The self-proclaimed “Dogecoin killer,” long established as the second-largest meme coin, has recently come under heavy pressure from the rapidly rising MemeCore (M).
MemeCore posted a double-digit price gain in the past 24 hours and reclaimed the No. 2 spot among meme tokens, raising questions about whether Shiba Inu (SHIB) can regain its previous standing.
Shuffle in the Sector… Again
Although Shiba Inu is up about 3% over the past week, the bigger picture is concerning: the token has lost roughly half of its value in the last year. Its market capitalization dropped to approximately $3.7 billion, pushing SHIB down into third place among meme coins.
The second position now belongs to MemeCore (M), which has been among the top performers today (May 5). M’s price surged roughly 25%, lifting its market cap to an estimated $4.3 billion.
It is unclear which exact factors triggered M’s rally. One possible catalyst was a recent campaign announced on its X account called the “No Cap(tion)” community contest, which offered USDT rewards for creative and entertaining captions. The contest ran through May 7 and encouraged entries that “fit the scene,” were “creative,” and “fun.”
However, there are warning signs around MemeCore that suggest its price may be vulnerable to a rapid reversal. Several analysts, including some on X, have labeled the project a potential scam and described it as a “ghost chain,” alleging that fewer than ten wallets control a large share of the network. Such concentration makes the token’s valuation susceptible to manipulation.
From a technical perspective, M’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) moved into overbought territory around the 75 mark, a level that often precedes a pullback. The RSI measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes on a 0–100 scale, with readings above 70 commonly seen as overbought and readings below 30 often considered bullish or oversold.
What’s Next for SHIB?
MemeCore could correct in the short term, but SHIB is not immune to downside pressure either. As a meme asset, Shiba Inu remains highly sensitive to hype cycles and market sentiment, and several on-chain indicators point to waning user engagement that could increase the risk of a correction.
Activity on Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s layer-2 scaling solution, illustrates this decline. Daily transaction counts on Shibarium are considerably lower than they were before last year’s security incident, reflecting weaker demand, reduced utility, and a shrinking pool of active ecosystem participants. These trends can erode investor confidence and limit upside potential.
Another bearish indicator is the rising volume of SHIB held on centralized exchanges. Increasing exchange reserves typically signal that holders are moving tokens off self-custody and into platforms where they can sell more quickly, which raises the potential for immediate selling pressure.
With M’s recent surge and the observable weakening in SHIB’s ecosystem metrics, Shiba Inu faces an uphill battle to reclaim its former status. Investors should weigh on-chain activity, exchange flows, and technical indicators carefully when assessing the outlook for both tokens.