Shiba Inu recorded its most intense whale activity in six months as large holders executed 406 transactions exceeding $100,000 each.
The surge marked the highest concentration of major investor activity since June 6, according to blockchain analytics platform Santiment.
The spike coincided with massive token flows to centralized exchanges, setting the stage for potential price volatility.
What Happened
More than 1.06 trillion SHIB tokens moved onto exchange platforms within 24 hours on December 8, per Santiment data.
The inflows pushed total SHIB exchange supply to 136.95 trillion tokens, representing approximately 23% of circulating supply.
The pattern reversed recent trends that saw whales withdrawing billions of tokens from exchanges.
Data from Arkham Intelligence showed more than 4.13 trillion SHIB left Coinbase in recent weeks across multiple large withdrawals.
One wallet pulled 169 billion SHIB from Coinbase between December 3 and December 4 alone.
The December 8 inflows suggest whales are repositioning assets back onto trading platforms after a period of off-exchange accumulation.
Meanwhile, SHIB's burn rate spiked 248% within 24 hours, with 14.28 million tokens permanently removed from circulation, according to Shibburn.
The token traded at $0.0000086 on Monday, marking a 6% weekly gain despite the exchange inflows typically associated with selling pressure.
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Why It Matters
Large token movements to exchanges create "sale-ready" supply that can hit order books on short notice.
Historical patterns show significant exchange inflows often precede sharp price swings in either direction.
The combination of record whale transactions and rising exchange balances typically signals upcoming volatility rather than a specific price direction.
Coinbase launched 24/7 futures trading for SHIB on December 5, with perpetual futures scheduled to debut December 18.
The expanded derivatives access could amplify price movements as institutional traders gain round-the-clock exposure.
Santiment warned the token is "likely to see high volatility in the coming days" based on the correlation between whale activity and exchange balance changes.
SHIB's market capitalization stood at $5.04 billion on Monday, ranking it as the 24th-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
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