Where to buy Shiba Inu coin in Japan, and how it differs from Dogecoin

Shiba Inu vs Dogecoin: why people confuse them

Both coins use a Shiba Inu as a mascot and both grew out of meme culture, so many searchers type "Shiba coin" and hope for the best. They are not the same thing. Dogecoin (DOGE) launched in December 2013 with its own blockchain. Shiba Inu (SHIB) came along in 2020 as a token running on Ethereum, and its supporters call it the "Dogecoin killer", which tells you how closely the two are linked in people's minds. For the older coin's story, read our Dogecoin guide for Japan.

The launch year and the Ethereum-token design are general public knowledge about the project; the exchange counts come from our reading of the FSA register.

Supply and burn: the numbers, with caveats

SHIB's headline feature is its huge supply. One quadrillion tokens were issued at the start. In 2021 a large share was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's wallet, and he burnedSending coins to an address nobody controls, which removes them from circulation for good. roughly 410 trillion of them. That one action accounts for almost all of the burn total.

Treat these as reported figures rather than official ones; they move every day, and live trackers such as Shibburn show the current numbers. Day-to-day burning since 2021 has been small compared with that one event. A falling supply is not a price guarantee. About 589 trillion tokens remain, so the future price depends on demand, not on the burn headline you see on social media.

What is Shibarium?

Shibarium is a layer-2A network that sits on top of Ethereum to process transactions more cheaply, then settles them back on Ethereum. network built by the SHIB community. It was launched in 2023 and aims to run apps and NFTs at lower fees. A portion of transaction fees is reportedly set aside for burning.

For a resident buying on a Japanese exchange, none of this changes what you do. The SHIB you hold there is an exchange balance. If you want to use Shibarium you must send coins to a self-custody wallet, and Japanese exchanges apply the Travel RuleA rule requiring sender and receiver details to travel with a crypto transfer between providers. In force in Japan since 1 June 2023. to those withdrawals. New Shibarium tokens and apps are also a favourite hunting ground for scammers, so most readers are better off keeping things simple. Our wallet guide covers what you can send where.

Which Japanese exchanges list SHIB?

According to the FSA register, nine firms list SHIB. Unlike DOGE, the strongest order-book exchanges, bitbank and GMO Coin, do not carry it, so in many cases you will buy on a dealer desk. CEX.IO is in the first row for reference: it is an international platform with SHIB pairs, but it is not FSA-registered, has no yen support, and Japan is on its unsupported list.

Mercoin began offering DOGE, SHIB and other coins through Coincheck's dealer desk on 8 June 2026. If you already use Mercari and have sales balance or points, that is the lowest-friction route; see our guide to buying crypto with points. The full field is on the registered exchanges page.

Dealer desks: watch the spread

On a dealer deskThe exchange sets the price and trades with you. No visible fee, but the gap between buy and sell prices is the cost. (販売所, hanbaijo) you will see "no fee", yet the spreadThe difference between buy and sell price. It acts as a hidden fee and widens when markets move fast. still costs you. Coincheck publishes 0.1-5.0% for its desk (some coins 1.7-7.0%) and warns that it widens in volatile markets. Meme coins are exactly where that happens. If you buy and sell within minutes, the spread alone can wipe out a small gain.

Where an order book is available, limit orders cost far less, but confirm per coin in each exchange's own list. The account-opening steps are the same as in our Bitcoin buying guide, and fees across exchanges are compared on the fees page.

Buying SHIB in Japan, step by step

1. Check the list first

   Choose among the nine firms that list SHIB. SBI VC Trade and Mercoin are the easiest for small amounts.

2. Verify your identity

   Use a residence card or My Number Card on your smartphone. Funding comes from a bank account in your own name.

3. Check the spread, then buy

   Look at the buy and sell prices before you tap. Start with an amount you can afford to lose.

4. Decide how you will exit and keep records

   Know how you will sell, and keep the annual trade report for tax.

One practical warning: SHIB is an Ethereum token, so if you withdraw it, double-check the network and address. A wrong network can mean permanently lost coins. Test with a small amount and declare the destination correctly under the Travel Rule.

More coins does not mean cheaper

One yen buys you thousands of SHIB, and new buyers sometimes read that as a bargain. It is not. If the price moves 10%, you gain or lose 10% whether you hold a thousand coins or a billion. Compare market capitalisation (price times circulating supply), not the price per coin.

The tiny unit price also makes input mistakes easier on trading screens. Check both the yen amount and the quantity before you confirm.

The Mercari route in a little more detail

Mercoin is worth a closer look if you are an existing Mercari user. Trading happens inside the Mercari app, you can buy from ¥1 using your Merpay balance (for example proceeds from items you sold), and sales proceeds go back to the Merpay balance. Since 8 June 2026 the coin list has included SHIB through Coincheck, which acts as counterparty and custodian for those coins. The trade-off is that the spread is built into the price and Mercoin does not publish it, so it is hard to judge the cost in advance.

For expats this route has one more advantage: if you already have a Mercari account with a verified identity, the onboarding feels familiar. But the same rules apply as anywhere else in Japan. The account must be in your own name, gains are taxable, and moving coins out is governed by the Travel Rule. If you want an order book, you will have to look at other exchanges, and as noted above neither bitbank nor GMO Coin lists SHIB.

Tax on Shiba Inu in Japan

Gains on SHIB are miscellaneous income (雑所得, zatsu-shotoku) under the National Tax Agency crypto FAQ. Selling at a gain, swapping for another coin and spending it are all taxable. The income is added to your other earnings at 5-45% national tax plus 10% resident tax, up to 55% in total. Holding is not taxed.

Because SHIB trades in huge quantities, keep an exact log of quantities, dates and the yen value of each trade. Download your annual trade report before moving between exchanges. An employee with one employer and other income of ¥200,000 or less a year need not file a national return, but resident tax still needs a declaration. Our tax guide explains the calculation and the tax reform page covers the 20% rate that cannot start before 2028 on our estimate.

Risks to understand before you buy

Shiba Inu has no revenue or assets behind its price. It moves on attention and can fall sharply and stay down. Scammers use celebrity names and the word "burn" to lure people into investment groups and fake exchanges. Never send money to anyone promising that SHIB will multiply, and never deposit with a firm that is not on the FSA register. Our scam guide shows the common patterns.

Because only nine firms list it, delisting is also a risk. BITPOINT, for example, is delisting several coins as it merges into SBI VC Trade. Watch the announcements of the exchange you use. For how SHIB compares with the larger coins, see the coin guide hub.

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