Speculative SHIB Market Sees Increased 'HODLing'

Shiba inu (SHIB), a meme cryptocurrency, is seeing signs of green shoots in the form of investor interest in HODLing – crypto slang referring to buy and hold an asset for the long term.

• The number of "hodlers," or addresses holding the self-proclaimed dogecoin killer for more than a year, has jumped by a staggering 1,900% to 3,750 since late January, data tracked by blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock shows. The number of "traders," or addresses holding for less than one month, has declined by 38% to 49,790.
• The balance held by long-term investors has increased by 127% to 27.93 trillion during the same period. The tally has increased 57% in the past 30 days alone.
• The balance held by "cruisers," or addresses with a holding period of one to 12 months, has dropped by 2% since January, while the number of coins held by traders has increased by 40% to 32 trillion.
• The slight tilt toward "hodling" is perhaps a welcome development for the cryptocurrency, which is often criticized for being a gamblers' darling. Analysts consider a surge in SHIB's valuation as a sign of froth and the crypto bull market nearing an end.
• "SHIB hodlers remain unfazed and accumulated during the past weeks and it's paying off with today's Robinhood announcement," IntoTheBlock said in a Telegram broadcast.
• On Tuesday, the popular trading platform Robinhood Markets listed shiba inu, opening doors for its roughly 17 million users to take exposure to the volatile cryptocurrency. SHIB jumped nearly 22% on Tuesday, registering its biggest single-day percentage gain since Feb. 6, according to data provided by charting platform TradingView.

• While accumulation by holders during the recent dour price action is a welcome development for the bulls, the balance held by these addresses still accounts for just 5% of the total circulating supply of 549 trillion. "Cruisers" or addresses with a holding period of one to 12 months, own more than 93% of the supply, according to IntoTheBlock.
• As a result, it's a long way before SHIB can shed its reputation as a cryptocurrency dominated by speculators. While addresses-based metrics are widely tracked to gauge investor activity, they aren't perfect indicators. A single entity can have multiple addresses and can hold its coin stash in several wallets.

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