The classification, announced by the SEC alongside 15 other major cryptocurrencies, removes Shiba Inu from the agency’s strict securities regime, allowing exchanges to list the token and institutions to hold it without fear of securities‑law violations.
The regulatory shift also opens the door for Shiba Inu to be included in crypto exchange‑traded funds. While no spot Shiba Inu ETFs have been filed yet, T. Rowe Price’s recent application for an active crypto ETF lists Shiba Inu among eligible assets, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP.
Japan’s crypto regulator added Shiba Inu to its Green List in November, putting the meme coin in the same category as Bitcoin and Ethereum and enabling Japanese exchanges to list it without delay.
Despite these tailwinds, the token’s market dynamics remain challenging. Trading around $0.000005, Shiba Inu is down roughly 94% from its 2021 all‑time high and 60% over the past year. A speculative target of $0.01 would imply a market cap of nearly $5.9 trillion—more than double the total value of the cryptocurrency market.
Analysts note that while the regulatory wins improve the token’s legitimacy, institutional appetite for a meme coin with a cartoon dog mascot remains uncertain. The recent 21% price gain, the first notable rise since early 2025, reflects short‑term optimism but does not signal a sustained recovery.
Shiba Inu’s price peaked at $0.000045 in 2024, about nine times its current level. Future upside may depend on renewed hype or broader crypto market trends, but experts caution that expectations of dramatic gains are largely speculative.