Shiba Inu Burns Crawl to Halt, Pressuring Token as Math Remains a Wall

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen a dramatic decline in 2025, with its price dropping 60% and wiping out long-held hopes of reaching $1 or even $0.01. The cryptocurrency's massive 589 trillion circulating supply makes such price targets mathematically unfeasible, as they would require a market capitalization exceeding the entire planet's GDP. Analysts and investors are now reassessing the viability of the SHIB token as it struggles with both supply and demand challenges.

The project's deflationary strategy, which once promised to reduce supply through token burns, has stalled. Recent data shows SHIB's burn activity has nearly ground to a halt, with no token burns recorded in the past 24 hours. This collapse in burn activity has raised concerns about the token's ability to maintain any meaningful scarcity, a key driver of its earlier narrative.

In addition, Shiba Inu's ecosystem initiatives, including its Layer-2 blockchain Shibarium, have failed to gain sustained traction. While Shibarium once saw daily transaction volumes in the millions, it now processes only a few thousand. Total Value Locked on the network remains below $1 million, a fraction of what's seen in competing platforms. The lack of progress on other ecosystem projects, such as a privacy-focused Layer-3 blockchain and a stalled metaverse initiative, has further weakened confidence in SHIB's long-term potential.

Why the Standoff Happened

The math behind SHIB's price targets has always been problematic. For the token to reach $1, its market cap would need to hit $589 trillion-six times the total value of the global economy. Even a modest goal of $0.01 would require a $5.89 trillion market cap, nearly double the current combined value of all cryptocurrencies. These figures highlight the fundamental impossibility of SHIB's dream price targets.

The token's supply is another major hurdle. With 589 trillion SHIB in circulation, far outpacing Bitcoin's 21 million and Ethereum's 120 million, the sheer volume makes any significant price movement implausible. Despite years of voluntary and ecosystem-driven burns, the circulating supply has only been reduced by a marginal amount, with no meaningful impact on price.

How Markets Reacted

The stagnation of SHIB's burn activity has triggered a sharp sell-off in the token. Over the past 24 hours, SHIB dropped from $0.000007348 to $0.000007126. This decline follows a broader trend of investor caution, with many exiting positions as the token's price remains volatile and unresponsive to traditional support metrics. The Relative Strength Index for SHIB has hit 14, indicating an oversold condition, but the anticipated rebound has not materialized.

Market observers are also highlighting SHIB's limited utility and adoption. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which serve as stores of value or platforms for decentralized applications, SHIB lacks a clear and sustainable use case. With only 1,110 businesses globally accepting SHIB for payments, the token remains primarily speculative. This absence of organic demand has further weakened its appeal as a long-term investment.

What Analysts Are Watching

Investors and analysts are now closely monitoring whether SHIB can reverse its trajectory. Some are watching for potential regulatory changes or new ecosystem developments that might rekindle interest in the token. Others are skeptical, noting that even if adoption were to pick up significantly, it would take centuries for current burn rates to make any noticeable impact on SHIB's supply.

The broader crypto market remains cautious as well. SHIB's struggles have highlighted the risks associated with projects lacking fundamental value and sustainable demand. Analysts are increasingly calling for a reevaluation of crypto narratives that rely on speculative hype rather than real-world utility. For now, SHIB remains a cautionary tale of the challenges facing token economies with massive supply and limited use cases.