Shiba Inu Surpasses 1.6M Holders as Investors Withdraw 51B SHIB From Exchanges

Shiba Inu surpasses 1.6 million holders but drops out of the top 30 cryptos as price slips; on-chain data and technical signals still show bullish momentum.

Shiba Inu initially entered July on a bullish note, recovering part of its recent losses and briefly reclaiming a spot among the world’s top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap. As market sentiment improved, the meme coin climbed to the 29th position.

However, the rally quickly lost momentum. SHIB subsequently fell from around $0.0000045 to around $0.0000043, causing the token to surrender its top-30 status.

At press time, SHIB trades at $0.000004399 with a market cap of $2.59 billion, making it the 31st-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The token currently trails Near Protocol and Cronos, which occupy the 30th and 29th positions with market valuations of $2.59 billion and $2.74 billion, respectively.

Although SHIB temporarily lost ground in the market rankings, the network achieved a significant milestone in user adoption.

According to data from Etherscan, the number of on-chain Shiba Inu holders has surpassed 1.6 million for the first time. Moreover, SHIB has maintained steady growth since the beginning of July, adding more than 1,700 new wallet addresses during the month.

As of press time, a total of 1,600,003 addresses hold SHIB tokens. The steady rise in holder count suggests that investors continue to view recent price weakness as a buying opportunity rather than a reason to exit their positions.

Exchange flow data further reinforces the bullish sentiment among investors. Over the past 24 hours, investors withdrew approximately 445.1 billion SHIB tokens from exchanges while depositing only 393.72 billion tokens. Consequently, the token recorded a negative exchange netflow of 51.38 billion SHIB, indicating that more tokens left exchanges than entered them.

Typically, investors transfer assets to private wallets when they intend to hold them for the long term rather than sell them immediately. As a result, analysts often interpret negative exchange netflows as a sign of accumulation.

Meanwhile, exchange reserves remain substantial at 86.97 trillion SHIB. Even so, the recent wave of withdrawals stands out because it follows a significant inflow event that previously sent roughly 665 billion tokens to exchanges.

Historically, July has delivered mixed but generally positive returns for Shiba Inu. The token suffered a sharp 28.5% decline in July 2021, marking its worst July performance to date. However, sentiment improved considerably over the following years, with SHIB posting gains of 13.4% in July 2022 and 11.8% in July 2023.

Although SHIB closed July 2024 with a 7.47% loss, the token reversed course the following year, finishing the month with an 8.92% gain. Despite giving up part of its early-month gains, SHIB remains up 4.74% so far this July.

Overall, the token has generated an average July return of 0.47% and a median return of 6.82%, underscoring the month’s tendency to support bullish price action.

Beyond the encouraging on-chain metrics, technical indicators have also begun flashing bullish signals. Most notably, analysts identified a “Mini Golden Cross” on the four-hour chart after the 23-period moving average crossed above the 50-period moving average near $0.000004346.

This crossover signals that buying pressure may be starting to outweigh recent selling activity, potentially marking the beginning of a short-term trend reversal. As the Mini Golden Cross takes shape, analysts have started projecting further upside for SHIB.

Specifically, they expect the token to target the $0.00000470 to $0.00000480 range, which represents a potential gain of roughly 9% from current levels.

Nevertheless, bulls may encounter a major obstacle before reaching those targets. The 200-period moving average remains above the current price and could act as a strong resistance level if buying momentum weakens.

For now, Shiba Inu’s growing holder base, persistent exchange outflows, and improving technical structure indicate that investor confidence remains intact despite the token’s recent exit from the cryptocurrency top 30 rankings.