BONK, a meme token featuring a Shiba dog theme on the Solana network, caused a significant stir by the end of 2023. Within a month, the price of BONK surged by over 5,000%, triggering excitement that resonated with other meme tokens. What caused this token price explosion? In this article, we will dive deeper into what BONK is, its origins, and its significance within the Solana community.
Article Summary
- 🐕 Bonk Inu (BONK) is a meme token developed on the Solana network. It is similar to meme tokens such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
- 🤑 Messari recorded BONK’s rise, resulting in a trading volume that reached 454 million US dollars in December 2023!
- 🪂 BONK was launched in December 2022 and distributed via airdrop to boost the Solana community after the FTX collapse.
- 🏗️ Bonk developers continue to develop Bonk with integrations in various applications in the Solana ecosystem, including BONKSWAP, BONKbot, OpenBonkSwap, and Bonkcoin NFT.
What is BONK?
Bonk Inu (BONK) is a meme token developed on the Solana network. It is similar to meme tokens such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE). BONK also features a dog theme as its identity.
BONK functions as a fun and utility token designed to empower the community within the Solana ecosystem. According to its official website, it has 118 integrations and 10 blockchains in the DeFi, developer, exchange, gaming, NFT, payment, wallet, and other sectors.
By mid-December 2023, BONK emerged as the leading gainer token, experiencing a remarkable increase of over 5000%! Currently, it is the third-largest meme token, trailing behind Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, and Coinmarketcap ranks it 71st by market cap.
BONK’s influence has spurred the creation of additional meme tokens on the Solana blockchain, including WIF, MYRO, ANALOS, WYNN, LOLA, and more. This dynamic landscape presents an intriguing opportunity for degens seeking profit. Nevertheless, it is advisable to exercise caution and remain vigilant against potential scams linked to meme tokens.
Also read: Meme Coin Season: How to Avoid Scam and Rug Pull in Meme Coin.
Meme tokens are cryptocurrencies associated with memes, internet humour, or amusing and entertaining elements.
The Origin Story of the BONK Token.
Following the downfall of FTX, a major US-based crypto exchange, in 2022, BONK developers initiated the token distribution in late 2022. The objective was to support the Solana community with a well-timed airdrop.
On December 25, 2022, BONK was introduced as a Christmas present for the Solana community. The developers organized an airdrop, allocating half of the total token supply (50 trillion out of 100 trillion tokens) to developers, creators, and NFT holders within the Solana ecosystem.
50% of the maximum token supply was distributed among the following entities:
- 20% to the 40 active NFT projects in Solana.
- 15% to DeFi Solana users.
- 10% to Solana NFT artists and collectors.
- 5% to Solana developers.
The initial contributors to this token were members of the dedicated Solana community with diverse backgrounds. During BONK’s launch, Solana was experiencing low prices and adoption rates, with its value plummeting to 11 US dollars, marking a significant decline of nearly 70% within a month from its previous price of 36 US dollars.
While it didn’t completely restore Solana, Bonk’s significance within the community was acknowledged as a focal point for the recovering ecosystem. In just a few months since its inception, it garnered 480,000 unique holders, solidifying its position as one of Solana’s most extensively distributed tokens. Additionally, over 100 applications have integrated this meme token.
Read also: What is Memeland (MEME)? 9GAG’s NFT Project.
BONK Ecosystem
The Bonk ecosystem is still in the development stage. This token can potentially be the center of its ecosystem growth in the DeFi, gaming, NFT, and other sectors. In his X account, Blockworks research analyst Dan Smith said that Bonk might be a tech company wrapped in a meme token. Some of the dApps that are in the Bonk ecosystem are as follows:
- BONKSWAP
BONKSWAP is a decentralized exchange (DEX) in the Bonk ecosystem. Users can swap tokens, participate as liquidity providers, engage in staking activities, and utilize the dollar cost averaging (DCA) feature.
- BONKbot
BONKbot is a Telegram trading bot in Solana. With BONKbot, users can paste token addresses into Telegram and instantly send buy transactions. Users do not need to wait to connect wallets, adjust slippage, or confirm transactions.
