With Shiba Inu losing over 40% of its value since January 2025, several factors have contributed to this downward pressure in SHIB.
Earlier, many teased that 2025 would be the year Shiba Inu would embark on a multi-month rally to an all-time high. However, this expectation has fallen short as Shiba Inu has largely underperformed this year.
For context, at the current price of $0.00001227, SHIB is down 42.2% year-to-date. It is currently trading at 86.15% below its ATH of $0.00008845.
Key Factors Behind Shiba Inu 2025 Struggles
Shiba Inu’s underperformance in 2025 is a result of a combination of internal and external market forces. Notably, the broader cryptocurrency market has been on shaky ground for most of 2025, resulting in substantial price declines. Macroeconomic pressures, including tariff wars and recession fears, have negatively impacted the performance of cryptocurrencies.
Intense Meme Coin Competition
Additionally, Shiba Inu is facing intense competition from meme coin rivals, including Dogecoin, PEPE, and BONK. As a result, some investors shifted their attention to these tokens, while SHIB experienced low demand.
Fading Community Hype
Shiba Inu no longer enjoys the same hype that pushed it to an all-time high of $0.00008845 in 2021. This hype has diminished, with investors liquidating their SHIB holdings and shifting their attention to newer coins
With Shiba Inu failing to replicate its outstanding performance in 2021, most community members have lost interest in the asset.
Fundamentals
Shiba Inu has made significant progress in expanding its utility through projects like ShibaSwap and Shiba Eternity. Yet, its real-world use case is still low compared to that of established cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, its token burn campaign, which many see as the fastest route to price appreciation, has not impacted SHIB’s value. While Shiba Inu burn tracker reports millions and billions of tokens burned daily, the amounts destroyed have been inconsequential in impacting the price.
To put things into perspective, over 410.75 trillion SHIB tokens have been burned since 2021. Out of this total, Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, burned the 410 trillion tokens in 2021.
It has been over four years since the transaction, and the community has not burned at least one trillion SHIB. Shiba Inu continues to maintain an enormous supply of roughly 589 trillion tokens, which impedes the chances of a significant rally.
Government Policy and Regulation
The crypto industry has made progress in terms of regulation. This is evident in the enactment of the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and the ongoing review of the market structure bill in the U.S. Senate.
While the government has backed cryptocurrencies on several occasions, its tariff war did more damage to crypto assets, including SHIB, this year.
Low Institutional Interest
The lack of institutional interest in Shiba Inu has also contributed to the asset’s performance this year. While Shiba Inu has seen massive interest from retail investors, institutions have stayed away from the asset. This is evident in the lack of a spot ETF application for the cryptocurrency in the U.S.
Meanwhile, asset managers are seeking to launch several spot ETFs focusing on Shiba Inu’s rival, like Dogecoin. A crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) helps channel inflows from traditional and institutional investors into its underlying asset.
Leadership Issues
Shiba Inu has been around since August 2020, but concerns about its leadership remain a major bone of contention. Following the disappearance of pseudonymous founder Ryoshi, another pseudonymous leader, Shytoshi Kusama, assumed leadership of the project.
Despite this, Kusama has maintained the same anonymous leadership style, often communicating in vague terms. This has led to increased negative sentiment, with many questioning the project’s credibility.
Missed Deadlines and Incomplete Projects
Shiba Inu’s ecosystem team has introduced several projects, including Shibarium and SHIB: The Metaverse, to transform the token from a meme coin to one with utility. However, most, such as SHIB: The Metaverse, are still in progress.
Last year, Shiba Inu’s marketing lead, Lucie, confirmed that the team aims to complete all projects within the 2024/2025 timeframe. It’s only a few months until the end of this year, and anticipations continue to build for the proposed release.
Currently, there is no information about the proposed privacy Layer-3 blockchain, which is scheduled for a Q4 2025 launch.
Overall, Shiba Inu’s underperformance in 2025 stems from a storm of market downturn, fading hype, and low institutional interest, among other factors.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
