Shiba Inu (SHIB) is on a trajectory to match Dogecoin’s (DOGE) market capitalization. Presently valued at $20.5 billion, Shiba Inu stands merely 17% below Dogecoin’s market cap of $24.1 billion.
Over the past week, the meme cryptocurrency market has witnessed an unprecedented surge, igniting trader optimism. Shiba Inu, often lauded as the ‘Dogecoin Killer,’ has ascended several ranks in the top 100 cryptocurrency list, positioning itself just shy of its rival, DOGE.
In the span of seven days, Shiba Inu has surged by 62%, with a remarkable 280% uptick over the past month. Conversely, Dogecoin has observed a 19% increase in the last week and a 109% surge over the month.
A notable event in Shiba Inu’s journey occurred on October 29, 2021, when its value soared, propelling its market capitalization to a staggering $41 billion. Despite a subsequent dip to $5.97 billion by December 8, 2023, Shiba Inu has maintained a top-ten position among meme cryptocurrencies, trailing solely behind Dogecoin.
In January 2023, the Shiba Inu community introduced Shibarium, a layer two blockchain designed to operate atop Ethereum. Shibarium aims to alleviate network congestion, integrate staking, reduce gas fees, and foster decentralized applications and Web 3 expansion.
CoinGecko’s data reports Shiba Inu (SHIB) trading at $0.00003472, securing the 11th spot in the global cryptocurrency market. Meanwhile, Dogecoin trades at $0.168, with a 24-hour trading volume of $3.2 billion.
Dogecoin’s price has remained relatively stable over the past year, fluctuating within the range of $0.08 to $0.10. Notably, on February 6, Santiment revealed a surge in Dogecoin wallets, with 413,800 new wallets added within two weeks, most holding between 0.001 to 1 DOGE.
Market sentiment suggests a potential retest of the $0.20 resistance level or a fallback to the $0.12 support level for Dogecoin, based on buyer behavior. Elon Musk’s influence has played a significant role in Dogecoin’s popularity, with his tweets often triggering price spikes and heightened public attention.
Although Musk’s involvement has sparked controversies, including a $258 billion lawsuit in 2022 for alleged price manipulation, analysts like Ali Martinez remain optimistic about Dogecoin’s future, with projections reaching as high as $1.70 and beyond.
The surge in meme coins extends to the Bitcoin blockchain through the BRC-20 token standard, highlighting a renewed interest in community-driven narratives and decentralization within the crypto space. Introduced in March 2022, the BRC-20 token standard has witnessed substantial growth, boasting a market cap of $120 million and over 8,500 tokens created.
Unlike Ethereum’s ERC-20, BRC-20 tokens operate without smart contracts, leveraging the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain for token issuance and trading. The surge in BRC-20 transactions has led to increased transaction fees, benefiting miners while also exacerbating network congestion on both the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.
While the proliferation of meme coins on the Bitcoin blockchain signifies innovation, it also underscores challenges posed by transaction fees and network strain amidst the meme coin frenzy.
