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According to Whale Alert, a fresh $1,000,000,000 USDT mint has entered the crypto market today, landing just as XRP and Shiba Inu (SHIB) attempt rebounds from their deepest 2026 sell-offs.
The situation is different for these popular cryptocurrencies, though. One one side, XRP is reacting after collapsing through multimonth support at $1.30. On the other, SHIB is fighting to escape extreme downside zones last seen during prior market stress cycles.
Whether this $1 billion capital injection becomes defensive fuel, speculative firepower or a simple balance sheet for exchanges like Binance or Coinbase will shape how altcoins like SHIB and XRP behave in the weekend ahead.
XRP and Shiba Inu (SHIB) skyrocket amid "dead cat bounce"
After the dust of the $2.6 billion liquidation tsunami settled, XRP has exploded nearly 18% off its capitulation lows near $1.22, bouncing hard from a 26% breakdown that nearly triggered panic across long-term holders. XRP is still down over 40% from its December peak and remains locked below critical resistance zones near $1.60.
The price action looks reactive but not yet conviction-driven, and comes just days after XRP printed its lowest level since October 2025.
In the meantime, Shiba Inu (SHIB) is grinding back to the $0.0000068 resistance after briefly spiking below $0.00000507, a level not seen since the Terra collapse in 2023. The 7.8% bounce today might look like relief, but structurally, SHIB remains in a brutal downtrend. The meme coin is still trading 86% below its local top and faces layered supply walls near $0.000009 and $0.00001102.
The timing of the $1 billion USDT mint raises key questions. Is this new liquidity designed to stabilize plunging altcoins? Or is it dry powder for exchange reserves amid cascading liquidations?
For now, all eyes remain on XRP’s ability to reclaim $1.6 and SHIB’s fight to break out of its liquidity trap. If this $1 billion hits exchanges in full force, the next move could be decisive — up or down.
Gamza Khanzadaev
Caroline Amosun
Denys Serhiichuk
Godfrey Benjamin