Shytoshi Kusama and Kaal Dhairya, the lead pseudonymous developers behind the popular memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB), have broken their silence in their first-ever joint interview. Published this week, the conversation unveils surprising details about their past lives before their journey into the blockchain world. Kusama, a polyglot who speaks six languages, previously worked as an Uber driver in Los Angeles, alongside a diverse career path that included roles in the music industry, imaging, and even as a barista. On the other hand, Dhairya, often regarded as the technical genius of the project, was a part-time food delivery driver in New York City.
Kusama’s path into the tech industry began with a serendipitous encounter while driving for Uber. He explained that a conversation with a wealthy passenger set him on his new course.
“One day, a super wealthy individual got in the back. I asked: 'What do you do?' He said: 'If you want what I have, get into tech.' So I did.”
He began his crypto journey as a hobby, navigating through two market cycles over seven years. After turning an initial $4,000 investment into a decent profit, he discovered the Shiba Inu project when its community had just 6,000 members. Intrigued, he invested another $3,000 into the budding memecoin.
During that time, he read the first blog post by SHIB’s pseudonymous creator, Ryoshi, which discussed decentralization. After meeting Ryoshi in the community group, Kusama pitched an idea that was immediately approved.
Recognizing he needed technical support, Kusama found it in Dhairya, whom he also connected with via the group. He asked Dhairya to quit his job, offering him a year's salary upfront. Kusama emphasized the importance of trust in their partnership:
“He [Dhairya] convinced me this could be big, and in crypto, you need at least one person you can trust, otherwise everyone around you is like sand or wind. They change all the time to someone they think will make them more money.”
And with that trust established, Kusama knew Dhairya was the one to get the job done.
Recounting his side of the story, Dhairya shared his immediate alignment with the project’s vision.
“I had a very good grasp of the [SHIB] vision because I was looking into decentralized companies and how businesses like Airbnb were growing. When he showed me the vision, I thought yes, I get it… I didn’t hesitate to join him.”
Ryoshi created SHIB in August 2020 with a grand plan to develop five tokens and several core technologies. This includes SHIB, LEASH, BONE, TREAT (still to be launched), and a stablecoin called SHI, alongside key technologies such as Shibarium. Describing Ryoshi as the 'Dogecoin challenger,' Kusama explained the creator's ambition:
“His [Ryoshi’s] goal was if someone could actually build all these things, then we could surpass Doge.”
Moving forward, the developer duo has an ambitious plan for the meme coin. Kusama stated that their goal is to be the “world's first trillion-dollar decentralized entity,” adding:
“Right now, less than 5 percent of the world is on crypto – not only do we see it exploding, but we see memes being the gateway to crypto and blockchain, and Shiba Inu being the vehicle that will lead the world from Web2 to Web3.”
According to Kusama, Ryoshi conceived SHIB as a radical experiment. He did not want the project to spend money on influencers or exchange listings. Instead, he wanted SHIB holders and developers to organically market the project, to “do something cool,” Kusama said.
Ryoshi believed that this type of collaborative effort could enable them to “build the world's largest decentralized community,” Kusama added. The community is still driven by this foundational principle.
Dhairya described SHIB as a “movement with a core ethos.” He explained:
“People build their own things with it, and our job is to give them the ability to amplify their message. And to make sure we take some of that market share and bring it back to the foundation, to the community.”
He further elaborated that anyone wanting to build within the SHIB ecosystem must align with its core values.
“If tomorrow you want to create a Shiba-themed product and you meet our checklist, you're part of the support system we are creating. You can take market share from a giant like Starbucks and channel it back to the community, and the entire community will be behind you.”
Despite SHIB currently ranking as one of the top crypto assets, Kusama and Dhairya have no plans to reveal their identities. Furthermore, they intend to transition the project's leadership to the community by the end of this year. Kusama stated:
“…right now we are leads, but by the end of the year, there will be committees of people who will lead specific areas.”
Therefore, the anonymous developers see no reason to disclose their identities. They also value the privacy that their pseudonymity provides, with Kusama concluding:
“The fact that I can sit here in this coffee shop, no security detail, nobody recognizes me, that’s actually worth more than any amount of money.”
