Shiba Inu coin (SHIB) exploded onto the crypto scene in 2020 as a meme coin and alternative to the popular Dogecoin. Nicknamed the “Dogecoin killer”, Shiba Inu saw massive growth in 2021, with its price surging over 100,000,000% in less than a year.
However, like many cryptocurrencies, SHIB’s price has declined significantly from its all-time high. This has led many to wonder – are people still interested in Shiba Inu? Is the meme coin craze over, or are investors still flocking to buy SHIB?
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the current state of the Shiba Inu ecosystem. We’ll analyze SHIB’s price action, developer activity, community engagement, and real-world use cases. This data should give us a good sense of whether SHIB is still capturing investor interest or slowly fading away.
Shiba Inu Price Action
Let’s start by looking at SHIB’s price performance over the past year. Despite declining significantly from its peak, Shiba Inu is still up massively year-over-year:
| Date | SHIB Price |
|---|---|
| October 2020 | $0.000000000073 |
| May 2021 | $0.00003 |
| October 2021 (ATH) | $0.000088 |
| October 2022 | $0.00001 |
As we can see, even after dropping 90% from its all-time high, SHIB is still up over 13,500% compared to October 2020. This indicates there is still significant investor interest in SHIB relative to two years ago.
Zooming into 2022 price action, we can see some positive signs for SHIB. After declining with the broader crypto market in the first half of 2022, SHIB surged over 45% in mid-summer. This shows SHIB still exhibits substantial speculative volatility. The meme coin likely caught a bid as crypto sentiment improved during the summer months.
Shytoshi Kusama, the pseudonymous lead developer of Shiba Inu, noted on Twitter that SHIB saw over $100 million in trading volume on July 11, 2022. This spike in volume shows that, despite declining from its peak, SHIB still sees surges of investor interest and trading activity.
Developer Activity
In addition to price action, developer activity is another important barometer of interest in a cryptocurrency. The more developers are building on a blockchain, the more viable that network is long-term.
The developer activity around the Shiba Inu ecosystem appears to be robust. According to data from Santiment, developer activity on the SHIB token spiked to all-time highs in mid-2022:
| Date | SHIB Github Activity |
|---|---|
| July 2021 | 21 |
| January 2022 | 62 |
| July 2022 | 88 |
This uptrend in developer activity shows that – despite SHIB’s falling price – developers are still actively building products and features around the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Increased development benefits the project’s longevity.
Key developer updates include:
- The launch of Shibarium Layer 2 in beta, which will help reduce SHIB transaction fees
- The initial release of the Shiba Eternity collectible card game on mobile
- Continued development of the ShibaSwap decentralized exchange
Additionally, the pseudonymous Shytoshi Kusama continues to release SHIB project updates and cryptic hints about future products on social media. The consistent developer communication helps maintain community engagement during periods of price decline.
Social Engagement
Social media and community engagement are essential barometers for gauging interest in meme coins like SHIB. Despite SHIB’s falling price, social metrics around the coin remain relatively strong:
| Metric | July 2021 | July 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter Followers | 187k | 1.9m |
| Reddit Subscribers | 260k | 489k |
| Discord Members | 65k | 334k |
SHIB’s social channels have grown substantially since the meme coin mania of 2021. The SHIB-themed Subreddit and Discord group have both nearly doubled in members. This shows that the “SHIB Army” community remains engaged despite waning hype and prices.
Beyond raw followers and group members, social engagement and mentions of SHIB coins remain relatively high compared to other meme coins like Dogecoin. According to data from LunarCrush, SHIB had~68k social mentions in July 2022 compared to ~15k mentions for Dogecoin. SHIB also ranked in the top 10 for social volume amongst all cryptocurrencies.
Real World Use Cases
Unlike many meme coins, the Shiba Inu developers continue working to build real-world utility for SHIB beyond speculation:
- Payments: SHIB can be used as payment at some merchants like AMC Theaters and travala.com hotels
- NFTs: There is a vibrant Shiba Inu-themed NFT scene, with the best-known collection being the Shiboshis
- Metaverse: The developers have hinted at plans for a Shiba Inu-themed metaverse called the “Shiberse”
- Gaming: SHIB is integrating into video games like Mimo Capital and the in-development Shiba Eternity card game
While still early, these real-world use cases give SHIB utility beyond trading and speculation. The developers are essentially trying to build an ecosystem of Shiba Inu-themed products and services. This helps cement SHIB’s status as a currency people actually use rather than just a meme.
Whale Accumulation
In addition to retail interest, large “whale” transactions can hint at institutional accumulation. According to data from WhaleStats, SHIB has seen increased whale activity during its recent price bottoming.
On October 1, 2022, addresses holding between 1-10 billion SHIB – typically whale wallets – held over $1.3 billion worth of the meme coin. This was up 83% compared to early September 2022 lows. Additionally, the amount of SHIB transferred by the top 100 whales has accelerated since July. This indicates sizable players are buying up cheap SHIB coins during the prolonged price slump.
| Date | Value of Addresses with 1B-10B SHIB |
|---|---|
| September 5, 2022 | $722 million |
| October 1, 2022 | $1.32 billion |
The return of whale accumulation offers an optimistic signal for SHIB, suggesting larger players view the current prices as a longer-term entry point.
Conclusion
Shiba Inu Coin has clearly declined from the massive hype and speculative mania seen in late 2021. However, looking at multiple metrics – price, developer activity, community engagement, real-world utility, and whale accumulation – it appears there is still significant interest in SHIB cryptocurrency.
While SHIB may never return to its unsustainable all-time high, the coin and ecosystem show staying power beyond a temporary meme coin craze. For investors who still believe in the project and community, the prolonged downturn offers an opportunity to accumulate SHIB coins at a heavy discount. If the developers can deliver on the promised ecosystem of utilities and metaverse, SHIB could once again gain speculative momentum. For now, the SHIB Army HODLers remain loyal, awaiting the next bull run.
