Shiba Inu Sparks Greed Concerns Amid Bitcoin's Pursuit of All-Time High

CoinGlass reports that the notional open interest tied to Shiba Inu (SHIB) perpetual futures has exceeded $100 million, marking the first instance since August 2023.

These SHIB futures, sized at 1,000 SHIB per contract with up to 25 times leverage, are experiencing a surge, raising potential red flags for cautious investors in the crypto market.

SHIB’s Remarkable Market Performance

Over the past week, SHIB’s market capitalization increased by over 130% to reach $13.44 million. This outpaces the 22% rise in the CoinDesk 20 index, indicating a significant influx of new funds into SHIB.

However, this rapid growth is also seen as a warning sign, suggesting speculative excess and a potential correction in the broader market.

shiba inu notional open interest — Source: CoinGlass

Historical Patterns and Bitcoin Price Correlation

Past occurrences of SHIB futures open interest surpassing $100 million have coincided with interim or local tops in bitcoin prices.

This historical pattern adds weight to concerns about the speculative nature of SHIB’s current market movements and the potential impact on the broader crypto market.

Korean Trading Volume Surge Raises Alarms

Data from 10X Research reveals a significant increase in trading volumes in South Korea, reaching an average of nearly $8 billion, up from the previous $1 billion per day before the recent bitcoin bull run.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10X Research, warns of a wave of retail activity, emphasizing the need for caution amidst the surge in altcoins and meme-coins trading.

Bitcoin’s Potential All-Time High

Markus Thielen suggests that Bitcoin could achieve a new all-time high above $69,000 this week. This prediction is based on the growing supply-demand imbalance, with inflows into U.S.-based spot ETFs significantly outpacing the daily creation of BTC.

Thielen notes the decreasing balances in OTC trading desks, pointing to the need for Bitcoin ETF issuers to acquire more bitcoins directly from exchanges.

Inflows and Outflows from Key ETFs

Grayscale’s spot ETF (GBTC) experienced notable outflows, losing $600 million in a single day, the largest redemption in over a month. Meanwhile, inflows into BlackRock’s IBIT cooled to $202 million on Friday after three consecutive days of $500-600 million, as reported by 10X Research.

Markus Thielen anticipates that the recent slowdown in ETF inflows is a temporary month-end phenomenon. He is optimistic about a potential resumption of strong inflows this week, especially if Grayscale’s outflows drop to less than $100 million, signaling a potential upward move for bitcoin.

As of the latest update, bitcoin is trading at $63,931.51, signifying a 5.5% gain in the last 24 hours and an impressive 26.49% increase over the past seven days.

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