Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Prediction

By CMC AI
18 December 2025 04:20PM (UTC+0)

TLDR

Shiba Inu faces a tug-of-war between whale-driven volatility and ecosystem upgrades.

  1. Whale Dumping Risks – $3.48M+ SHIB moved to exchanges, amplifying sell pressure.

  2. Shibarium’s Utility Test – Layer-2 adoption and burns need traction to counter supply glut.

  3. Meme Coin Sentiment – SHIB’s fate tied to retail momentum amid Bitcoin dominance.

Deep Dive

1. Whale Activity & Liquidity Risks (Bearish Impact)

Overview:
Two dormant whales moved 933B SHIB ($6.9M) and 464B SHIB ($3.48M) to OKX on December 18, 2025, per U.Today and CoinMarketCap. These addresses held SHIB since 2020-2021, and their sudden activity suggests profit-taking or hedging. SHIB’s turnover ratio (3.5%) signals thin liquidity, meaning large sell orders could trigger cascading liquidations near $0.00000777.

What this means:
Whale deposits heighten downside risk, especially with SHIB trading 42% below its 90-day average. If OKX outflows slow and buyers absorb supply, stability could return. Until then, the $0.0000067–$0.000007 zone remains critical support.

2. Shibarium Adoption & Burns (Mixed Impact)

Overview:
Shibarium’s 2025 upgrades introduced real-time burns and DeFi tools, but daily burns collapsed to zero in December (Coinspeaker). The Layer-2 network processes ~710K daily transactions (vs. Ethereum’s 1.2M), failing to meaningfully reduce SHIB’s 589T circulating supply.

What this means:
For bullish momentum, Shibarium needs a surge in usage (e.g., gaming/NFT apps) to reactivate burns. Until then, SHIB remains a “macro meme” reliant on hype cycles rather than organic demand.

3. Meme Sector Sentiment (Bearish Near-Term)

Overview:
SHIB underperformed BTC by 64% YTD as Bitcoin’s dominance hit 59.2% (Global Metrics). With the Altcoin Season Index at 16 (Bitcoin Season), meme coins face headwinds. Regulatory SHIB futures on Coinbase failed to spark rallies, and newer rivals like Maxi Doge siphoned retail interest.

What this means:
SHIB’s recovery hinges on a broader “risk-on” shift into altcoins. Key triggers could include Fed rate cuts in 2026 or a viral Shibarium app, but current technicals (RSI 34, descending triangle) favor caution.

Conclusion

Shiba Inu’s price risks further contraction near-term due to whale exits and stagnant burns, but its Layer-2 ecosystem offers a long-term wildcard. Can Shibarium’s AI/gaming partnerships revive utility before liquidity erodes? Monitor exchange flows and Shibarium’s transaction metrics for inflection points.

CMC AI can make mistakes. Not financial advice.