The prices of the two meme tokens Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Floki Inu (FLOKI) rose again at the beginning of the week. At the same time, however, the IMF joined the ranks of cautious voices, warning investors against buying meme tokens like Shiba Inu.
Shiba Inu Coin Shows a Slight Price Increase
After Shiba Inu’s price remained mostly stagnant over the weekend, the meme cryptocurrency saw renewed activity just in time for the start of the new week. Since midnight, the coin’s price has increased by about 8.4%. Shiba is currently trading at $0.0000278.
This recovery has allowed SHIB to recoup its losses from last Friday. However, it has yet to regain the levels seen on Thursday.
Floki Inu Continues to Soar
Floki Inu has performed even better. The relatively young token gained an additional 24.6% since yesterday and is currently trading at $0.0000753. Earlier, the coin nearly reached a new all-time high of $0.0000807 around 3:30 a.m.
FLOKI’s price had also dropped significantly since the middle of last week. However, today’s surge has allowed it to fully recover those losses.
IMF Warns Against Meme Tokens
Meanwhile, the number of critics of meme coins has continued to grow. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) dedicated a separate chapter to cryptocurrencies in its October 2021 Global Financial Stability Report.
The IMF views the rise of cryptocurrencies as a serious threat to the traditional banking sector. According to the report, stablecoins in particular are increasingly competing with banks for cash deposits. This could force financial institutions to rely on less stable funding sources.
In addition to stablecoins, the IMF also targeted meme tokens like Shiba Inu and Floki Inu. These were issued solely for speculative purposes and pose a higher risk to consumers. The IMF specifically criticized the lack of transparency and warned that investors could face significant losses if meme tokens suddenly ceased to exist. For instance, over the past few years, around 16,000 different tokens have been created. However, only about 9,000 of them remain in existence today.
Despite these rather critical tones, the IMF also emphasized that the growing cryptocurrency market offers opportunities. The report noted that the importance of the cryptocurrency market is experiencing particularly strong growth in developing and emerging countries.
