The cryptocurrency market, and particularly the meme coin segment, can deliver extraordinary returns for investors who enter and exit at the right moments.
One anonymous trader became a millionaire thanks to Shiba Inu (SHIB). Here’s how it happened.
The Unbelievable Tale
Lookonchain reported that an early whale invested $13,760 to acquire more than 103 trillion SHIB tokens — a holding that once represented nearly 20% of SHIB’s circulating supply and was at one point valued at almost $9 billion. Over the following years, the analytics platform noted, this participant sold about 4.06 trillion SHIB, realizing roughly $37.6 million in proceeds. Recently, they sold another 800 billion tokens for nearly $5 million. The whale still holds 99.27 trillion coins, and total profit, including unrealized gains, exceeds $660 million — an astounding roughly 48,000x return on the original outlay.
This is not the only instance of massive gains in SHIB. Two years ago, during a period of triple-digit monthly gains, a trader who had spent $2,500 to purchase 50 billion tokens moved most of the stash to Coinbase; selling at that time would have yielded more than $1.5 million. Similarly, another anonymous investor who bought 48 billion SHIB for $2,700 in early 2021 later sold the entire holding for about $1.24 million.
Was Selling the Right Decision Now?
Over the past several months, Shiba Inu has experienced a steep decline, with its price down roughly 53% year-over-year. Market capitalization has fallen below $4 billion, and SHIB is no longer the second-largest meme coin after being overtaken by MemeCore (M). Dogecoin (DOGE) continues to lead the category, with a market cap around $16.5 billion.
Several signs suggest SHIB’s pullback could continue in the short term, making profit-taking a sensible choice for some holders. One indicator is shrinking activity on Shibarium. Daily transactions processed on the protocol have dropped to only a few hundred, reflecting weakening network usage compared with the millions of transactions before last year’s exploit.
Another warning sign is a drop in SHIB’s burn rate, which fell by about 26% over the past week. The burn mechanism, introduced in 2022, is intended to reduce circulating supply and support price appreciation if demand remains steady or increases.
Additionally, an increasing balance of SHIB being moved onto exchanges suggests rising selling pressure. Over recent days, more investors have shifted tokens from self-custody to centralized platforms, making large sales easier and increasing the potential for downward price pressure.
Given the decline in on-chain activity, a lower burn rate and rising exchange inflows, many holders see taking profits now as a reasonable strategy. However, as with all crypto investments, decisions should be made based on individual risk tolerance and investment goals.