thecryptobasic.com
Shiba Inu has recorded a sharp decline in its holder count over the past six days, raising fresh concerns about recent address growth and the health of the broader $SHIB community.
According to Etherscan data, Shiba Inu’s total holder count climbed to 1,678,991 on August 5 after gaining significant momentum throughout July and finally surpassing the 1.67 million mark. However, the metric reversed the following day.
Shiba Inu Holder Count Drops 1,424 Addresses in One Day
Etherscan data shows that $SHIB’s holder count fell to 1,677,567 on August 6, representing a loss of 1,424 addresses within just 24 hours.
Since then, the metric has recovered some of its losses. At the time of writing, Etherscan records 1,678,300 addresses holding $SHIB. Despite this recovery, the current figure remains 691 addresses below the 1,678,991 recorded on August 5.
WoofSwap Controversy Raises Questions Over Holder Growth
It bears mentioning that Shiba Inu’s total address metric has faced controversy in recent weeks.
The metric came under scrutiny after Shiba Inu recorded an unusually rapid increase in holders earlier in July. More than 75,000 addresses joined the ecosystem within just three days, prompting on-chain observers to investigate the sudden surge.
The investigation linked the unusual growth to decentralized exchange WoofSwap. According to community figure The Dark Shib, WoofSwap deployed a smart contract called TheShibBull that generated multiple $SHIB addresses and sent one $SHIB token to each wallet.
Since Etherscan counts addresses holding $SHIB as holders, these wallets subsequently contributed to Shiba Inu’s overall holder count.
The development sparked debate within the Shiba Inu community, with users questioning whether artificially generated addresses should contribute to the project’s holder statistics.
Amid the controversy, WoofSwap announced that it would stop inflating Shiba Inu’s total address count and end the initiative. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the 691-address reduction since August 5 resulted from the removal of addresses associated with the WoofSwap initiative or from genuine users exiting their $SHIB positions.
$SHIB Gives Back Nearly All July Gains
Meanwhile, the decline in $SHIB holders comes as the token continues to face bearish pressure.
Shiba Inu staged a strong rally toward the end of July, climbing from approximately $0.0000042 to nearly $0.000006 on July 26. However, the meme coin has since surrendered most of those gains as selling pressure returned.
At press time, $SHIB was trading around $0.0000045, representing a 22.41% decline from its recent high of $0.0000058. The token has also fallen 3.32% over the past 24 hours and 8.87% over the past seven days.