The self-proclaimed Dogecoin killer posted an 8% price increase over the past week, but its pump was less impressive than many other altcoins, and it lost its prestigious second spot in the meme coin sector.
Moreover, several factors suggest Shiba Inu bears may soon regain control.
Losing Ground
The cryptocurrency community has long accepted that Dogecoin (DOGE) is the biggest meme coin by market capitalization, with SHIB as its main rival. That trend has held for years, but in the summer of 2025, another contender emerged and changed the game.
The token in question is MemeCore (M), and its market capitalization recently soared to almost $3.5 billion after a monthly price gain of around 35%. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu climbed just 3% over the same period, and its cap now stands at around $3.37 billion, making it the third-biggest meme coin and the 34th-largest cryptocurrency.
Recall that back in the day, SHIB ranked much higher, with its capitalization briefly pumping above $20 billion in 2024 and temporarily exploding beyond $40 billion in 2021.
Further Slip Ahead?
Right now, the gap between Shiba Inu and the fourth-largest meme coin (PUMP) looks significant at around $1.3 billion, but some worrying signals suggest the former may take another hit soon.
The first one is the waning Shibarium activity. Last week, Shiba Inu’s team implemented “a small but useful” update for the layer-2 scaling solution. Specifically, it refreshed its RPC listing in the Ethereum-lists/chains registry, and Chainlist now has updated connection details. However, the protocol still facilitates a negligible number of daily transactions.
Next on the list is the rising amount of SHIB tokens stored on crypto exchanges. CryptoQuant data shows the figure has risen to around 87.6 trillion, the highest since early August. This indicates many investors have abandoned self-custody and moved to centralized platforms, increasing immediate selling pressure.
Shiba Inu’s seasonal performance is another cause for concern. September has been a predominantly poor month for the meme coin, with its valuation finishing in the red three out of five times.
Source: CryptoPotato
