a row with each arm, jump back up to standing to complete one rep.
2. Squat with Lateral & Front Raises x 20: Standing with a dumbbell in each hand down by your sides, perform a squat move – a good squat should see you move as if you were going to sit down on a chair, i.e. push your bum out first and aim to keep your knees from going too far over your toes. Once back standing again, perform a lateral raise: lift your arms up and out to the sides (you can have a slight bend in the elbow) ensuring that your hands don't go above shoulder height. Next, lift both arms out in front of you to perform a front raises, again, making sure your hands don't go above shoulder height. Complete all three for one rep.
3. Weighted Reverse Crunch x 10: A real core blaster, this move requires you to lie down on the floor, but raise your legs and upper body off the ground. Holding both dumbbells with your arms at right angles, bring your legs towards your body and aim to bring your upper body forward to meet them.

Easy to follow, but admittedly not incredibly easy to complete six rounds of, start with a light weight dumbbell to perform this for the first few times. You can even try it without any weight to begin with if you're a complete newbie.

Aim to complete this circuit breaker two or three times a week, and you'll soon be able to increase the weight and maximise your gains.

Read Next

• This 30-Minute Non-Stop Dumbbell Workout Will Shake You To Your Core
• Want Huge Shoulders? Do This Brutal Upper Body Workout

↬ READ FULL STORY

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The post This Two Dumbbell ‘Circuit Breaker’ Workout Is Perfect For Switching Up Your Game appeared first on DMARGE.

Furry haired 'meme coin' enthusiasts rejoiced and seasoned investors rolled their eyes this week as the self-proclaimed "Dogecoin killer" Shiba Inu skyrocketed to the highest price it's been since its release in May. It's now sitting, at the time of writing, on AU$0.00004061.

But before we get into why Shiba Inu is blowing up, and whether it's too late to buy, first: what the hell is Shiba Inu?

Shiba Inu is one of a few new 'meme coins' on the block, which appears to have been inspired by Dogecoin’s heroic spikes (which began in Jan/Feb), when people started looking for the next Dogecoin (one they could get in early on this time).

Shiba Inu is far from the only one – plenty of developers have tried to riff off it (with catchy names and the like). Shiba Inu, however, is arguably the catchiest spinoff right now (Shiba Inu being the name of the breed of dog the Dogecoin meme is based on).

Shina Inu's origin story goes as follows: Russian-Canadian programmer and writer (and co-founder of Ethereum) Vitalik Buterin was, without his permission, gifted 50% of Shiba Inu's coins by its anonymous founder (who goes by the pseudonym Ryoshi), according to SHIB's white paper.

Buterin is a respected figure in the crypto space. However, this gave him the power to rug pull at any time. Which he promptly did – but not quite in the way you might expect. Buterin donated a huge number of Shiba Inu (as well as a couple other of his other coins) to help support India’s Covid relief cause.

This caused panic among investors and saw Shiba Inu's price plummet drastically soon after its inception. It's price dropped from just over 0.00004 to around $0.00001, and has hovered around the 0.00001 range for months. After a couple of mini price hikes in September, however, Shiba Inu's value has now started soaring in October. It is now worth $0.00004061 – more or less back to where it was before Buterin's charitable rug pull.

This week Shiba Inu holders have woken to see 50% price increases – and then last night 70% price increases – overnight.

These rises have come after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk posted a photo of his new Shiba Inu puppy with the caption, "Floki Frunkpuppy" on Twitter on the 4th of October.

Floki Frunkpuppy pic.twitter.com/xAr8T0Jfdf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2021

Elon has a history of playing with the crypto market, and many users seeked further clarification on his cryptic message (or non message, depending on how you view it).

Hello, it is floki coin or shiba inu ?

— KShop (@KogiShopp) October 4, 2021

Many supporters and holders of Shiba Inu, with a vested interest in seeing its price skyrocket, took this chance to generate hype and FOMO (as did fans of every coin which could conceivably be linked in any way to the Tweet).

Josh Gilbert, eToro's Australian market analyst, told DMARGE, "Shiba Inu (SHIB) has continued to gain support within the crypto community, especially as it hits over 1 million followers on Twitter. Despite being considered a 'meme coin', Shiba Inu’s biggest allure for investors is its basic fundamentals such as the decentralised exchange (DEX)."

"What’s the biggest catalyst for this recent increase? Elon Musk. Once again, Musk has moved the crypto markets, this time with the purchase of his very own Shiba Inu puppy called 'Floki', which he shared a photo of on his Twitter account."

