Everyone says that Shiba Inu coin (SHIB) is dead. Are they wrong?

Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB) has lost most of the enthusiasm that drove it up in 2021, and its recent price performance has brought a disturbing question back into focus: SHIB is just entering another difficult period, or has the famous meme finally come to the end of its story?

Cryptocurrency YouTuber Matthew Perry believes that Shiba Inu is still alive because its huge community still provides it with recovery potential. Our own assessment takes a more cautious stance. The price of SHIB is currently trading below an important level for 2021, making the current situation much more severe than an ordinary market decline.

Matthew Perry believes Shiba Inu still has potential for recovery

Matthew Perry discussed whether Shiba Inu has lost relevance in a YouTube video released on August 14. His core argument is clear: Shiba Inu coins are not dead because its community still exists.

Perry explained that each memecoin has its own life cycle. New tokens can record huge percentage gains before interest disappears. Older memeins are also likely to return during the altcoin season, especially as funds start flowing into riskier cryptocurrency assets.

Shiba Inu coins have an advantage that most newer projects lack. SHIB has gained global visibility and has more than 3 million holders. Perry believes that these holders give the token a better chance of returning than lesser-known memes.

His confidence does not mean that SHIB has avoided serious problems. Perry admitted that trading volumes have dropped and online attention has waned. Videos about Shiba Inu coins have also attracted less attention than when the token was at its peak.

Recent market data supports these concerns. In the past year, the price of SHIB has fallen by about 68%, its market value is close to US$2.63 billion, and daily trading volume remains at around US$58 million.

Perry still believes that in another strong rise in memein, the market value of the token could reach US$10 billion to US$50 billion. Such an increase can lead to a sizable percentage increase without requiring the SHIB to reach $0.01 or $1.

These extremely high price targets are now unrealistic to him. The huge supply of Shiba Inu coins requires a huge market value to support it unless token destruction removes a large number of tokens in circulation. Perry believes the current destruction process is too small to produce such results. However, he insisted that SHIB can still achieve a strong recovery because it is a mature memecoin with millions of holders.

Our Shiba Inu price analysis presents a dimmer outlook

Perry's views on the community are worth considering, but our own Shiba Inu price analysis focuses on how SHIB has actually performed since 2021. This record makes the "token is dead" issue even more difficult to avoid.

Looking at the SHIB chart, we can see that after the coin surged significantly for the first time in 2021, the price fell to around $0.000061. Today, Shiba Inu coins are trading at about US$0.0000444, lower than this earlier level.

This means that some buyers who entered shortly after the SHIB first rose in 2021 will now face losses. They have gone through several market cycles but have failed to achieve positive returns at current prices.

Few people will expect this kind of outcome in 2021. SHIB later recorded a historic rise and became one of the largest memes on the market. However, the token has now erased all gains and fell below one of its earliest important price ranges.

This price trend sends a serious warning. Shiba Inu Coin retains its community, exchange-listed status and familiar brands, but none of these advantages will prevent the SHIB price from falling below its 2021 bottom.

SHIB prices must regain their broken trend line before regaining credibility.

Another problem comes from a trend line that has supported Shiba Inu prices for many years. SHIB fell below this line for the first time in February 2026. A further break in May confirmed that buyers would have difficulty recovering lost ground.

The previous support level has now become resistance. SHIB must break this line before its broader price structure can begin to recover. Continuing to trade below this resistance level will expose Shiba Inu to the risk of further decline. Charts provide little evidence of sustained recovery unless buyers regain that level and hold on to it during subsequent pullbacks.

A successful breakthrough could reignite hopes for the token. Strong trading volume will make such a trend more convincing, especially as the broader cryptocurrency market is also improving. If it is rejected again, it will strengthen the view that SHIB has entered a deeper decline.

Shiba Inu is still alive, but its price needs a major catalyst.

Matthew Perry's views are based on Shiba Inu's large community, mature identity and potential role in another altcoin season. These factors mean that SHIB cannot be completely excluded.

Our assessment draws a more pessimistic conclusion based on charts. Shiba Inu prices are trading below their lows in early 2021, and a broken multi-year trend line is now blocking the way forward. These conditions make SHIB almost "dead" from a price perspective.

A major catalyst could change that. The first real evidence will be that the SHIB regains its previous support and stays above it. Until then, the community may still be active, but prices are still telling a more worrying story.