Shiba Inu has been stuck in a persistent downtrend, with recovery attempts consistently failing. The meme coin has struggled to break through key resistance levels, and investor sentiment remains lackluster due to ongoing losses. 

With limited support from investors, SHIB now finds itself reliant on the performance of Bitcoin for any potential rebound.  

Shiba Inu Investors Need Help

Over the past month and a half, losses in transactions have far outweighed those in profit for Shiba Inu. This reflects the ongoing bearish sentiment, as more investors are in a position of loss than profit. The dominance of losing transactions further dampens market confidence, leaving many hesitant to participate in network activities.  

As a result of this bearish outlook, investor behavior has shifted, with many pulling back from conducting transactions on the network. This cautious approach results in lower trading volume, which puts additional pressure on SHIB’s price. Until the sentiment changes or market conditions improve, Shiba Inu is likely to continue facing downward pressure.  

Shiba Inu shares a strong correlation with Bitcoin, with a 0.94 correlation coefficient. This suggests that SHIB could follow Bitcoin’s price movements, especially if Bitcoin continues to show strength. Should Bitcoin break the crucial $100,000 barrier, it could signal a period of growth for the broader crypto market, including Shiba Inu.  

This close relationship with Bitcoin offers Shiba Inu a potential path to recovery. If Bitcoin rallies, it could provide the necessary momentum to lift SHIB from its downtrend. However, SHIB’s reliance on Bitcoin also means that its recovery is contingent on Bitcoin’s performance in the coming weeks.  

SHIB Price Prediction: Stuck Within A Range

Shiba Inu is currently priced at $0.00001591, having been stuck under the $0.00001676 resistance for the past week. The coin has endured a month-long downtrend, pushing it to its current price level. Without a significant shift in market sentiment, SHIB is unlikely to breach this resistance in the short term.  

If the bearish market conditions persist, Shiba Inu may continue to consolidate below the $0.00001676 resistance. However, holding above the $0.00001462 support level could provide SHIB with some stability, preventing further downside and allowing for a potential slow recovery if broader market conditions improve.  

Should Bitcoin recover and pull Shiba Inu along with it, SHIB could breach the $0.00001676 resistance and rise toward $0.00002000. A successful push above this key level would open the door for further growth, potentially marking the start of a new bullish phase for the meme coin.

President Trump recently announced a prisoner exchange with Russia, trading BTC-e founder Alexander Vinnik for an American school teacher. Although Trump recently pardoned Ross Ulbricht, this deal does not look like a favor to the crypto community.

Specifically, Vinnik pled guilty to $14 million fraud in Russia and is likely to face further incarceration in his home country. Trump has helped soothe the pace of crypto crackdowns, but this policy has its limits.

Trump Trades Vinnik For Schoolteacher

Alexander Vinnik has been through a lot since his arrest in 2017. In 2011, he founded BTC-e, an early crypto exchange that was prominent in its heyday. The site was shut down over massive allegations of money laundering and other crimes, and he was arrested. According to the New York Post, however, President Trump is trading Vinnik back to Russia.

“We now know what Russia received in this deal. Accused Russian money launderer Alexander Vinnik is being released from US custody in exchange for Marc Fogel,” wrote CNN reporter Zachary Cohen.

Specifically, Trump is turning Vinnik over to Russian authorities in a prisoner swap deal. In exchange, American school teacher Marc Fogel was returned to the US.

Fogel attempted to enter Russia with 17 grams of marijuana in 2022, which resulted in a 14-year drug trafficking sentence. This became a cause célèbre in some circles but is irrelevant to crypto.

Vinnik’s life has featured constant legal battles between the BTC-e closure and Trump’s swap deal. After a 2017 arrest in Greece, he was extradited to face charges in France, and then again to the US in 2022.

On top of his initial money laundering charges, the US added new charges in 2024, and Vinnik subsequently pled guilty to them.

“We view this as a very fair deal. We are not trading the Merchant of Death for a basketball player. Vinnik is currently in custody in northern California, awaiting transportation back to Russia,” two White House officials claimed to the press.

On the surface, it may look like Trump is continuing a general campaign of crypto clemency with Vinnik. Last month, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht after over a decade in prison. This won great acclaim from the crypto community.

However, while Ulbricht faces a rough re-integration with a dramatically changed crypto space, Vinnik has far more serious concerns.

Specifically, the Russian government has requested Vinnik’s extradition since at least 2018. Apparently, he confessed to Russian law enforcement that he committed major cyber fraud at BTC-e, with damages amounting to approximately $14.6 million.

Vinnik may prefer conditions in his home country, but he doesn’t seem likely to become a free man any time soon.

In other words, Trump’s main interest was in securing Marc Fogel’s release, not correcting government overreach for Alexander Vinnik. Fogel has already returned to the US, visited the White House, and publicly thanked Trump for his intervention. Vinnik, by contrast, is still in custody awaiting transportation.

ENA, the native token of Ethena—an Ethereum-based synthetic dollar protocol—has been the market’s top loser over the past 24 hours. The altcoin trades at $0.42, plunging over 10% during that period.

The price decline comes as one of the largest ENA stakers unstakes their entire holdings and sends them to crypto exchange Binance. 

ENA Whale Triggers Selloff

During the early Asian trading hours on February 11, a major Ethena whale, identified as wallet 0x8f9, unstaked its entire holding of 17.875 million ENA (valued at $8.78 million) and deposited it to Binance.

According to on-chain sleuth Spotonchain, this whale had accumulated ENA at an average purchase price of $1.167, mostly during price peaks. With the altcoin currently trading at $0.43, selling at this level would result in a massive loss for the whale.

When whales transfer large amounts of their tokens to exchanges, it signals a potential sell-off, increasing market supply and lowering prices. This can trigger bearish sentiment among traders, leading to heightened volatility and further price declines.

The negative funding rate that currently trails ENA reflects this bearish sentiment. According to Coinglass, this is at -0.012%.

Funding rates are periodic payments between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts. It ensures that the asset’s contract price aligns with its spot price. 

When an asset’s funding rate turns negative, it indicates that short positions are dominant. It means traders are paying to stay short, which can signal strong bearish sentiment but also increase the risk of a short squeeze if sentiment shifts.

ENA Price Outlook: Will Selling Pressure Push It Lower?

ENA is currently trading at a three-month low of $0.42, facing heightened selling pressure. If whale 0x8f9 offloads its 17.875 million ENA on Binance, the lack of sufficient buy-side demand could drive the price further down, potentially breaking below $0.41 and sliding toward $0.31.

However, a surge in overall demand for ENA could absorb the selling pressure, counteracting the whale’s potential exit. In a bullish scenario, increased buying momentum could push the token’s price to $0.51.