"Whilst, [Elon's] tweet itself didn’t reference the Shiba Inu coin, it was enough to send his supporters flocking to buy the coin, therefore boosting its value."

Naturally, for the time being, the price has shot up, with Shiba Inu making it into CoinSpot's #1 'gainer' spot at certain points this week (it's currently the number 2 gainer across the entire market, with BTC Standa sitting at #1 at the time of writing).

But is Shiba Inu's growth sustainable?

Take this as a compliment or an insult (take your pick), but Shiba Inu is sustainable in much the same way Dogecoin is sustainable – it will last so long as there is people buying more of it. As long as there is hype and cult-like belief.

Although figures like Mark Cuban and Elon Musk like to pontificate about the potential real uses of meme coins (see video below, where Elon Musk calls Dogecoin the best medium of exchange), and though it is true that Dogecoin, for instance has quicker transaction speeds than Bitcoin, there is already a more serious segment of the crypto market dedicated to solving that problem and becoming the next Ethereum (see: Cardano). At this stage, there's nothing more than random Elon Musk tweets that suggest meme coins like Dogecoin – which was originally built to be unusable – are practical enough to go down that route.

Elon Musk & Mark Cuban talk about the potential 'real life' applications of meme coins – beyond just cash.

 

That said, Dogecoin saw some ridiculous highs earlier this year based on what some call idiocy, and what others call groupthink. And the same phenomenon could now be at play with Shiba Inu. So if you are happy to risk your money (and know you might not get it back) then Shiba Inu could be worth a flutter (much like a trip to the casino) and it could keep on booming for a bit, with bigger spikes potentially around the corner. Or it could just totally die off again and never see another spike after this one. Who knows.

So – to answer the question, 'is it too late to buy?', that really depends on whether the hype grows, or whether those that have just made serious money breathe a sigh of relief and cash out, and leave you holding the bag.

Josh Gilbert, eToro's Australian market analyst, told DMARGE the following, regarding Shiba Inu's price hike this week, and what could happen next (as well as providing a warning for investors).

"Due to the surge of interest, we are likely to see more exchanges begin to list the Shiba Inu coin and provide investors with the opportunity to gain exposure as it continues to climb the ranks of the crypto market cap list."

"Judging when to enter any asset, not just Shiba Inu, is always tricky and trying to time the market is nearly impossible. Investors shouldn’t just buy an asset because they have seen the price rise by 50 or 100 per cent. Instead, anyone considering investing should research the ideas behind the specific asset and understand the potential use cases. Adopting a strategy such as dollar-cost averaging can be a great way to manage risk when entering into an asset. On top of this, using risk management techniques such as stop losses can help lower risk."

"Ultimately, anyone investing in such assets needs to understand the risk. Crypto is a highly volatile asset class and eToro urges investors to remember the basic tenets of investing; diversify your holdings, understand what you are investing in and never invest more than you can afford to lose."

As for whether you can trust Crypto Market Caps he told DMARGE: "The crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of coins or tokens in circulation by the price of the coin or token."

"Fundamentally, market caps of cryptoassets can tell investors a better story than the price and allow for better comparisons across cryptoassets. For example, a cryptoasset such as Cardano (ADA) is listed at USD$2.20, however, it has a larger market cap than yearn.finance (YFI), priced at USD$32,300. Below is the calculation and an example (prices accurate as of 07.10.2021)."

• (Price) USD$2.20 X 32,025,787,327 (circulating supply) ADA = Market cap of USD$70,456,732,119.
• (Price) USD$32,200 X 36,638 (circulating supply) YFI = Market cap of USD$1,117,974,360

He added: "The market cap of a cryptoasset is a great metric for comparing the value of cryptoassets. In addition, it can help investors understand a cryptoasset’s stability, particularly for investors looking for less volatility and associated risk."

"Essentially, I’d argue we categorise cryptoassets like you would stocks: large caps, mid caps and small caps. However, as cryptoassets experience a lot more volatility, market caps are constantly changing. Therefore, anything over $USD10 billion would be considered large cap, which is reflected in the top 20 assets ranked by market cap."

Read Next

• I Bought $1,000 Of Crypto Currencies. It Was A Huge Mistake
• The Best & Most Exciting Cryptocurrency Investments You Need To Know

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The post Shiba Inu Is Absolutely Skyrocketing. Is It Too Late To Buy? appeared first on DMARGE.

