Early Shiba Inu Pundit Outlines 3 Big Things to Help SHIB Return to Its 2021 Glory

Despite Shiba Inu bearish performance, early community member Zach Humphries argues that SHIB still has a realistic path back to its explosive 2021 momentum

For context, SHIB reached an all-time high of $0.00008845 in October 2021 but now trades 90.48% below that level. At its current price of $0.000008419, SHIB has fallen 17.3% over the past 30 days, 34.6% over the past 3 months, and 60.2% year-to-date.

Humphries emphasized that he has covered SHIB since early 2021 and has remained active through both its highs and decline. He acknowledged the community’s growing frustration, citing an expanding ecosystem that often feels disconnected from SHIB, along with the token’s steadily fading momentum.

How Shiba Inu Can Reclaim Its 2021 Glory

Nonetheless, Humphries insisted that SHIB is far from dead. He highlighted that SHIB remains a top-25 crypto asset with one of the strongest brands in the industry. Accordingly, he argued that the token still has a path to recovery if developers address three major issues.

A Full Refocus on SHIB as the Core Asset

Humphries’ strongest argument centers on realignment. He believes the Shiba Inu ecosystem has expanded in too many directions, ultimately diluting the focus on SHIB.

Since launching SHIB in August 2020, the team has rolled out several additional projects and tokens, including Shibarium, Shib: The Metaverse, ShibaSwap, BONE, LEASH, TREAT, and NFTs. Humphries believes these additions have drawn attention and value away from the ecosystem’s flagship token.

According to him, this broad expansion has created confusion rather than confidence within the community. He stressed that SHIB’s 2021 rally was not due to its complex utility but to its massive, unified community, strong identity, and viral momentum. Today, he argues, the ecosystem feels scattered, unfocused, and disconnected from SHIB.

In parallel, Humphries recommends a full ecosystem realignment, one in which every major development directly benefits SHIB rather than side tokens or separate projects.

Capturing the Next Wave of Retail Momentum

Humphries’ second condition centers on market psychology. He emphasized that meme coins like Shiba Inu thrive when retail participation is high. Institutional investors do not drive meme coin rallies. Instead, they surge when everyday traders enter the market, motivated by emotion, social virality, and the appeal of low-cost tokens with high perceived upside.

Humphrie noted that when retail returns to crypto, these investors rarely start with Bitcoin. Instead, they lean toward high-energy, narrative-driven assets like SHIB.

In his view, SHIB can still position itself as one of the strongest meme-based tokens. If the team aligns the project correctly, SHIB could once again become a retail magnet, sparking a new phase of price discovery as fresh buyers enter the ecosystem.

Need for a Simple, Transparent, and Executable Roadmap

Humphries also pointed to the project’s overly complex roadmap. He noted that Shibarium, the DEX, NFTs, multiple tokens, and metaverse development have stretched the project’s vision so broadly that it now lacks clarity.

Crypto investors do not need ten ambitious initiatives, he said — they need one clear, well-executed mission. Accordingly, Humphries urged the team to create a roadmap that is simple, transparent, achievable, and directly tied to SHIB’s value.

Specifically, he called for SHIB-linked revenue distribution, incentives, or mechanics that give the token real economic purpose within the broader ecosystem. The goal is not to build the most features but to build the right ones that align with SHIB holders and are easy for newcomers to understand.

Humphries concluded that if the team embraces these recommendations, SHIB can still recover. He asserted that the token has the brand power, community size, and cultural recognition needed for a rebound.

Meanwhile, he stressed that SHIB’s success ultimately depends on leadership’s willingness to refocus, simplify, and reconnect the ecosystem with its original identity.