Shiba Inu Whale Purchase Sends Crypto to New Highs, But Should You Buy?

Shiba Inu or Shib coin standing centrally placed among bunch of crypto coins on blue background.
salarko / Getty Images

Commitment to Our Readers

GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

20 Years
Helping You Live Richer

Reviewed
by Experts

Trusted by
Millions of Readers

Shiba Inu, which is the latest altcoin to go on a roller coaster ride, is now up again, following one single enormous transaction that sent the crypto up 20% yesterday.

See: Shiba Inu Cryptocurrency at Record High Sunday Night, Tumbles After Musk Tweets He Doesn’t Own AnyFind: Elon Musk’s Net Worth Hits $281 Billion — What’s Propelling His Wealth (and Tesla Stock) Rapidly Upward

The crypto soared following news that an anonymous crypto whale purchased 276.6 billion shiba inu tokens for about $11.5 million, according to data from WhaleStats.

“BREAKING NEWS: Wow… An Ethereum whale just bought 276,592,553,073 #SHIB token ($11,510,207 USD) We haven’t seen a whale transaction THIS BIG in quite some time. This is massive and sends a clear signal that He/She knows something is coming,” @ShibalnuNews tweeted.

CoinMarketCap lists it as the 11th largest crypto, up from the 13th place a few days ago, with a market cap of $19 billion. The crypto is up 16.8% in the past 24 hours and more than 100% in the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Brock Pierce, Bitcoin Foundation Chairman, tells GOBankingRates that the dramatic moves in Shiba Inu show the strength of retail investors’ enthusiasm in the market, but also exuberance.

Pierce adds that he “would urge caution to anyone focusing too much on this and other meme coins, and rather to dive a bit deeper in learning about the overall crypto markets.”

Last Sunday, Shiba Inu coin reached a record high, fueled by several factors, including rumors that the Robinhood crypto wallet would soon list it — and a series of tweets from none other than serial crypto tweeter Elon Musk.

However, Shiba tumbled rapidly thereafter, when Musk tweeted he did not own any of the cryptocurrency.

Asked on Twitter how much of the coin he owned, Musk replied, “None.”

“Out of curiosity, I acquired some ascii hash strings called ‘Bitcoin, Ethereum & Doge’. That’s it. As I’ve said before, don’t bet the farm on crypto! True value is building products & providing services to your fellow human beings, not money in any form,” he then tweeted.

See: When Pigs Fly? Elon Musk’s Bunny-Like Tweet Sends Animal-Themed Cryptos SoaringFind: TikTokers Are Using A New Financial Planner — Nancy Pelosi

Adam Hack, CEO and founder of Coin Nerds, tells GOBankingRates that he believes that the large purchase attributed to a single whale has indeed caused the price of the token to surge, as of this morning it is developing some retracement of previous lows.

“We believe that the long-term fundamentals of this token may be questionable, it’s mostly attributed to a frenzy caused by retail traders, and not institutional demand or other measurable metrics,” Hack says.

More From GOBankingRates

BEFORE YOU GO

See Today's Best
Banking Offers