Meme coin enthusiasts are rejoicing and seasoned investors are rolling their eyes this morning as the self-proclaimed “Dogecoin killer” SHIB has rallied over 50% to reach a new 2022 high. At the time of writing (8th of February) SHIB is trading at $0.00003279 ($0.00004602 AUD).

SHIB’s recent gain comes off the back of a broader “crypto spring”, which has seen Bitcoin (BTC) gain 14% and Ethereum (ETH) gain 17% over the last 7 days, signalling a potential reversal away from the expected gloom of a “crypto winter”.

However, SHIB’s particularly wild rally isn’t just the result of a broader market rebound, there are a few price-driving factors that have been sitting just below the surface for some time. On January 25th this year, the official SHIB Twitter account posted an image, touting the release of a new project called the #shibverse. Then, on February 3rd the community behind SHIB released an announcement that they had partnered with an Italian fast-food chain called Welly’s.

The cult-like following that SHIB has attracted is one of the fundamental driving forces behind the current rally. Even though the SHIB Twitter page flexes an impressive 2.7 million followers, the “community” behind SHIB aren’t the only ones driving the price action of a $17.8 billion ($25.1 billion AUD) market cap memecoin.

Ultimately, the enormous surge in price comes from other large players knowing that even relatively small spikes in the value of memecoins can trigger massive rallies, leading to extremely risky, yet potentially enormous returns for those willing to gamble large sums of money on speculative crypto plays.

But before we get into why Shiba Inu is blowing up, and whether it’s too late to buy, first: what the hell is Shiba Inu?

Shiba Inu is one of a few new ‘meme coins’ on the block, which appears to have been inspired by Dogecoin’s heroic spikes (which began in Jan/Feb), when people started looking for the next Dogecoin (one they could get in early on this time).

Shiba Inu is far from the only one – plenty of developers have tried to riff off it (with catchy names and the like). Shiba Inu, however, is arguably the catchiest spinoff right now (Shiba Inu being the name of the breed of dog the Dogecoin meme is based on).

Shina Inu’s origin story goes as follows: Russian-Canadian programmer and writer (and co-founder of Ethereum) Vitalik Buterin was, without his permission, gifted 50% of Shiba Inu’s coins by its anonymous founder (who goes by the pseudonym Ryoshi), according to SHIB’s white paper.

Buterin is a respected figure in the crypto space. However, this gave him the power to rug pull at any time. Which he promptly did – but not quite in the way you might expect. Buterin donated a huge number of Shiba Inu (as well as a couple other of his other coins) to help support India’s Covid relief cause.

This caused panic among investors and saw Shiba Inu’s price plummet drastically soon after its inception. Its price dropped from just over 0.00004 to around $0.00001, and has hovered around the 0.00001 range for months. After a couple of mini price hikes in September, however, Shiba Inu’s value has started soaring in October. It hit an all-time high of $0.00008841 on October the 7th – well above and beyond what it was before Buterin’s charitable rug pull.

That week Shiba Inu holders woke to see 50% price increases – and then 70% price increases – and then even more astonishing price increases (depending on when they first bought Shiba Inu). Happy days for some indeed.

Those rises came after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk posted a photo of his new Shiba Inu puppy with the caption, “Floki Frunkpuppy” on Twitter on the 4th of October.

Floki Frunkpuppy pic.twitter.com/xAr8T0Jfdf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2021

Elon has a history of playing with the crypto market, and many users sought further clarification on his cryptic message (or non-message, depending on how you view it).

Hello, it is floki coin or shiba inu ?

— KShop (@KogiShopp) October 4, 2021

Many supporters and holders of Shiba Inu, with a vested interest in seeing its price skyrocket, took this chance to generate hype and FOMO (as did fans of every coin which could conceivably be linked in any way to the Tweet).

Naturally, the price has shot up, with Shiba Inu making it into CoinSpot’s #1 ‘gainer’ spot at certain points during October.

Since its all-time high Shiba Inu has dropped to $0.00004474 (at its lowest point since then), but has generally hung around the $0.00006 mark. Generally, it trended down with a couple of bounces (whether they are dead cat bounces or not remains to be seen). At the time of writing, it has come back up from the low of 0.00004474 and is now sitting at $0.00005659. The market for Shiba at present, however, continues to be dominated by bears, even as Bitcoin and Ethereum are very bullish.

So: is Shiba Inu’s growth sustainable? Or – perhaps more pertinently – is there going to be another massive spike?

