The predictions of Shiba Inu prices were the talk of the town in the world of crypto, the price being the pump of a meme and a dedicated online community. The coin's sudden increase in value drew a lot of attention and made SHIB a status symbol in the area of culture.
In 2025, the scenario changes as the market evaluates functional infrastructure against hype. Even though there have been listings on significant exchanges and innovations such as ShibaSwap and Shibarium, SHIB is still being traded 90% lower than its historic peak, which raises a concern about its long-term durability.
Meanwhile, BlockDAG (BDAG) is being recognized and accepted for its real-world applications rather than contagious hype. BlockDAG is raising $425m plus and has a live testnet already running. This has shown that tested infrastructure, active miners, and functional tools together can change what a crypto network delivers.
In the year 2021, Shiba Inu got the attention of the whole world by being called the Dogecoin killer, and its meme to the moon story came with off-the-chart social media popularity. The initial hype was the main factor that made the coin grow so fast, and later, the community around SHIB went as far as to create the virality of meme tokens.
The developments in the crypto landscape didn't slow the hype around SHIB and the ecosystem kept on growing to bring in such projects as ShibaSwap, Contributing tokens, and SHIB: The Metaverse.
However, SHIB is still about 90% down from its peak price. The market picture is mainly sentiment-driven, which makes it doubtful whether the meme power can keep up to the mark till 2026.
BlockDAG is not aiming at meme culture, but it offers a solid technical infrastructure as a distinctive feature. The mixed DAG and Proof-of-Work framework allow handling of transactions at the same time with the max throughput of 15,000 transactions per second. The compatibility with EVM and WASM makes it convenient for developers to integrate their smart contracts when building dApps.
The X1 mining application has already attracted more than 3.5 million users, and more than 20,000 hardware miners have been shipped, which is evidence of active network participation. The participation is further supported by the Stratum Protocol that gets rid of sync delays and a live explorer dashboard displaying real-time transactions.
There is a lot of work to be done in the area of Smart Accounts and removal of UTXO limits on the Awakening Testnet, but the work is being done according to the schedule, with keynotes, demos, and audits making milestones transparent. There is still a chance to get in at a promotional price of $0.0015.
The contrast between BlockDAG and Shiba Inu becomes clear when comparing utility per dollar. SHIB benefits from recognition, but its products have yet to see wide adoption. Shibarium and metaverse components generate attention but lack consistent usage.
BlockDAG, by contrast, demonstrates tangible adoption without relying on hype. More than 312,000 holders participate in functional features like referral rewards, live rankings, and active miners. Its testnet offers a live dashboard with order books, smart contract deployment, and wallet tracking. Real throughput enables developers to build, miners to earn, and users to engage efficiently. Feature updates are rapid due to centralized and transparent development, allowing BlockDAG to stay ahead of meme coins relying on community votes and long DAO cycles.
Shiba Inu currently ranks around #15 to #20 on CoinMarketCap, influenced by burns or short-term pumps. BlockDAG’s $425M+ presale and 3.5M+ miner base could allow it to compete in that range within its first year post-launch. CEX listings appear likely due to network scale and user engagement, and a valuation between $0.05 and $0.10, combined with high activity, could place BDAG between #20 and #25 by mid-2026.
The projection depends on metrics such as wallet activity, dApp deployments, and exchange expansion. Unlike SHIB, which relies on headlines and sentiment, BlockDAG’s fundamentals could generate organic rank growth. Past examples like Aptos and SEI show speculative hype can reach the top 50, but a chain with functioning apps, smart account infrastructure, and a 3.5M-strong miner base may quietly overtake legacy meme tokens.
BlockDAG vs Shiba Inu is no longer a question of meme culture versus utility. It has become a direct comparison of which network can deliver tangible value in 2026. SHIB’s community remains strong, but its real-world usage and technical infrastructure have not kept up with newer networks capable of handling true throughput and synchronized hardware.
BlockDAG enters the market with over $425 million raised, more than 27 billion coins sold, a limited $0.0015 price, and full EVM compatibility. If these features translate into active developers and sustained user engagement, BlockDAG could realistically join the Top 20 to 25 coins globally.
Watching the next major project means tracking infrastructure, miners, and tools that users actually interact with because, in this cycle, those metrics may define success.
Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network
Website: https://blockdag.network
Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial
Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu
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