What happened
This week, popular meme token Shiba Inu (SHIB -3.35%) has continued to slide. The dog-inspired token is down 15.4% over the past seven days as of noon ET.
This week, sentiment among speculative dog-inspired cryptocurrencies has waned, with rival Dogecoin also down by 15.6% over this same period. Investors appear to be rotating out of riskier assets (as they're doing in the stock market as well) and into safer investments.
That hasn't dissuaded some whales (big players) from adding big positions in this meme token. This week, it was reported that two crypto whales had accumulated 150 billion SHIB, at a cost of more than $5 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Some rather large players in the crypto world appear to be betting that Shiba Inu can rally from these levels. For that to happen, it's generally accepted that sentiment will need to improve in the meme token space. Aside from a few fringe cases, Shiba Inu's price action is primarily driven by its meme status. While it's hot, it's red hot. However, sentiment has clearly died down of late.
One of the catalysts Shiba Inu bulls have pointed to this week as a possible game changer for this meme token is the potential listing of Shiba Inu on Robinhood or other prominent exchanges. A petition is circulating to have this token added to Robinhood specifically.
Now what
Perhaps these whales know more than the rest of us or are simply trying to time sentiment. Either could be the case.
However, I think it's more likely that speculators are continuing to do their thing and speculate on which direction Shiba Inu is headed in. Personally, I think that's a dangerous game. However, those who have stuck with this token have been greatly rewarded this year. I mean, any asset that's up more than 60,000,000% over the course of a year is one speculators may be willing to take a shot on.
For smaller retail investors, fellow Fool guru Keith Speights points out the psychological advantage of having such a low price per token. Many investors simply want to own a million of something. Accordingly, Shiba Inu fits the profile of a "fun" investment for speculators.
Of course, this meme token carries with it a tremendous amount of risk. Speculators looking to throw some funny money at this token should consider the prospect of losing everything. That said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And with the whales coming out to play, this coming week will be an intriguing one to follow, to see if the retail crowd follows suit.
