Shiba Inu saw billions of SHIB hit exchanges on May 18 as crypto market liquidations accelerated.
Summary
- Over 3 billion SHIB tokens were pushed onto exchanges on May 18, raising sell-side pressure as broader crypto market liquidations accelerated.
- CoinGlass data shows SHIB open interest at $61.2 million with $42,485 in futures positions liquidated in the 24-hour session ending May 18.
- SHIB was trading at $0.00000567 on May 18, down roughly 10% on the week and 54% over the past year.
On-chain exchange flow data tracked by CoinGlass shows SHIB open interest at $61.2 million on May 18, with $42,485 in futures positions liquidated in the 24-hour session. The inflow spike coincided with wider crypto market liquidations as leveraged long positions were unwound across multiple assets.
SHIB was trading at $0.00000567 at time of writing, down roughly 10% on the week. The token is 54% lower over the past 12 months and well below its all-time high of $0.00008616.
Exchange reserve data showed assets on Binance alone reaching 61.8 trillion tokens, a marked rise since March as profit-takers moved holdings onto platforms ahead of potential distribution.
Shiba Inu inflows signal rising sell pressure
Tokens moved onto exchanges are one step from the open market and available for immediate liquidation. The spike in SHIB inflows creates a mechanical increase in available sell-side supply, which typically suppresses price during periods of weak demand.
As crypto.news reported, institutional and whale-level SHIB transactions surged 111% earlier in 2026, indicating large holders are actively repositioning rather than holding passively.
Meme coins have faced persistent pressure throughout 2026. Bitcoin’s 22% decline in Q1 tightened conditions across speculative assets, with SHIB bearing the brunt alongside other high-beta tokens. The token’s 589 trillion circulating supply gives it limited leverage from burn activity, as individual whale distribution events can rapidly absorb months of supply reduction.
What SHIB needs to stabilise
Stabilisation requires demand to absorb incoming supply rather than sellers finding a thin order book. As crypto.news noted in its Shibarium upgrade analysis, on-chain adoption remains uneven and without acceleration in utility metrics, upside moves in SHIB continue to struggle.
A Fully Homomorphic Encryption upgrade planned for Q2 2026 through cryptography firm Zama could add a privacy dimension, but near-term price action depends on whether these exchange inflows reverse.
The broader context for meme coin behaviour in 2026 was covered by crypto.news in its analysis of how on-chain activity spikes often precede continued downside rather than reversals.
