Shiba Inu and the ShibaSwap/Shibarium Ecosystem: Spanish Tax Guide

Shiba Inu (SHIB) started as a meme coin but has evolved into a DeFi ecosystem with multiple tokens and layers. Understanding the taxation of the ShibaSwap ecosystem requires knowledge of its three main tokens and the mechanics of each protocol.

The Three Tokens of the Shiba Inu Ecosystem

SHIB (Shiba Inu)

• Main token, entry point for most investors.
• Buy/sell → GPO (Capital Gains and Losses) under savings base.
• SHIB burning: deflationary mechanism where tokens are burned. If you voluntarily burn SHIB → transmission at value 0 → negative GPO (capital loss).

LEASH

• Token with very limited supply (90,000 units).
• Originally pegged to DOGE’s price, now an ecosystem token.
• Buy/sell → GPO under savings base.
• Lower liquidity → more volatile prices and high spreads.

BONE (ShibaSwap Bone)

• Governance token of the ShibaSwap ecosystem.
• Used for voting in the SHIB DAO.
• Reward token for liquidity pools in ShibaSwap.
• Also serves as the gas token in Shibarium (Layer 2).

ShibaSwap: Staking and Liquidity

ShibaSwap is the DEX of the Shiba ecosystem. It has two main mechanisms:

WOOF (SHIB Staking)

• Deposit SHIB into WOOF → receive xSHIB (receipt token).
• Earn rewards in BONE and LEASH.
• Taxation of WOOF:
  • SHIB deposit → xSHIB: debate on whether this constitutes a transmission. The most conservative interpretation: it is a transmission → GPO upon deposit.
  • Rewards in BONE/LEASH → RCM (Miscellaneous Income) at the value upon receipt.
  • Withdrawal of xSHIB → SHIB: second transmission → GPO if xSHIB has a different value.

BURY (LEASH and BONE Staking)

• Similar to WOOF but for LEASH and BONE.
• Receive xLEASH and xBONE tokens.
• Same tax mechanics as WOOF.

Liquidity Pools in ShibaSwap

• You can add liquidity to pairs (SHIB/ETH, BONE/ETH, etc.).
• Receive SSLP tokens (similar to LP tokens in Uniswap).
• Earn rewards in BONE.
• Taxation: same as any AMM (deposit, rewards, withdrawal → same treatment as Uniswap, SushiSwap, etc.).

Shibarium: Shiba Inu’s Layer 2 Solution

Shibarium is Shiba Inu’s Layer 2 scalability solution, launched in 2023. It uses BONE as the gas token:

• Transactions on Shibarium pay gas fees in BONE.
• Gas paid in BONE → the BONE you pay as gas is considered transmitted → GPO if it had capital gains.
• DeFi on Shibarium: AMM protocols, lending, etc. Same tax treatment as on Ethereum but with BONE as gas.

TREAT: The New Token in SHIB’s Roadmap

The Shiba Inu team plans to launch TREAT (another ecosystem token). If distributed as an airdrop:

• TREAT airdrop → GPO under general base at market value upon receipt.

Practical Aspects of SHIB Tax Tracking

Transaction Volume

SHIB holders often make many transactions of small amounts (SHIB has many decimals). Tax tracking can be complex:

Solutions:

• Use tools like Koinly, CoinTracker, or Blockpit connected to your Ethereum wallet.
• Ensure you include transactions on Shibarium (Chain ID 109) in addition to those on Ethereum Mainnet.
• ETH gas fees for SHIB operations on Ethereum → acquisition/transmission costs added to the net price of the transaction.

SHIB Burning: Is It Deductible?

If you voluntarily send SHIB to the burn address:

• It is a transmission of SHIB at price 0 → capital loss based on acquisition cost.
• Difficult to prove as a "definitive" loss because the burn is voluntary, not due to a casualty.
• Can be declared as a capital loss under the savings base, but prepare documentation of the transaction hash to the burn address.

Tax Summary of the SHIB Ecosystem

Updated: April 2026 | Tax Year: 2025