New on-chain data from Santiment reveals a high concentration of Shiba Inu (SHIB), Ethereum, Chainlink, and Toncoin in the top wallet holdings of these major cryptocurrencies, suggesting market risks and opportunities are heavily influenced by a small group of key players.
Shiba Inu, in particular, has a striking 61.3% of its total supply held by its top 10 largest wallets. This concentration of wealth means that the price of SHIB could be significantly impacted by the decisions of a small number of holders. Should any of these influential holders decide to offload their SHIB, it could lead to substantial price drops, increasing market volatility and potential risk for smaller investors.
Conversely, if these major holders continue to accumulate SHIB or refrain from selling, it could signal their confidence in the project, potentially stabilizing the market for investors with smaller stakes who are dependent on the actions of these larger players.
However, Santiment’s data highlights that this concentration of holdings can also increase market risk. The recent burn event by Vitalik Buterin, which saw a reduction in the supply of SHIB, adds an additional layer of complexity to the coin’s market dynamics. Despite Buterin burning 90% of his tokens and donating the remainder to charity, significant holdings remain, such as the “0xdEAd” wallet, which holds a staggering 410 trillion SHIB.
Santiment’s calculations reportedly include the wallet used by Buterin to burn his SHIB. If this is accurate, the top 10 SHIB holders possess a colossal 613 trillion SHIB. The “0xdEAd” wallet alone reportedly holds 410.43 trillion SHIB, equating to approximately $6.15 billion. The remaining 203 trillion SHIB is distributed across nine other addresses, most of which are understood to be exchanges, according to Arkham Intelligence.
The list of addresses holding large quantities of SHIB includes notable names such as Upbit, Binance, Robinhood, Crypto Com, Bithumb, and OKX. The first address that seemingly does not belong to an exchange and has an unknown owner is “0x2d7A,” which holds five trillion SHIB, worth around $74.95 million.
Intriguingly, there are also five other addresses each holding an identical five trillion SHIB. All of these were funded by “0x2d7A” three years ago, yet none of these wallets have transacted with their tokens since.
Despite the popularity of Shiba Inu, the project is shrouded in mystery. Its creator, Ryoshi, has vanished, leaving the project in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts. The question remains, however, how much SHIB do these supporters own? With 30 trillion SHIB held in unknown addresses, the ownership structure of this meme coin raises more questions than it provides answers.
