Recent on-chain data from analytics firm IntoTheBlock has revealed a striking concentration in Shiba Inu (SHIB) holdings. Nearly 129 trillion SHIB tokens — approximately 128,990,000,000,000 — are currently held by just 45 wallets. This discovery, based on IntoTheBlock’s ownership indicators, sheds light on the “capital stack” of SHIB by measuring the concentration and duration of holdings.
According to IntoTheBlock, Shiba Inu’s large holders are divided into two key categories: whales and investors. In this context, “investors” are defined as wallets that hold between 0.1% and 1% of the circulating supply of a cryptocurrency — indicating a substantial, though not dominant, stake.
With SHIB’s total supply exceeding 589 trillion, the fact that 129 trillion tokens are controlled by just 45 addresses is noteworthy. It has sparked questions regarding the nature of these wallets — whether they belong to centralized exchanges, custodial platforms, smart contracts, or individual holders.
Blockchain analysis suggests that many of SHIB’s top-holding addresses are linked to centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, where tokens are aggregated in cold storage wallets. Others may include smart contracts associated with ShibaSwap, Shibarium, or official burn addresses. There is also a possibility that a small number of early adopters or institutional investors continue to hold outsized positions.
However, it's important to note the limitation of the data: IntoTheBlock’s indicators do not distinguish between exchange wallets, smart contracts, and private holders. Therefore, while the concentration is evident, the true identity and purpose of these addresses remain partly obscured.
As of the latest data, SHIB is trading at $0.00001166, up a modest 0.01% in the past 24 hours, amid otherwise subdued market activity. This level of token concentration, while common among top cryptocurrencies, continues to be a point of interest — and concern — for SHIB watchers and the broader crypto community.