According to fresh on-chain data from Santiment, Shiba Inu (SHIB) stands out for its extreme supply centralization, with 62% of its total supply now controlled by just ten whale wallets. This makes SHIB the most centralized among major cryptocurrencies, outpacing even well-known assets like 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 27% held by the top ten addressesassets 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. Santiment’s report highlighted that the higher the supply concentration among elite whales, the greater the risk of sudden price swings should those whales decide to liquidate large positions.
The same risk applies even more sharply 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 PoS governance, the primary concern remains price volatility.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market sentiment has climbed into the greed zone. Alternative’s Fear & Greed Index currently reads 73, signaling that traders are leaning heavily bullish, another historical sign that a contrarian pullback could be near.
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.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are volatile and risky. Always conduct your research before making any investment decisions.
