Shiba Inu (SHIB) is experiencing mounting selling pressure as exchange inflows surge and technical indicators remain bearish. Despite these headwinds, the derivatives market is flashing fresh signals of trader confidence, with open interest and funding rates climbing.
Exchange Activity Raises Selling Pressure
Recent on-chain data shows a sharp increase in SHIB deposits to centralized exchanges. Exchange inflows exceeded 240 billion SHIB, while outflows reached nearly 295 billion SHIB during the same period. Although overall net flow remained negative, the sudden rise in deposits has drawn market attention, as large transfers to exchanges often precede selling activity. Many traders have responded by reducing buying activity, waiting for stronger signals before committing additional capital.
Technical Structure Keeps Buyers on the Sidelines
SHIB continues to trade below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages. These indicators turned bearish after the token broke below a multi-month rising wedge pattern. Since that breakdown, every recovery attempt has lost momentum as sellers return during rallies. Repeated rejections at higher levels have diminished confidence among buyers seeking a sustained rebound.
Speculative interest remains limited. Historically, SHIB has relied on strong retail participation, social media attention, and rapid inflows of risk capital. Those drivers have been largely absent as Bitcoin, Solana, and other cryptocurrencies attract the bulk of digital asset investment. Meanwhile, on-chain activity—active addresses, sending addresses, and daily transactions—has increased over the past 24 hours, but investors remain focused on price performance as SHIB records lower highs and lower lows. The question remains: can stronger on-chain activity eventually outweigh persistent price weakness?
Derivatives Market Shows Renewed Confidence
While spot market demand is soft, the derivatives market is recording stronger activity. Shiba Inu perpetual futures open interest rose to $31 million on Monday, up from $18 million the previous day. This latest increase follows a previous decline that pushed open interest to $26 million on Wednesday, its lowest since September 2024. The rebound suggests traders have started opening new positions after that earlier drop.
Additionally, the OI-weighted funding rate stayed positive, increasing to 0.011% on Monday from 0.0052% the day before. A positive funding rate indicates that traders are increasingly positioned for higher SHIB prices. As derivatives activity improves, market participants are balancing stronger futures positioning against persistent weakness in spot price action and technical indicators.
What’s Next?
Shiba Inu continues to face selling pressure as exchange inflows increase and technical indicators remain weak. At the same time, stronger futures open interest and a positive funding rate reflect renewed trader participation. Market participants will likely watch whether improving derivatives activity can support SHIB price momentum moving forward.