- Shibarium transactions jumped sharply while SHIB price continued trading within narrow ranges.
- Low BONE fees and weaker futures activity reflected cautious cryptocurrency market sentiment.
- Federal Reserve uncertainty and slowing momentum continued limiting stronger SHIB price recovery.
Shibarium recorded a strong increase in daily network activity this week, yet SHIB continued trading within a narrow range as weakness across the broader cryptocurrency market limited buying momentum. The Shiba Inu layer 2 network processed 1,260 transactions on May 19, compared to 842 transactions recorded on May 18, representing a 44% increase within a single day despite slowing activity throughout recent weeks.
Even with the transaction jump, SHIB price action remained relatively weak during the session, with the token trading near $0.000005744 while posting only a modest 0.10% increase over the previous 24 hours. The latest market performance showed that higher network usage alone was not enough pushing SHIB into a stronger recovery phase, especially while traders continued lowering exposure to volatile altcoins.
Although the increase appeared notable on a daily basis, Shibarium still remained far below the activity levels recorded earlier this year, when the network processed more than 7,400 transactions on April 19 before momentum weakened significantly. Since then, daily transaction counts mostly fluctuated between 700 and 3,000 transactions, reflecting slower activity across the blockchain despite ongoing ecosystem growth.
Also Read: Are Institutions Growing Weary of XRP? – Here’s What’s Happening
Weak Market Sentiment Continues Limiting SHIB Recovery
Blockchain data also showed that transaction costs across Shibarium remained extremely low throughout the latest activity increase, with contract calls attracting fees near 0.00001 BONE, signaling reduced congestion across the network. At the same time, uncertainty still surrounded the accuracy of Shibarium explorer statistics following a reindexing process that reportedly caused visible transaction counts falling below actual network activity during recent months.
Consequently, some market participants continued monitoring whether the lower figures reflected weaker adoption or whether the explorer still required additional adjustments following earlier upgrades. Meanwhile, crypto derivatives activity weakened across the broader market, with futures trading volume dropping 26.59% over the past 24 hours to approximately $156 billion. Open interest held relatively steady near $127 billion, while liquidations declined 40% to $156 million, indicating that traders remained cautious despite several altcoins returning to positive territory.
Investors also monitored upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes following the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to maintain interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75%. For now, Shibarium’s latest transaction increase has not translated into stronger bullish momentum for SHIB, as broader market caution continued limiting stronger price movement across meme coins and altcoins.
Also Read: Ripple RLUSD Hits $1.65B Milestone as Stablecoin Rivals Feel Heat Across Market
