Is Shiba Inu dead or alive? The truth behind the memecoin

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been through euphoric highs and painful lows since its explosive debut in 2020. Once hailed as the “Dogecoin killer,” it rallied to a local all-time high in October 2021, but lost more than 80% of its value during subsequent bear markets. The drop left many holders wondering the same blunt question: is Shiba Inu dead?

Despite the decline, the token refuses to disappear. Analysts still debate its fate: some call it dead due to stagnant price action, while others point to signs of resilience – from the Shibarium Layer-2 network processing over a billion transactions to a loyal SHIB Army keeping the project in the global top 20 by market cap.

Price collapse and fading whale interest

After reaching a local all-time high near $0.000089 in October 2021, SHIB has shed more than 80% of its value. As of this writing, SHIB trades at $0.00001229 with a market capitalization of $7.24 billion. The prolonged decline has fueled debate across the crypto community, with some traders bluntly asking: is Shiba Inu coin dead?

On-chain data supports the narrative of weakening momentum. Whale activity, once a major driver of SHIB’s liquidity, has fallen by more than 80% since the peak. Large holders appear less engaged, and analysts warn that the token has been locked under a descending trendline for months. Each rally attempt has met rejection, raising the risk of SHIB slipping further down the market-cap rankings.

From this perspective, the coin looks stagnant: declining price, thinning whale support, and resistance that refuses to break. For many observers, these signals are enough to pronounce SHIB “dead.” Yet market data alone tells only one side of the story.

Ecosystem expansion and SHIB Army resilience

While critics dismiss SHIB as a fading meme token, its ecosystem tells a different story. The project’s Layer-2 network, Shibarium, has already processed more than 1 billion transactions with TVL around 1.36 million.

Also in 2024, developers secured $12 million in venture capital funding to expand privacy-focused features and strengthen the chain’s infrastructure.

Beyond the base token, Shiba Inu has launched multiple initiatives: ShibaSwap, a decentralized exchange; Shiboshis, a sold-out NFT collection; and ongoing plans for a metaverse platform. These products give the project a presence far beyond its “meme coin” origins.

Community engagement remains another defining strength. The official SHIB account on X counts more than 3.9 million followers, while the r/SHIBArmy subreddit and Telegram groups maintain active daily discussions. Such grassroots energy is unusual compared to many meme tokens that quickly lose traction.

Together, these signs suggest that Shiba Inu is not a dead project. Its ecosystem is expanding, and the SHIB Army continues to treat it as a long-term movement rather than a speculative fad.

So, is Shib dead or alive?

The answer depends on which lens you use. From a market perspective, the picture looks grim: SHIB has lost more than 80% from its peak, whale activity has collapsed, and analysts repeatedly describe the price action as stagnant.

Yet the coin’s community and ecosystem suggest otherwise. Shibarium continues to process millions of transactions daily, developers are still building, and the SHIB Army keeps the token relevant in both social media and crypto rankings.

Shiba Inu is not “dead,” but it is undeniably high-risk. Its future will be shaped less by past hype and more by whether adoption, innovation, and community support can sustain it through another market cycle.