- SHIB gained 2.52% as traders positioned ahead of Friday’s CPI report, a key macro catalyst for crypto.
- The token is consolidating between $0.0000055 and $0.000006, with resistance near $0.0000065.
- Softer CPI could support a breakout toward $0.000007, while hotter inflation may trigger risk-off selling.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) has started picking up momentum again, rising 2.52% over the last 24 hours to around $0.000006025 at the time of writing. The move is happening right as traders position ahead of Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, which has quietly become one of the biggest short-term catalysts for crypto markets.
And yes, February 13 has its usual internet “vibes,” but institutions aren’t focused on that. They’re focused on inflation. The CPI print is the real event, because it feeds directly into expectations around the Federal Reserve’s next moves, and that tends to spill into everything from Bitcoin to memecoins.
Markets are currently pricing in a 2.5% consensus CPI reading, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics set to release the data Friday morning. If CPI comes in at or below expectations, it could reinforce the current rally in altcoins. But if inflation prints hotter than expected, the market will likely do what it always does in that scenario: take profits, reduce risk, and dump the stuff that’s most speculative first.
And SHIB, whether people admit it or not, sits pretty high on that list.
SHIB’s Technical Structure Still Supports a Near-Term Push
On the chart, SHIB has been building a consolidation zone between roughly $0.0000055 and $0.000006 over recent sessions. That range has held up well, and more importantly, it’s been attracting steady buying interest. It doesn’t look like a dead bounce. It looks like the market is actually defending the level.
SHIB also previously broke down from around $0.0000068 without heavy sell volume, which is a subtle but important detail. When price falls but volume doesn’t explode, it often suggests holders aren’t panicking. People are sitting tight, not rushing for the exits.
SHIB continues to track Ethereum with moderate correlation, which makes sense. The token is basically a leveraged sentiment play on the broader smart contract ecosystem. If ETH stabilizes, SHIB tends to breathe. If ETH wobbles, SHIB usually wobbles harder.
So far, Ethereum’s recent stability has provided a decent foundation for SHIB’s recovery, even if the overall market still feels fragile.
Whale Behavior Suggests Less Selling Pressure
Volume patterns during the consolidation also point to reduced sell pressure. Instead of large holders distributing into strength, whales appear to be holding their positions. On-chain data supports this shift, especially among wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion SHIB.
That’s not a guarantee of a rally, but it does matter. When large wallets stop selling aggressively, it removes a key source of overhead pressure. And for meme coins, overhead pressure is usually what kills rallies before they even get started.
Right now, resistance sits near $0.0000065, where limit orders have reportedly built up. If SHIB can break cleanly above that level, the next upside zone opens toward $0.000007. It’s not a moonshot, but it would be a meaningful step in the current recovery structure.
CPI Is the Real Driver Behind SHIB’s Next Move
The macro context is what really decides how this plays out.
CPI doesn’t just matter for stocks. It matters for crypto too, and Bitcoin and Ethereum have both shown clear sensitivity to inflation prints in recent months. Since SHIB is correlated to the majors, it tends to amplify their moves. That’s why CPI days often feel like SHIB is either flying or falling off a cliff, with no in-between.
Current positioning suggests traders are leaning toward a favorable outcome. Funding rates across perpetual futures markets have stayed positive, which signals sustained demand for long exposure heading into the report. That’s a risk-on bet.
Options markets are also showing more activity around Friday’s expiry. Implied volatility has been rising for near-dated contracts, which basically means traders are expecting sharp moves in either direction once the 8:30 AM EST data hits.
Why Softer Inflation Would Favor SHIB and Other Memecoins
The Federal Reserve’s policy path is still tied to inflation trends, and softer CPI prints would strengthen expectations for rate cuts in 2025. That scenario usually supports growth assets, speculative assets, and basically anything that thrives when liquidity is loose.
Memecoins fall directly into that category. They don’t need perfect fundamentals. They need sentiment, liquidity, and traders willing to take risk again.
So if CPI comes in soft, SHIB could benefit quickly. But if CPI comes in hot, SHIB could also be one of the first tokens traders dump, because it’s easy liquidity and high beta.
For now, SHIB is holding its consolidation range, whales appear less eager to sell, and the market is waiting on one thing: the CPI print. Friday will likely decide whether this move turns into a breakout… or just another short-lived bounce.
