The Shiba Inu price has faced a recent slowdown despite the recovery of Bitcoin and the overall crypto market. This drop can be attributed to various events that have impacted the meme coin’s value, resulting in a 10% decrease to test a new support level.
Impact of WazirX Hack on Shiba Inu
Earlier this week, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, fell victim to a hack amounting to around $235 million. The breach led to the theft of several prominent cryptocurrencies, including major players like Polygon and Ethereum. However, the largest portion taken was in Shiba Inu coins.
The stolen Ethereum tokens totaled $52.6 million, while Polygon tokens were $11 million, but the stolen Shiba Inu tokens amounted to a significant $96.7 million. This comes as no surprise as Shiba Inu has consistently been one of the most traded cryptocurrencies on the exchange.
The popularity of the SHIB token on the WazirX platform played a crucial role in the substantial impact on the Shiba Inu price. With WazirX being a prominent exchange for SHIB trading, the hack instilled fear in investors about the potential actions of the hackers post-attack.
Following the hack, the crypto market witnessed a downturn, though it swiftly recovered. Unfortunately, Shiba Inu had already fallen victim to bearish pressure and had experienced a 10% decline in value before the broader crypto market began its recovery.
Impact of Hacker Selling SHIB Tokens
Despite the crypto market’s attempt to move past the WazirX hack, Shiba Inu’s price remains under significant strain. This is because the hackers started converting their ill-gotten gains into Ethereum.
Most of the Shiba Inu tokens stolen in the hack have been liquidated and converted into Ethereum. According to Spot On Chain, a platform monitoring on-chain data, the hackers have converted $90.2 million worth of SHIB to ETH, along with $10.2 million in MATIC and $7.5 million in PEPE.
Approximately $150 million has been converted to ETH, exerting immense downward pressure on the Shiba Inu price. The hacker’s account now holds 59,087 ETH valued at $201 million, along with smaller amounts in alternative coins like CHR, CELR, and OOKI.
Currently, the Shiba Inu price is approaching a retest of the $0.000017 support level, which has remained resilient despite a 1.03% decrease in the last 24 hours.
