Crypto Whale Dumps Shiba Inu for CZ-Backed Aster as Market Demands Utility

The Giant Whale Who Made Huge Profit Suddenly Changed His Decision: He Sold the Altcoin He Made $72 Million In, and Bought This CZ-Backed Al...

A prominent crypto whale, having reaped substantial gains from a high-profile altcoin investment, has shifted its position in a strategic market move. According to recent data, the investor liquidated a significant portion of their holdings in Shiba Inu (SHIB), a meme coin with a $7.63 billion market cap, to allocate capital into Aster (ASTER), a decentralized perpetual exchange recently endorsed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). This shift underscores a broader trend of capital reallocation within the altcoin space, driven by project utility, institutional backing, and market momentum.

Shiba Inu, while maintaining its position as a top-23 cryptocurrency by market cap, has faced volatility amid broader crypto market corrections. Over the past week, SHIB dropped 0.98% to $0.00001296, with trading volume reaching $178.16 million. Analysts attribute the pullback to macroeconomic pressures, including the University of Michigan’s September Consumer Sentiment Index decline to 55.4—the lowest in months—and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. These factors have prompted some investors to diversify into projects with clearer utility and institutional credibility.

Aster, the CZ-backed project, has emerged as a focal point of this reallocation. Following CZ’s public endorsement, Aster’s token price surged 1,500% within a week, propelling its market cap beyond $2.3 billion. The project’s total value locked (TVL) surpassed Hyperliquid’s $681 million to reach $886 million, marking a significant milestone in the decentralized perpetual exchange (perp-DEX) sector. Institutional adoption has further fueled its rise, with Binance Coin (BNB) hitting an all-time high above $1,080 and driving derivatives demand.

The whale’s decision aligns with growing skepticism toward meme coins’ long-term viability. While Shiba Inu retains a loyal community and $10.4 million in raised funds for its PayFi remittance model, critics argue that meme-driven projects lack the structural resilience of utility-focused tokens. Aster’s Ethereum Layer 2 infrastructure, multi-chain support, and CZ’s validation position it as a disruptive force in the DeFi space. FalconX data highlights Aster’s liquidity strength, with a 1% market depth exceeding $10 million—a metric typically associated with established assets like Solana (SOL).

Market analysts have also noted a shift in investor sentiment toward projects with tangible use cases. For instance, Layer Brett ($LBRETT), another Layer 2 contender, has attracted attention with its 20,000% staking APY and no-KYC self-custody model. However, Aster’s institutional backing and rapid TVL growth have positioned it as the most immediate threat to Hyperliquid’s dominance. The project’s 24-hour trading volume reached $1.22 billion, outpacing Hyperliquid’s $681 million.

The whale’s pivot reflects a broader market narrative: as macroeconomic uncertainty persists, investors are prioritizing projects with clear technical advantages and institutional partnerships. CZ’s endorsement of Aster, coupled with Binance’s strategic investments, has amplified its credibility. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu’s reliance on meme culture and speculative trading remains a double-edged sword, as seen in its recent volatility. Analysts at Zerocap suggest that the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle and institutional inflows into Solana and other base-layer assets could further accelerate this trend.