Recent on-chain data reveals that Shiba Inu (SHIB), the meme coin often dubbed the "Dogecoin killer," now has approximately 1.7 million holders. However, fewer than 1,000 wallets control the overwhelming majority of the token's supply — a level of concentration that continues to draw scrutiny from market observers.

Launched in August 2020 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, SHIB has since grown into one of the most widely held meme coins, partly propelled by its origin story: the anonymous creator "Ryoshi" sent half of the initial one-quadrillion-token supply to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who subsequently burned over 90% of those holdings by sending them to a dead wallet in May 2021. That burn address remains one of the largest single holders of SHIB, contributing to the supply concentration reflected in on-chain data today.

While SHIB's price has experienced a significant decline over recent months, some analysts point to emerging factors that they believe could support a potential rebound.

Holder Distribution: From Shrimps to Whales

Earlier in July, the total number of SHIB addresses reached an all-time high of 1,676,535 following a sudden one-day surge of 75,000 new holders. That figure has continued to climb and now stands at 1,678,502.

According to data from Etherscan, nearly one million of those addresses belong to investors classified as "shrimps" — wallets holding up to $10 worth of the meme coin. The second-largest cohort consists of "crabs," totaling 477,871 wallets, each holding between $10 and $100 in SHIB. The remaining tiers include fish, dolphins, and sharks.

Notably, there are only 703 whale addresses — those holding more than $100,000 worth of the token each. While whales represent a mere 0.04% of all SHIB holders, they control a staggering 94.5% of the total supply.

This extreme concentration means that, in theory, a relatively small group of investors could significantly influence market dynamics. A coordinated sell-off could trigger a substantial price crash, while sudden accumulation could produce the opposite effect. Such concentration is not unique to SHIB — many meme coins and even some established Layer-1 tokens exhibit similarly skewed distributions — but it does raise governance and liquidity questions that have persisted across the meme coin sector since its emergence.

SHIB at a 'Critical Stage'

At press time, SHIB is trading at approximately $0.000004235, according to CoinGecko, representing a 72% decline on a yearly basis.

X user CRYPTO SHERIFF observed that the asset has been consolidating below a five-year downtrend, characterizing the situation as "a critical stage" that could precede a significant upward move.

"There is an unwritten rule in crypto: the longer the consolidation lasts, the bigger the breakout! SHIB is at a critical stage! Unless there is a market downturn in the coming days, we could see a new rally for SHIB."

(Source: X/@Gem_Sheriff)

Data from CryptoQuant adds another dimension to the bullish case: the amount of SHIB held on centralized exchanges has dropped to approximately 86.2 trillion tokens — a five-year low. A declining exchange balance is typically interpreted as a reduction in immediate selling pressure, as fewer tokens are readily available for sale. It may also reflect holders migrating to self-custody or engaging with the Shiba Inu ecosystem through Shibarium, the Ethereum layer-2 network that launched in August 2023 and includes ongoing SHIB burn activity designed to reduce circulating supply over time.

However, warning signs remain. X user SHIBMortal noted that analysts have identified a 91% correlation between SHIB's recent price action and its 2023 bearish pattern. If the pattern holds, the token could see a further 20% decline toward the $0.0000032–$0.0000033 range.

(Source: X/@SHIBMortal)

Source: CryptoPotato