[Digital Today reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Shiba Inu (SHIB) is nearing a return to the top 30 by market capitalisation as large net outflows occur from centralised exchanges. Shiba Inu, which recently fell out of the top 30 during a bearish market, has recovered to No. 31.

On July 22 local time, blockchain outlet Decrypt reported that Shiba Inu struggled for more than two weeks under a broader market downturn. During that period, its CoinMarketCap ranking slipped to No. 33, and concerns emerged it could fall further below No. 35. It later extended a rebound, increasing the chance of returning to the upper ranks.

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu was priced at $0.000004230, with a market capitalisation estimated at about $2.49 billion. The gap to No. 30 on CoinMarketCap, Tether Gold (XAUt), is about $20 million in market value. With a small difference to the top 30, short-term ranking changes remain possible.

The recovery is being attributed to growing exchange outflows. CryptoQuant data show that over the past 24 hours investors withdrew 235.93 billion SHIB from centralised exchanges, while 161.74 billion SHIB flowed into trading platforms over the same period. That left net exchange inflows at minus 74.18 billion SHIB, meaning about 74.18 billion tokens moved off exchanges.

Such negative net inflows show investors are moving holdings to personal wallets rather than exchange wallets that allow immediate selling. In the short term, it can be interpreted as a signal of reduced selling pressure. Exchange holdings of Shiba Inu still total about 86.2 trillion tokens, meaning potential selling supply has not been fully cleared.

Short-term outlooks are mixed. Some technical analysis says Shiba Inu is following its 2023 price structure. If the pattern repeats, Shiba Inu could fall at least 20 percent before a rebound and then try to recover in the $0.0000055 to $0.0000056 range.

On-chain indicators are sending a more cautious signal. Shibarium's daily transaction count has fallen to 661, showing weaker network activity. Shiba Inu's burn rate has also slowed, with the burn amount dropping to 2.42 million tokens from a recent level of about 13 million.

As a result, while recent gains are being supported by net exchange outflows, slowing network usage and fewer burns are also being highlighted as factors that could limit the pace of recovery. Even if Shiba Inu regains a top-30 market-cap ranking, whether it can sustain an upward move will depend on a recovery in on-chain activity.