Shiba Inu (SHIB) investors holding between 0.1% and 1% of the total supply have emerged as the driving force in the meme token’s accumulation. These mid-sized holders added a staggering 7.63 trillion SHIB recently, even as whale and retail investor holdings saw a decline.
Investors bag 7.63T SHIB in January
SHIB’s price dipped below the critical $0.00002 mark this week, a level that previously acted as a significant support. This decline coincided with broader market fluctuations witnessed post-US presidential inauguration, causing the token to briefly lose ground. However, the Shiba Inu token showed resilience, rising nearly 2% the following day to reach $0.00002026. Despite this brief recovery, the token remains down 12.2% over the past week while boasting a price gain of 125% over the past year.
A notable discovery amidst SHIB’s price volatility is the substantial accumulation by mid-tier investors. Data from IntoTheBlock reveals that as of 20 January 2025, wallets holding between 0.1% and 1% of SHIB’s circulating supply collectively held 155.97 trillion tokens. This represents a 7.63 trillion SHIB increase from 31 December 2024, when their holdings stood at 148.34 trillion SHIB.
These mid-sized investors now control 15.07% of the total supply, a notable 5.51% increase in their share. Their growing influence further underscores their role as significant players in the SHIB ecosystem.
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Declines in whale and retail SHIB holdings
While mid-sized investors ramped up their SHIB accumulation, large holders, or “whales,” slightly reduced their positions. As of 20 January 2025, whales controlled 569.57 trillion SHIB, or 57.88% of the circulating supply, down from 575.41 trillion at the end of December 2024.
This notable decrease in whale SHIB holdings signal a change in whale activity, possibly due to profit-taking or diversification in the crypto market.
Likewise, retail investors also saw a modest decline in their SHIB holdings. Retail wallets, which held 260.56 trillion SHIB at the end of December 2024, now control 258.73 trillion tokens, representing 26.29% of the total supply. This translates to a 0.92% reduction in retail participation in the SHIB market.
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Changing dynamics in SHIB holding periods
It bears mentioning that investor holding periods for SHIB have shifted notably in recent months. IntoTheBlock data also indicates that “cruisers,” or investors who hold SHIB for one to twelve months, increased their holdings by 13.52% in January 2025.
In contrast, those holding SHIB for less than a month (traders) reduced their positions by 31.93%. Long-term holders, those with SHIB for over a year, saw only a slight increase of 0.05%.
This trend suggests a growing preference for mid-term holding strategies, with reduced short-term speculation in the market.
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Shiba Inu exchange reserves decline
Supporting these accumulation trends, Shiba Inu reserves on exchanges have dropped significantly. According to CryptoQuant data, reserves hit an all-time low of 98.4 trillion SHIB on 21 January 2025, reflecting a 27.4% decline since the start of the year.
While reserves slightly rebounded to 98.6 trillion SHIB, the overall 27.2% reduction indicates that investors are increasingly moving their assets to private wallets or staking platforms. Notably, this development often reduces the available supply on exchanges, often signaling bullish sentiment.
This declining exchange reserves, combined with the substantial accumulation of SHIB and mid-term holding pattern, suggests growing confidence in the long-term potential of the second-largest memecoin by market capitalization. Meanwhile, shifts in reduced retail and whale participation highlight reduced money inflow into SHIB. With these dynamics at play, Shiba Inu’s future price trajectory remains one to watch closely.
Ranked 20th in the crypto market with a valuation of $11.8 billion at the time of writing, SHIB is changing hands at $0.00002006.
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Ndianabasi Tom A Petroleum Engineering degree holder, Ndianabasi’s interest since 2018 has been studying the ever-growing field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, keenly evaluating the innovation, exploration, and expansion of this field locally and globally. The founder of Nitadel a media platform, Ndianabasi has been a Writer at Crypto Asset Buyer (CAB) since 2021. When he is not drilling resources in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field, Ndianabasi is singing, reading, watching crime movies, or playing football.
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