Ethereum Meme Token SHIB Flips Dogecoin as Bitcoin Slumps

Shiba Inu was pegged by some as a Dogecoin knockoff when it first caught fire this past spring, but now the apprentice token could soon become the meme master: SHIB has launched into the top 10 coins by market cap and has now overtaken DOGE on the list. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and much of the wider market are down today.

Following a massive 45% spike in value over the last 24 hours per data from CoinGecko, Shiba Inu, an Ethereum-based token, is currently at a new all-time high price of $0.00006856 per token. Over the last week, SHIB has climbed nearly 144%.

Right now, that puts SHIB’s market cap above $32.7 billion, vaulting it over stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) for the 9th place spot on CoinGecko’s list. This is the first time that Shiba Inu has entered the top 10 coins ranked by total market cap.

However, the market isn’t showing a wider meme coin surge right now: Dogecoin is down more than 8% over the last 24 hours at a price below $0.24, and that puts its market cap right around $32.1 billion.

If Shiba Inu continues rising the way it has over the last 24 hours—and Dogecoin can’t match its upward momentum—then Shiba Inu may cement its place above Dogecoin by total market cap, making it the premier meme crypto on the market.

Should that happen, it would be a surprising change in fortune for Dogecoin, which has been one of the buzziest cryptocurrencies all year long. It soared from a price around $0.005 on January 1 to a high of $0.73 in May, but crashed with most of the market soon thereafter—and hasn’t been able to recapture much value as the wider market has recovered of late.

Shiba Inu, on the other hand, has seen a dramatic uptick in demand and value since early October, rising 828% over the last 30 days per CoinGecko. The coin launched on popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in mid-September, but has experienced much larger gains just recently.

The wider crypto market is down about 4% today, however, making Shiba Inu a real anomaly amidst slumps from top coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Overnight, Bitcoin fell beneath $60,000 for the first time in 10 days, dropping below what’s seen as a key resistance level for the leading cryptocurrency. It’s down about 5% over the last 24 hours at a current price of $59,212. Ethereum, meanwhile, is down 4% today and briefly dipped below the $4,000 mark—but currently sits at $4,018.

Editor's note: This article was updated after publication to clarify that Shiba Inu has now surpassed Dogecoin on the list of top 10 coins by market cap.