TL;DR

The number of small Shiba Inu (SHIB) holders has significantly decreased, reflecting high levels of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). Despite the current bearish sentiment, factors such as a shift to self-custody and an increase in SHIBs burn rate could potentially drive a future price uptrend.

Small Players Leave the Ecosystem

The popular meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been on a downfall in the past 30 days, with its price tumbling by 5.5% and currently trading at around $0.00001328. Unsurprisingly, the plunge has negatively affected investors in the asset.

SHIB Price, Source: CoinGecko The crypto analytics platform Santiment estimated that the 30-day average trading returns are down just slightly at -1.1%, whereas the long-term returns have plummeted by -31.7%. According to the entity, the meme coin may get back on the green track once Bitcoin is able to stabilize, and altcoins are able to flourish again.

Santiment further observed that the number of wallets holding less than 1 billion SHIB has plummeted to its lowest level since November 2022. The platform argued this could indicate a tremendous level of FUD within the ecosystem, with large players controlling the bigger share of the circulating supply. 

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) refers to the spread of negative or misleading information, rumors, or sentiment that causes panic among investors, leading to potential selling pressure in the market. The rising level is typically seen as a precursor of severe price swings. 

Last but not least, Santiment maintained that the volume of social discussion surrounding SHIB has been extremely low since July, reflecting a sense of indifference and frustration from traders. 

Some Good Signals for the Bulls

Contrary to the grim conditions mentioned above, some factors suggest that SHIBs price could be headed for an uptrend. One example is the Shiba Inu exchange netflow, which has been predominantly negative in the last seven days.

SHIB Exchange Netflow, Source: CryptoQuant The development suggests a shift from centralized platforms to self-custody methods, which may reduce the immediate selling pressure.

Next on the list is the meme coins burning mechanism. The burn rate exploded by over 8,000% in the past 24 hours, resulting in more than 3 million tokens sent to a null address. 

The programs ultimate goal is to reduce the circulating supply of SHIB, making it scarcer and potentially more valuable in time. So far, approximately 410 trillion tokens have been destroyed, leaving 583.4 trillion in circulation.