"Shiba Inu's Top Wallets Hold 61.3%: Exchanges, Not Whales, Ease Fears"
1min read Shiba Inu's token distribution has sparked concerns among analysts, who have revealed that a small number of wallets hold a significant portion of its supply. According to crypto analytics firm Santiment, the top 10 SHIB wallets collectively own 61.3% of the total supply, which is higher than Ethereum's top 10 wallets at 46.1% and significantly higher than Chainlink and Toncoin, which have concentrations of 33.1% and 32.8%, respectively.
This high concentration of SHIB tokens in the hands of a few wallets raises fears of price manipulation and volatility. Santiment warned that when a small number of holders have significant control over the market, sharp price drops can occur if these wallets decide to sell, creating greater risks for smaller investors. In contrast, cryptocurrencies with more evenly distributed ownership are considered more stable, as they are less susceptible to market manipulation by a few large players.
However, a closer examination of the nature of these wallets reveals that the situation may not be as concerning as initially feared. Many of the top wallets do not belong to individual investors or whales but are controlled by exchanges and the SHIB burn wallet. The official burn wallet is the largest SHIB wallet, holding an astounding 41% of the total supply. These tokens have been permanently removed from circulation, meaning they cannot be sold or reintroduced to the market, significantly reducing concerns about potential sell-offs from this particular address.
The second-largest wallet, containing 44.72 trillion SHIB, belongs to the South Korean exchange Upbit. Similarly, Binance holds 44.19 trillion SHIB as the third-largest wallet, while Robinhood controls the fourth-largest with 39.27 trillion SHIB. Other major exchanges like Crypto.com, OKX, and BitGo also hold substantial amounts. Since these exchanges hold SHIB on behalf of millions of retail investors rather than for personal investment, the likelihood of coordinated price manipulation is much lower than initially perceived.
It's also important to note that such entities, particularly Robinhood, have continued accumulating SHIB, signaling a growing interest in the meme coin. According to Santiment, such purchases indicate confidence in the meme coin's future. If these large holders continue to hold or accumulate, it generally signals confidence in the project and can actually reward traders 
