The Shiba Inu ecosystem’s layer-2 network, Shibarium, experienced a notable increase in daily transactions over the past 24 hours. On May 18, the network recorded 842 transactions, rising to 1,260 on May 19—a jump of 44 percent in just one day.
Transaction volume volatility
While this sudden uptick hints at a potential new chapter for Shibarium, long-term network activity has yet to show a persistent upward trend. Since mid-April, daily transactions on Shibarium have mostly ranged between 700 and 3,000. Despite briefly surpassing 7,400 transactions on April 19, the network has not matched those levels since.
The network’s activity remains generally subdued, with little momentum observed. Fees paid using the BONE token are also at low levels, with many recent transactions incurring as little as 0.00001 BONE in fees.
Glossary: BONE is the governance token of the Shiba Inu ecosystem and is especially used for transaction fees on Shibarium.
Impact of technical updates
Periodic re-indexing on the Shibarium network in recent months has also led to sporadic technical distortions, causing some transaction data to underrepresent actual activity. This has raised questions around whether the muted transaction count reflects technical adjustments or a broader market slowdown. Data from Shibarium Explorer still points to figures below previous highs.
Market-wide expectations and Fed uncertainty
Market activity in crypto derivatives has also slowed recently. Over the past 24 hours, total futures trading volume dropped 26.59 percent to $156 billion, while open interest remained steady near $127 billion. Liquidations continued to decline for the second consecutive day, falling to $156 million—a 40 percent drop.
Although modest recovery signals appeared among several cryptocurrencies, including SHIB, the contracting open interest in crypto derivatives indicates that investors are showing caution, favoring a risk-averse approach over aggressive buying.
The ongoing decline in open interest and trading volume in derivatives markets highlights a general decrease in risk appetite across the sector.
SHIB price and market overview
For now, SHIB’s price has seen minimal movement. Over the past 24 hours, it edged up just 0.10 percent to reach $0.000005744, partially offsetting the prior day’s losses. According to data displayed on CryptoAppsy, SHIB’s price has largely remained flat at these levels.
Adding to the market’s stagnation, traders are closely watching details from the US Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting. Minutes from the April 27–28 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) session will be released today. The committee’s move to keep the policy rate steady at 3.5 to 3.75 percent sparked a rare split, ending with a vote of eight in favor and four against—an unusual degree of division among Fed policymakers.
