Collectively speaking, cryptocurrencies have been in a bear market since late last year. Although the total value of all coins and tokens in circulation has increased by $500 billion during the past month, it still stands at just $2.8 trillion, which is well below last year’s record high of $4.3 trillion. Every major coin continues to nurse steep losses since the 2025 bull market ended, including market bellwether Bitcoin, which is 38% below its peak.

But the smaller end of the market is faring much worse. Meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB -1.17%) hasn’t reached a new high since 2021, when it delivered a mind-boggling return of 45,278,000%. That remains one of the best annual gains in financial market history, but it was driven mostly by…