Shiba Inu's Price Drops 5% as Open Interest Falls $100M

Shiba Inu's latest price was $0.00001286, down 1.857% in the last 24 hours. This decline in price has been accompanied by a significant drop in open interest, which has fallen by over $100 million in recent days. This pullback occurred after the open interest briefly peaked at $328 million. The decrease in open interest coincides with a decline in the total value locked (TVL) in Shibarium, the layer-2 network designed to enhance SHIB's utility. This has led traders to question whether token burns alone can reignite momentum for the memecoin.

On July 30, Shiba Inu's price dropped to $0.00001266, reflecting a nearly 5% decline in 24 hours and extending its weekly losses. This decline was accompanied by a sharp $100 million withdrawal from SHIB's open interest, indicating that traders were rapidly unwinding their bets on the memecoin's near-term upside. Data from Coinglass showed that open interest plummeted from $328 million on July 22 to just $206 million, signaling one of the most aggressive pullbacks since mid-July. Meanwhile, Shibarium's total value locked sank to $1.76 million, a significant drop from its late-2023 peak.

The $100 million open interest drop can be interpreted as a lack of confidence in SHIB's near-term prospects. It suggests that market participants are either cashing out or refusing to open new positions, anticipating further downside. The rapid unwinding of positions indicates that traders no longer view the memecoin as a viable short-term play, despite its 10% monthly gain. This skepticism is further fueled by Shibarium's struggles, as the layer-2 solution has seen its TVL erode by over 70% since December 2023.

The shrinking TVL in Shibarium is concerning because it reveals a lack of developer and user engagement with the network. Total value locked represents the assets actively being used within a blockchain's ecosystem, whether for staking, lending, or decentralized applications. A declining TVL implies that capital is migrating elsewhere, often to platforms offering stronger incentives or clearer utility. This shift in market preferences towards utility-driven projects is challenging SHIB's reliance on token burns as a strategy to maintain its value.

Unlike the speculative mania of 2021, when any asset with a catchy mascot could gain traction, today's investors are prioritizing fundamentals. This includes Ethereum's layer-2 adoption, Solana's high-speed trading infrastructure, or newer memecoins with more aggressive tokenomics. Shiba Inu's strategy of reducing supply through token burns, while initially effective, now appears insufficient to counteract the market's shift towards projects with stronger utility and clearer value propositions. The next few months will be critical in determining whether Shiba Inu can evolve to meet these new market demands or if the market has simply moved on.

Recent developments surrounding the Shiba Inu ecosystem highlight significant on-chain activity and continued community discussions. A notable event occurred in late July 2025, where a substantial token burn transaction destroyed 602 million SHIB tokens within a short period, specifically in a single major transaction. This significant burn has reignited community conversations regarding long-term token supply scarcity and its potential implications for Shiba Inu's broader economic model and future value prospects.

Parallel to the burn activity, significant movement was observed in a major Coinbase-connected wallet. This specific wallet saw the value of its Shiba Inu holdings increase dramatically by 100% in a sudden surge of accumulation on July 30, 2025. On-chain analysis indicated no outflow of tokens from this address, suggesting a sustained holding strategy rather than immediate profit-taking, potentially signaling long-term investor confidence in the asset.

Investor interest stories continue to emerge around Shiba Inu, with narratives focusing on early participants who achieved substantial profits during previous market cycles. This history of significant returns for early backers contributes to ongoing discussions about the project's growth trajectory and its appeal within the meme token sector. The project's community engagement remains a topic of interest, with its growth often referenced in relation to new meme tokens entering the market, highlighting Shiba Inu's established position within this niche.

The major token burn events in late July have further fueled existing discussions concerning ambitious long-term valuation scenarios for Shiba Inu. The act of permanently removing large quantities of tokens from circulation directly addresses supply factors, prompting analysts and community members to actively debate the feasibility and pathways towards much higher per-token valuations, including the hypothetical $1 mark, as potential catalysts are assessed.