A forecast has emerged that Shiba Inu could post sharp gains in the next "dog season".

The Crypto Basic, a blockchain media outlet, reported on May 27 that cryptocurrency analyst Shelby named Shiba Inu as a preferred "dog theme" cryptocurrency along with Dogecoin and Floki (FLOKI), arguing it could stage a strong rally when a rotation market returns.

"Dog season" refers to a rotation market in which dog-themed meme coins such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Floki rise together as they draw market attention. In past meme coin bull markets, Dogecoin drew attention first, then buying spread to later dog-themed assets such as Shiba Inu and Floki.

The forecast cited Shiba Inu's resilience. Shelby assessed that Shiba Inu endured several bear markets and phases Shelby described as "market manipulation". While many tokens disappeared during prolonged downturns, Shiba Inu remained in the market.

Since its launch in August 2020, Shiba Inu has expanded from a simple meme coin into an ecosystem that includes Shibarium. On that basis, Shelby said Shiba Inu, Dogecoin and Floki could rise in the next "dog season".

Recent moves have been mixed. Shiba Inu's last rally was in late 2024 when it rose above $0.000033, and since then it has posted only limited rebounds amid broader market weakness. While longer-term optimism persists, another view is also emerging that another sharp surge will not be easy.

Sceptics cite slowing community participation, weak Shibarium adoption, a slower burn pace and concerns over weaker team support. Those worries have been reflected in some recent network indicators. Over the past 24 hours, only 8.61 million Shiba Inu tokens were burned, and Shibarium's daily transaction count was estimated at about 7,220.

Price action also has yet to support a shift to a bullish trend. Shiba Inu is trading around $0.000005530, and its market value is about $3.25 billion, ranking about 30th globally.

Even so, some signals have emerged that short-term selling pressure may be easing. Exchange reserve data showed about 204.5 billion Shiba Inu tokens left exchanges over the past 24 hours. That has raised the possibility that short-term selling activity has eased as investors moved holdings off exchanges.

Ultimately, market attention is focused on whether "dog season" will actually return and whether Shiba Inu can ride that move again. Resilience and a decline in exchange-held tokens are being read as positive signals, but it was also noted that without accompanying network activity and ecosystem expansion, a rebound may fall short of expectations.

"$FLOKI, $DOGE, and $SHIB will ALWAYS be my favorite dog coins. Why? Because they've all survived years of bad markets and market manipulation. When dog season comes back, I think all 3 will run hard."