Shiba Inu has fallen 7% in the past 24 hours of trading, dashing hopes of a resurgence in the 2nd-largest meme coin by market cap. The downward move ends a run of momentum that saw the price of $SHIB jump more than 25% in the past week.
The good news for meme coin traders is that the meme coin market overall is still gaining. In fact, the loss in $SHIB might reflect a rotation by traders into a new Shiba Inu-themed meme coin, Shiba Shootout. Shiba Shootout has raised nearly $700,000 in its presale, suggesting this could be where $SHIB traders are moving their money.
Shiba Inu Momentum Falters as $SHIB Tokens are Sold Off in WazirX Hack
Shiba Inu had a rough June and first half of July, losing nearly 40% of its value as it fell from $0.00002544 to a low of $0.00001590. The slump appeared to turn around last week, however, as $SHIB posted a run of impressive momentum and led the meme coin market with a gain of more than 25%.
Now, whatever momentum Shiba Inu had developed has clearly disappeared. $SHIB is down 7% in the past 24 hours even as trading volume has spiked to $1.2 billion—an indication that traders are battling fiercely over the token’s future, and the bears are winning.
To make matters worse for $SHIB, the wreckage appears to be limited to this token. The meme coin market as a whole is up in the past 24 hours, with Solana meme coin Dogwifhat posting a gain of 9.5% and Andy up more than 20%. The leading meme coin, Dogecoin, is down slightly, but by less than 2%.
The cause of the sell-off in $SHIB appears to be an attack by North Korean hacking group Lazarus on crypto exchange WazirX. According to Lookonchain, the hackers stole more than $95 million worth of $SHIB and have already managed to sell more than $618,000 worth of their stolen tokens.
Note that #WazirX exploiter has started selling $SHIB!#WazirX exploiter has sold 35B $SHIB($618K) and currently holds 5.4T $SHIB($95.45M).https://t.co/nRHmm24ZSl pic.twitter.com/DRzmaIbiqH
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 18, 2024
The stolen tokens create uncertainty about a flood of new $SHIB onto the market, making even bullish traders wary of holding $SHIB right now. The stash of stolen tokens could continue to weigh on the price of Shiba Inu for weeks or months to come as the hackers find ways to launder their coins and move them onto the market.
Shiba Shootout Offers Attractive Alternative for Shiba Meme Traders, Raises $700k
Traders who were bullish on Shiba Inu until the WazirX hack appear to be turning their attention to a new Shiba Inu-themed token that wasn’t affected by the attack: Shiba Shootout.
Shiba Shootout is a meme coin and play-to-earn game that puts players in the heart of the Wild West, in a virtual town called Shiba Gulch. $SHIBASHOOT token holders can explore the town, interact with characters like Marshall Shiba, and duel with other players for a chance to earn additional $SHIBASHOOT tokens.
The ecosystem also offers staking rewards on $SHIBASHOOT and a chance for token holders to come together to share their experiences in meme coin trading. In the long run, roundups will enable the Shiba Shootout community to vote on the future of Shiba Gulch and the play-to-earn game.
Shiba Shootout has seen a surge in investment since the WazirX hack, with nearly $700,000 raised in sales of its $SHIBASHOOT token. Early investors have been attracted by the token’s generous 1,458% APY staking rate and its potential for massive gains after launch.
In fact, crypto analyst Jacob ‘Crypto’ Bury has called Shiba Shootout the ‘next Shiba Inu’ and predicted the $SHIBASHOOT token could rocket 10x or more after it hits exchanges.
For a limited time, early investors can buy $SHIBASHOOT at a discounted price of only $0.0196. Don’t miss this chance to join Shiba Shootout and be among the first to get in on the next explosive Shiba Inu-themed meme coin.