Take this as a compliment or an insult (take your pick), but Shiba Inu is sustainable in much the same way Dogecoin is sustainable – it will last so long as there are people buying more of it. As long as there is hype and cult-like belief.

Although figures like Mark Cuban and Elon Musk like to pontificate about the potential real uses of meme coins (see video below, where Elon Musk calls Dogecoin the best medium of exchange), and though it is true that Dogecoin, for instance, has quicker transaction speeds than Bitcoin, there is already a more serious segment of the crypto market dedicated to solving that problem and becoming the next Ethereum (see: Cardano). At this stage, there’s nothing more than random Elon Musk tweets that suggest meme coins like Dogecoin – which was originally built to be unusable – are practical enough to go down that route.

Elon Musk & Mark Cuban talk about the potential ‘real life’ applications of meme coins – beyond just cash.

That said, Dogecoin saw some ridiculous highs earlier this year based on what some call idiocy, and what others call groupthink. And the same phenomenon could now be at play with Shiba Inu. So if you are happy to risk your money (and know you might not get it back) then Shiba Inu could be worth a flutter (much like a trip to the casino) and it could keep on booming for a bit, with bigger spikes potentially around the corner. Or it could just totally die off again and never see another spike after this one. Who knows.

So – to answer the question, ‘is it too late to buy?’, that really depends on whether the hype grows, or whether those that have just made serious money breathe a sigh of relief and cash out, and leave you holding the bag.

Where to buy Shiba Inu coin

You can buy Shiba Inu a variety of ways, much like you can any other cryptocurrency. Generally speaking, you need a wallet – an online app – in which to store your crypto money (some stock trading apps also let you trade crypto too).

The best crypto wallets are Coinbase, Coinspot, Mycelium, Ledger Nano X, Exodus, Trustwallet, Robinhood, Gemini, Kraken and Binance. If you are a beginner then Coinspot or Coinbase are good picks. Also be warned that while Trust Wallet via pancake swap will allow you to buy a greater variety of new, obscure and up and coming coins, it is more complicated to use, so not ideal for beginners.

Beyond that, you buy Shiba Inu like any other coin. Shiba Inu is able to be bought on Binance, Coinspot and Coinbase much more easily than on Trust Wallet. You download your wallet/app (ensuring it is a legitimate one), go through the verification process, follow the instructions to load your account with the money you wish to spend, and buy Shiba Inu.

Shiba Inu price prediction

No one really knows what price Shiba Inu will hit, as – like Dogecoin – it is essentially a groupthink experiment. While some believe the hype around crypto will only lead to greater and greater gains for these kinds of pyramid schemes, others reckon Dogecoin had more legitimate hype around it, as it was the first huge meme coin, and actually had a bit of a satirical purpose behind it (to mock the serious cryptocurrencies). While Shiba Inu doesn’t have quite the same mission statement (it aims, instead to be the Dogecoin killer), the mob “let’s all make money” mentality certainly seems to still be here for Shiba Inu to draw from.

This all in mind: different people have different price predictions for Shiba Inu. Youtuber The Moving Average has predicted Shiba Inu will go up 25,000%.

Crypto website Wallet Investor, for its part, “expects Shiba to be valued at $0.000040 in a year’s time,” The Sun reports. The Sun also reported on October the 24th, “Coin Price Forecast predicts Shiba will be $0.00005349 by the end of 2021 and $0.00006438 by the middle of next year.”

Will Shiba Inu Coin reach $1?

There are varying perspectives on this. Jordan McCreery, founding partner of Ingrained Media, has told The Sun: “I believe Shiba has some real potential to grow from its fraction of a cent amount to $0.01 or greater. Don Guo, however, the CEO of Broctagon, told The Express it is impossible for Shiba Inu to ever reach $1. “In order for SHIB to reach a dollar, it requires a market capitalisation of one quadrillion US dollars.”

“In comparison, the entirety of the US National Debt is $23.3 trillion – and even that staggering sum constitutes less than 3 per cent of the amount required for SHIB to reach that price point. Given current trends, it is more likely that Shiba will remain within its ballpark of less than a fraction of a cent.”

Never invest more than you can afford to lose into any crypto, and take any price prediction with a pinch of salt – those making such predictions could have a vested increase in increasing hype.

Read Next

• I Bought $1,000 Of Crypto Currencies. It Was A Huge Mistake
• The Best & Most Exciting Cryptocurrency Investments You Need To Know

The post Shiba Inu (SHIB) Rallies 50% To a New 2022 High. Is Now a Good Time to Buy? appeared first on DMARGE Australia.