TL;DR
The leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange – WazirX – revealed that Shiba Inu (SHIB) was the second-most traded cryptocurrency on its platform last year.
What is more, the self-proclaimed Dogecoin killer was the most popular token on the trading venue in February, surpassing Bitcoin (BTC) and Polygon (MATIC). This was the only month when the largest digital asset by market capitalization did not finish first.
2023 has been highly productive for Shiba Inu, which witnessed the launch of its layer-2 blockchain solution – Shibarium. The network was designed to improve the efficiency and scalability of the memecoin by reducing costs and improving transaction speed.
It recently blasted through a massive milestone, with total transactions nearing the 250 million mark. Those curious to find out more can take a look at our dedicated video below:
Shiba Inu’s burning program is also worth mentioning. As CryptoPotato recently reported, over 76 billion SHIB tokens were removed from circulation last year, with December being the record month. The mechanism aims to make the asset more scarce and potentially more valuable in time.
Despite the progress throughout last year, Shiba Inu has not recorded any substantial gains lately. In fact, its value collapsed by over 12% today (January 3) following an overall slump in the cryptocurrency market.
Some important factors, though, indicate that the negative trend could change in the near future. One example is the SHIB exchange netflow, which has been predominantly in negative territory in the past week. Shifting from exchanges toward self-custody methods is considered bullish since it reduces the immediate selling pressure.
The expected approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in America is next in line, with numerous experts believing it could see the light of day in the following weeks. The product will make it easier for institutional investors to gain exposure to BTC, as it will remove many of the barriers associated with investing.
It could also signal the positive stance of regulators, thus boosting confidence among industry participants and attracting more retail investors. Those elements might positively affect BTC’s price and trigger a major bull run for the industry.
Being a market leader, Bitcoin’s fluctuations in any direction are often followed by the altcoins, meaning Shiba Inu could also benefit from the potential development.
