[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Interest continues in whether Shiba Inu (SHIB) can once again deliver a windfall from small investments despite an overall market downturn. Shiba Inu established itself as a leading memecoin success story after producing dramatic profit cases during the 2020 to 2021 bull market.

On Feb. 24, blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Shiba Inu became known in 2021 for cases in which some early investors who put in $100 to $1,000 posted huge gains worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even millions. At the time, Shiba Inu erased multiple zeros and climbed to $0.00008845 to set an all-time high.

A truck driver was reported to have invested $650 (about 930,000 won) and earned about $1.7 million (about 2.4 billion won). Another investor drew attention after turning $8,000 (about 11.45 million won) into more than $5.7 billion (about 8 trillion won). Such explosive gains were enough to attract the attention of investors worldwide.

But the current market environment is very different from that time. Shiba Inu's market value is about $3.5 billion, meaning far more capital inflows would be needed to recreate the same kind of exponential rise. Shiba Inu is trading at about $0.000005936, down about 93 percent from its all-time high (ATH).

If someone invested $650 now and wanted to turn it into $1.7 million as before, Shiba Inu's price would have to rise to $0.015. That would mean a gain of about 261,438 percent. In theory, that would require Shiba Inu's market value to reach about $883 trillion, far exceeding the current size of the entire cryptocurrency market of about $2.19 trillion. That is why it is difficult in reality to expect "life-changing" gains like those seen in 2021.

Some analysis says the possibility of mid-level gains cannot be completely ruled out. For example, if Shiba Inu rises 900 percent to reach $0.00005936, a $10,000 investment could grow to $100,000. That would fall short of past extreme gains but would still be a substantial return. Some analysts are raising the possibility that Shiba Inu could approach about $0.00005 by year-end.

Still, there are significant hurdles to clear. Key factors include a massive token supply, speculation that is weaker than before, competition from other memecoins and utility-focused projects, regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic instability. These variables are cited as factors that could limit inflows and increase volatility.

In the end, the prevailing view is that Shiba Inu is unlikely to reproduce the historic surge of 2021. Still, scenarios remain open in which double-digit or triple-digit returns could be expected if market conditions improve. Experts advise that setting realistic goals and thoroughly managing risk are more important than excessive expectations.