Shiba Inu (SHIB) 62% Supply Controlled by Top 10 Whales

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been identified as the most centralized among the top cryptocurrencies, with 62% of its total supply controlled by just ten whale wallets. This level of centralization is higher than that of other major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH) and meme rival Pepe (PEPE).

Santiment’s latest figures compare the top coins by the percentage of supply held by their ten largest wallets. While stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) show relatively low concentration with 27% held by the top ten addresses, assets like Ethereum and Uniswap (UNI) already show worrying levels of whale dominance at around 49% and 51%, respectively. However, Shiba Inu eclipses them all, with nearly two-thirds of its supply now sitting in the hands of its biggest holders.

This raises red flags for retail investors, especially given the lessons from previous sudden whale-driven dumps. The higher the supply concentration among elite whales, the greater the risk of sudden price swings should those whales decide to liquidate large positions. This risk is even more pronounced for proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum, where concentrated holdings could also mean outsized influence on governance and staking rewards. For Shiba Inu, which remains a meme coin without proof-of-stake governance, the primary concern remains price volatility.

Despite these risks, SHIB’s price has climbed over 3% in the past week, now trading near $0.0000115. While the uptrend aligns with the broader meme coin revival, traders should be cautious given the significant share of supply controlled by so few wallets. The figures also cast fresh light on the dynamics driving the meme coin ecosystem, where community hype can easily be overshadowed by whale dominance. For comparison, PEPE, another viral memecoin, has 39% of its supply concentrated among its top 10 holders, still high, but far less than Shiba Inu.

As Santiment cautions, retail traders seeking lower risk should ideally look to tokens with more distributed ownership, limiting the power of whales to trigger sudden dumps or manipulation. The broader crypto market sentiment has climbed into the greed zone, with the Fear & Greed Index currently reading 73, signaling that traders are leaning heavily bullish. This is another historical sign that a contrarian pullback could be near.