Shiba Inu Ultimately Held Back by Supply; Is a Return to $0.01 a Scam?

▲ Shiba Inu (SHIB) / ChatGPT-generated image

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is fighting for a price recovery. However, its massive supply of 589 trillion SHIB is weighing it down, leaving it stuck at a market capitalization of approximately $3.65 billion.

According to a February 22 report by cryptocurrency outlet U.Today, Shiba Inu remains trapped at a market cap of $3.65 billion as of early 2026, disconnected from any substantial real-world use within its ecosystem. While retail investors continue to hope for a major breakout toward the $0.01 level, the enormous supply acts as a powerful gravitational force suppressing price appreciation. Although Shiba Inu is striving to maintain its position within the top 30 cryptocurrencies by global market capitalization, it currently lacks the ecosystem competitiveness to support such standing.

The biggest obstacle facing Shiba Inu is its circulating supply of nearly 589 trillion tokens. For SHIB to reach $0.01, its market capitalization would need to surge to $5.8 trillion—twice the historical peak of the overall crypto market. Professional investors are paying closer attention to market capitalization metrics that highlight tokenomics bottlenecks rather than focusing solely on individual token prices. Given the vast supply, even significant demand inflows face structural limitations in driving meaningful price increases.

Shibarium, the much-anticipated Layer 2 network, has failed to attract institutional capital and is receiving limited attention from the market. Its burn mechanism removes only about 172 million SHIB per cycle—a negligible amount compared to the total circulating supply—resulting in minimal impact on supply reduction. Market experts believe that without a dramatic decrease in supply or the emergence of transformative real-world use cases, Shiba Inu is unlikely to replicate the explosive rally seen in 2021.

In the maturing crypto market of 2026, the prevailing view is that Shiba Inu is no longer an attractive high-return investment. Investors argue that rather than relying on past glory, the project must generate tangible value that justifies its substantial market capitalization. As the market continues its sober valuation process, Shiba Inu stands at a critical crossroads, striving to shed its memecoin label and prove the long-term viability of its ecosystem.

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