Four years after SHIB’s historic rally, the meme coin has returned to the spotlight as some community members speculate that another token burn by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin could spark a Shiba Inu surge reminiscent of 2021.
Revisiting Vitalik Buterin’s Historic 2021 SHIB Burn
SHIB’s 2021 momentum is often pinned on one major event in May 2021, when Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin burned 410 trillion SHIB. This token burn remains the largest single burn in Shiba Inu’s history and is viewed as the key catalyst that sparked SHIB’s rally five months later.
Interestingly, Shiba Inu’s pseudonymous founder Ryoshi gifted Buterin 500 trillion tokens as part of an unconventional marketing strategy. However, Buterin sent 410 trillion of the tokens to a dead wallet, permanently removing them from circulation.
Furthermore, he donated the remaining tokens to various charities, including the India Covid Crypto Relief Fund, further amplifying the narrative around SHIB.
Shiba Inu Faces Heavy Bearish Pressure Four Years After Historic Rally
Shiba Inu’s 2021 surge remains one of the most dramatic rallies in crypto history, as SHIB erased multiple zeros to trade at an all-time high of $00008845 in October. However, the rally didn’t last long, as just a few months later, in 2022, the market crashed due to a crypto winter sparked by the FTX and Terra Luna saga.
While Shiba Inu has managed to hold on throughout the years, 2025 has been a devastating year for the meme-based token and its ecosystem. Its L2 network Shibarium has experienced a decline in daily transaction volume, dropping from 4 million at launch to a few thousand in recent times.
Further, Shiba Inu ranks in the 26th position in the global crypto ranking, recording a 66.2% loss in its YTD value. It also saw a 16.3% dip in its month-to-date value, underperforming several other major crypto assets over the same period. Currently, SHIB is changing hands at $0.00000736, which represents a 1.7% dip in the past 24 hours.
Can Burning 218M SHIB Trigger Another 2021-Style Rally?
Despite the massive burn and charity donation, Arkham Intelligence data shows that Buterin still holds 218,412,747 (218.41 million) SHIB.
While modest in size, this holding has sparked debate within the community over whether burning these tokens could once again fuel a major rally, similar to the one in 2021.
The clear answer is no. Compared to the 410 trillion SHIB burned in 2021, which was close to half of the token’s supply, the current amount in Buterin’s wallet is negligible. While the burn could generate short-term excitement and a brief price reaction due to Buterin’s influence in the crypto market, it is unlikely to sustain a rally.
Meanwhile, a strong uptrend could emerge, depending on broader catalysts, including the passage of the CLARITY Act and the rollout of new utilities within the Shiba Inu ecosystem.
Additionally, a stronger long-term commitment from the development team, as well as the possibility of developers revealing their real identities, could help boost market confidence. Further, widespread institutional adoption, like the approval of a spot SHIB ETF, could spark a major rally.
The CoinRemark Team
