Shiba Inu Price Risks a 12% Dip Even As Meme Coins Rally: Here’s Why

Key Insights:

  • Shiba Inu price is rising, but slower than the meme coin market, raising pullback risk.
  • Whales reduced SHIB holdings during the rally, signaling caution at higher levels.
  • Falling network activity and weak volume point to a possible 12% dip before demand returns.

Shiba Inu price is rising, but not at the same speed as the broader meme coin market. While the meme coin sector is up around 23% over the past week, SHIB is up closer to 19%.

That difference may look small, but it matters. When a rally slows before the rest of the market, it often brings short-term risk.

The on-chain data and even the technical SHIB price chart help explain why this gap is forming.

Shiba Inu Price Is Rising, but at a Slower Pace Than Peers

Shiba Inu price is not falling. It is moving higher with the meme coin market.

However, the issue is speed. Other large meme coins are pushing faster, while SHIB price is climbing more cautiously.

This matters because SHIB is the second-largest meme coin by market size. When a major coin moves more slowly during a sector rally, it often means buyers are less aggressive.

Traders may still hold SHIB, but they are not adding with the same urgency seen elsewhere.

Whale behavior supports this idea. Since January 2, large wallets have reduced their SHIB holdings.

Supply held by these wallets fell from about 667.22 trillion SHIB to 666.6 trillion SHIB, a drop of roughly 620 billion SHIB.

Shiba Inu Whales Trimming | Source: Santiment
Shiba Inu Whales Trimming | Source: Santiment

This type of selling usually happens during strength, not weakness. It suggests large holders are using the rally to trim positions rather than increase exposure.

As long as the Shiba Inu whales do not add back the trimmed positions, every rally is expected to fade, courtesy of the exit pressure.

Network Activity and Volume Point to Cooling Interest

On-chain activity gives another clue. Active addresses show how many unique wallets are using the network. This helps measure real participation, not just price action.

For Shiba Inu, active addresses peaked near 7,478 on Dec. 31. Since then, they dropped to about 4,722. That is a decline of roughly 37%.

SHIB Activity Count Dips | Source: Santiment
SHIB Activity Count Dips | Source: Santiment

A healthy rally usually brings more users. Here, usage fell while price stayed up. This mismatch suggests the move is driven more by existing holders than by new demand.

Shiba Inu Price May Witness 12% Pullback, Here’s Why

Buying pressure for Shiba Inu also weakened at an important moment. On-balance volume, or OBV, tracks whether volume is flowing more into buying or selling.

Rising OBV means buyers are in control. SHIB OBV tried to break above its downward trend during the rally. It failed.

That failure shows buyers could not keep control for long. This helps explain why SHIB slowed while other meme coins continued to push higher.

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) price is currently holding above a strong support area near $0.0000089. This level has acted as a floor several times before. As long as it holds, SHIB can keep moving sideways.

If this level breaks, the next clear support sits near $0.0000078. A move to that zone would equal a drop of about 12% from current levels.

This does not mean SHIB is turning bearish. It means the rally may need a reset. For momentum to strengthen again, two things need to change. Whale selling needs to slow, and active addresses need to rise again.

And while doing so, the Shiba Inu price must break past the $0.0000103 mark. If that level is crossed, which is one of SHIB’s earlier swing highs, the whale interest might return.

Until that happens, the Shiba Inu (SHIB) price may continue rising more slowly than the meme coin market, or see a short pullback before demand returns.

Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/01/05/shiba-inu-price-risks-a-12-dip-even-as-meme-coins-rally-heres-why/