Shiba Inu (SHIB -2.84%) has been benefiting from bullish momentum in the cryptocurrency space. The popular meme token is now up more than 17,600,000% from the pricing low that it reached shortly after it hit the market in 2020.
If Shiba Inu were to rise roughly 1,000,000% more, it would surge from its current price of roughly $0.00001 per token to reach $1 per coin. In such a scenario, $100 invested in the crypto at today's prices would grow to be worth roughly $10 million.
Could the token really hit $1 in 2024 or at some point further in the future?
Image source: Getty Images.
Call off the dogs
The $1 per token target for Shiba Inu has had staying power. Some who cite it may be earnestly hopeful that it can reach those heights. Others may simply be participating in the meme. But it's virtually impossible.
Even though the jump needed to reach that level is much smaller than the gains the token has already recorded, there is almost no way the cryptocurrency could reach that level.
As it stands, there are roughly 589.3 trillion Shiba Inu coins in circulation. At a price of $1 per coin, Shiba Inu would have a market capitalization of more than $589 trillion. For context, that would be more than 5.6 times higher than the $105 trillion in total gross domestic product generated that the International Monetary Fund estimates the world's economies produced in 2023.
Shiba Inu currently has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion and ranks as the 19th-largest cryptocurrency by valuation. With its current coin count, Shiba Inu's market cap would have to rise roughly 100,000 times above its current levels if the token were priced at $1. And even though the cryptocurrency's circulating coin count is being reduced through token burning, this is happening at a very slow rate.
Hitting a price of $1 per token is essentially impossible, but that doesn't mean Shiba Inu can't climb higher in 2024 and beyond.
What could send Shiba Inu higher in 2024?
The combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has rallied roughly 106% over the last year to reach $1.76 trillion. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu's token price is up roughly 20% across the stretch. Those gains come in significantly below Bitcoin's returns of 157% and Ethereum's of 86% returns, but it's clear that Shiba Inu is benefiting from momentum in the broader crypto space.
The token could see strong gains in 2024 thanks to positive momentum for the broader crypto market. Cryptocurrencies have been enjoying a strong bullish run lately, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will pivot to rate cuts in 2024 are likely a factor.
Lower interest rates make it cheaper to borrow money and generally make investors willing to take on more risk. This is a good thing when it comes to valuations for speculative assets and equities. If the Fed does cut rates significantly this year, the development could continue boosting the market at large and benefit SHIB in particular.
There are some features and projects connected to the Shiba Inu universe that could help send the token higher. The Shibarium Layer-2 solution for improving transaction speeds could help bolster adoption for the cryptocurrency. SHIB: The Metaverse, an online virtual world connected to the token, might also promote the coin and power some gains.
Neither of these potential catalysts look likely to be major performance drivers at the moment, but it's possible they will catch investors off guard.
Shiba Inu's most explosive days of growth are almost certainly in the rearview mirror, but it's possible that the token could climb significantly above current levels. Investors should approach the crypto with realistic expectations and understand that there is significant downside risk as well.