- OpenBonkSwap
OpenBONK, with the main feature of Swap, aims to make token swapping in Solana easy with Serum/OpenBook DEX v1 smart contracts. Currently, the available assets are limited to BONK, USDC, and SOL.
- Bonkcoin NFT
Bonkcoin NFT is an NFT platform powered by Bandit in the Bonk ecosystem. Bandit is an NFT aggregator and launchpad that supports 13 blockchains. The platform aims to simplify the NFT minting experience by offering a single platform for minting NFTs across multiple blockchains.
To see Bonk’s integration with other dApps, you can check it out here.
BONK as an Investment
BONK, a meme token within the Solana blockchain, gained significant traction in the crypto community as it soared by 5,000% by the close of 2023. The surge of this token was initiated in November of the same year.
Starting at 0.0000001121 on November 1, 2023, this meme token witnessed a continuous ascent until December 15, 2023, when it peaked at 0.00003758. Messari recorded a substantial surge in BONK’s trading volume, reaching an impressive peak of 454 million US dollars on December 15.
BONK experienced a price surge, partly attributed to its association with the Solana Saga Phone sale. Saga Phone owners are entitled to a BONK token airdrop, and they can claim this airdrop by downloading the BONK app from the Saga custom app store. Notably, there is no specified end date for the airdrop.
According to CoinChapter, during the announcement of the Saga Phone in April 2023, the phone was priced at 1,000 US dollars. It included an airdrop incentive equivalent to 10 US dollars in BONK tokens. At that time, the initial value of BONK was approximately 0.0000004 US dollars per token.
Furthermore, the fourth quarter of 2023 witnessed remarkable results in Solana’s performance. The growth of the Solana ecosystem across various DeFi platforms captured the attention of investors. As outlined in a CoinShares report released on December 11, the platform experienced an inflow of 3.1 million US dollars, affirming optimistic sentiments.
Certainly, it’s important to note that BONK, being a meme token, experienced a surge driven by hype and excitement. It is evident from the token chart, which indicates a substantial spike followed by a weakening trend towards the end of December 2023. However, there was a resurgence in early January 2024.
Regarding fundamentals, investors don’t typically regard this token as a suitable choice for long-term investment. Nevertheless, it presents an opportunity to capitalize on the current craze and potentially gain profits. Comparing it to other meme tokens like DOGE and SHIB, which endured certain bearish market cycles, BONK might also showcase resilience and witness a notable increase in value, particularly in the upcoming bull market.
Conclusion
BONK, a meme token running on the Solana network, gained widespread attention due to its remarkable surge, surpassing a staggering 5,000% increase. Launched in December 2022, this token was distributed through an airdrop to various entities within the Solana ecosystem.
As the ecosystem expands, this meme token seamlessly integrates with applications such as BONKSWAP, BONKbot, OpenBonkSwap, and Bonkcoin NFT, positioning itself as a potential tech entity encapsulated in a meme token.
Given its nature as a meme token characterized by high price volatility, BONK is not considered a long-term investment from a fundamental perspective. Instead, it presents an opportunity for investors to capitalize on market volatility and temporary euphoria.
Buy BONK on the Pintu App
You can buy BONK and other tokens, such as SOL, PEPE, MEME, SHIB, etc, without worrying about fraud on Pintu. In addition, all crypto assets on Pintu have passed a rigorous assessment process and prioritize the principle of prudence.
The Pintu application is compatible with various popular digital wallets, such as Metamask, to facilitate transactions. Download the Pintu app on the Play Store and App Store! Your safety is guaranteed because Pintu is regulated and supervised by Bappebti and Kominfo.
In addition to making transactions on the Pintu app, you can learn more about crypto through various Pintu Academy articles that are updated weekly! All Pintu Academy articles are created for educational and knowledge purposes, not as financial advice.
References
- Bonkcoin Team, $BONK — Origin, Overview, Mission, Medium, accessed 12 January 2023.
- Bonk Team, Bonkpaper, Whitepaper, accessed 12 January 2023.
- Peter Veradi, Taking a Peek at the Newest Cryptocurrency Craze: The Explosive Growth of Solana’s Bonk, Medium, accessed 12 January 2023.
- Brave New Coin Team, Why BONK is No Ordinary Meme Coin, Brave New Coin, accessed 12 January 2023.