Shiba Inu clings to 50-day support as whales dump 40B SHIB
Shiba Inu was trading around $0.00000516 on Wednesday after rebounding nearly 4% earlier in the week. Despite the lift, on-chain distribution by mid-sized whale cohorts and weakening derivatives positioning suggest near-term caution.
40B SHIB exits mid-sized whale cohorts
Santiment’s Supply Distribution data indicates that wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million SHIB and those with 10 million to 100 million SHIB collectively reduced their balances by about 40 billion tokens since Aug. 22. The selling followed SHIB’s recent price recovery, which Santiment’s data implies may have prompted profit-taking. Sustained distribution from these cohorts could add supply and pressure price.
In contrast, addresses with 100,000 to 1 million SHIB accumulated roughly 990 million tokens over the same period, per Santiment. However, that accumulation is far smaller than the 40 billion SHIB sold by the larger cohorts, signaling an imbalance that may limit the strength of any rebound if selling continues.
Derivatives lean cautious
CoinGlass data showed a SHIB long-to-short ratio of 0.93 on Wednesday, meaning short positions outnumbered longs, a setup consistent with bearish expectations in the near term.
According to CryptoQuant, SHIB’s spot and futures markets have seen heightened activity, and futures markets recorded large whale orders after the recent price increase. CryptoQuant added that several other indicators are neutral, leaving the broader picture mixed rather than decisively bearish.
Key technical levels
SHIB’s latest bounce followed a retest of the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) near $0.00000489. If price holds above that level and buying interest builds, the recovery could extend toward the 200-day EMA around $0.00000569. A move above the 200-day EMA would strengthen the bullish technical case; failing that, a decisive daily close below the 50-day EMA could weaken the recovery and open a deeper pullback.
Momentum split: RSI vs. MACD
On the daily chart, the Relative Strength Index stands near 54 and continues to rise, a level above 50 that typically aligns with improving bullish momentum. At the same time, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) registered a bearish crossover on Sunday, and expanding red histogram bars suggest lingering downside momentum. The disagreement between these indicators supports a cautious stance while price compresses between key moving averages.
What to watch
Whether retail demand can absorb continued whale distribution and reverse the bearish tilt in derivatives positioning could determine SHIB’s next directional move in the short term, per Santiment, CoinGlass, and CryptoQuant data.