An example in which an early investor in the meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) turned $30, about 45,000 won, into more than $600,000, about 900 million won, is again drawing market attention.

On May 16, The Crypto Basic reported that crypto commentator Xeusthegreat said one of his mentees made such returns from investing in Shiba Inu.

Xeusthegreat said the investor realised profits by selling part of his holdings during a Shiba Inu bull market, and later sent him money as a token of thanks for his advice. Xeusthegreat said he advised the investor to sell the remaining holdings when Shiba Inu neared its all-time high. He explained the investor was able to secure most of the profit before the market corrected.

The investor later sent cash again. Xeusthegreat said it was the largest gift of cash he has ever received.

The case recalls a period when even small investments could generate big profits at the height of the meme coin boom. Shiba Inu was launched in August 2020 and emerged as a leading surging token in the 2021 crypto bull market. It rose in about 14 months from about $0.000000000056 to $0.00008845.

Other cases also emerged at the time. Two brothers from Chicago turned $8,000, about 12 million won, into $9 million, about 1.354 billion won, and a truck driver made $1.7 million, about 2.558 billion won, from $650, about 980,000 won. Another case cited an $8,000 investment that surged to $5.7 billion, about 8.57 trillion won, at the October 2021 peak.

But the current market environment is very different from then. Key drivers behind Shiba Inu's surge included strong community enthusiasm, listings on major exchanges, and a burn of 410 trillion tokens carried out by Vitalik Buterin. Shiba Inu has since fallen more than 93 percent from its all-time high, and the current price has slipped to around $0.000006082.

The scale of token burns is also far smaller than before. The current daily burn is only in the millions of tokens. Some analysts view the effect of that volume on reducing the vast supply as limited. Criticism has also continued that ecosystem projects are unfinished and that development focus has weakened compared with the early period.

Against this backdrop, market attention is focused on whether Shiba Inu can again post the kind of explosive gains seen in its early days. Several analysts say it will not be easy to see the same life-changing level of returns again unless the project resolves such challenges and regains market momentum.

A student of mine turned $30 into over $600k with $Shib. I was in @ivysats house with @InvestorNnKay when he sent the message, He sold some and sent me some money. I convinced him to sell the rest almost at ATH. Sent me more money. Still the biggest cash gift I've received ever https://t.co/AV7lgQgcng