Outlook for SHIB Positive as Confident Whales Build Longs

It’s been a rollercoaster of a week for popular memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB/USD). At one point on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency was up more than 40% in value on the week, with the price per token having surged from below 0.000040 to nearly 0.000055. In terms of market capitalisation, the early week surge saw SHIB overall value rise to above $30B from under $22B.

Shiba Inu was boosted at the time by the news that US-based crypto exchange Kraken would list the cryptocurrency, which is expected to deliver a further boost to its liquidity. The early week gains also coincided with a breakout above an important medium-term downtrend that had been capping the price action since late October.

Gains prove short-lived

Most of these early week gains have since been relinquished. SHIB/USD has reversed back to trade around 0.00004150 on Friday. That means its market cap has fallen back below $23B, though this still ranks its as the 13^th most valuable cryptocurrency on aggregate.

The 0.000040 area may offer some support, but if the buying momentum continues to fade, bears will be eyeing a test of recent lows in the 0.000035 region. This is a strong area of support as it also coincides with the pre-October 23^rd pump highs.

SHIB remains beholden to hype

As usual, SHIB price action remains closely linked to indicators of social media/retail trader interest. The latest spike and retracement coincided with a sharp uptick in Lunarcrush’s Social Volume indicator, which rose from under 60K on Sunday to above 140K on Tuesday but has since dropped back to around 67K as of Friday.

Whales Betting More Gains to Come

The early week surge in SHIB price saw SHIB whales piling in to add to their heavy long positions. By Tuesday, the average SHIB balance of the top 100 holders had risen by 40% to above 2.5B tokens, as per data from WhaleStates. That number has since risen to above 2.6B tokens as the whales continued to accumulate long positions over the course of the week, despite the pullback in prices.

Patience has paid dividends in the past for SHIB holders. After the spike in interest in the token back in May that sent SHIB market cap as high as $14B (a record high at the time), SHIB HODLers had to wait until October for the next spike in interest.

No one knows when (or if) the next spike in price will come to take SHIB/USD beyond the late-October all-time highs at 0.00080. As in the past, the next spike will come as a result of a surge in social media/speculator interest in the memecoin.

But, for now, it seems the whales remain confident that continued growth in the crypto space, as well Shiba Inu’s intention to move into the gaming industry, can power SHIB higher over the long term.