Shiba Inu Soars 36% as South Korean Traders Fuel Weekend Rally

Shiba Inu's (SHIB) price surged 36% on Sunday, reaching its highest point in over two months. The token jumped from below $0.0000042 to a high of $0.0000058, adding roughly $1 billion in market value. This move is significant, as it puts SHIB back in the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

The rally had two distinct legs, with a first push happening late Saturday followed by around nine hours of flat price action. The second move came through the Asian morning session. One notable factor contributing to this price increase was the activity of South Korean traders on exchange Upbit's SHIB/KRW pair, which handled over 10% of global volume and showed a slight price premium compared to other dollar-denominated venues.

A whale also returned after six months of inactivity, spending $125,000 to buy 30 billion tokens. While this single purchase cannot directly cause a 36% price move, it can act as a signal that draws in other buyers. Additionally, SHIB's token burn rate spiked over 3,200% in the past 24 hours, reducing circulating supply and potentially influencing prices.

Short sellers took losses during the rally, with around $6 million in SHIB positions being liquidated across approximately 2,300 traders. This highlights the volatility of the market and the risks associated with short selling.