Solana Hype Bumps BONK to Third-Largest Dog Token, Behind DOGE, SHIB

Dog token season is back, and some prominent tokens are returning multiples for their holders.

Bonk, a Shiba Inu-themed token first issued last December, has returned over 1,000% in the past month amid a capital inflow to the Solana blockchain and an increase in riskier bets on tokens based on the network.

A more than 70% surge since Sunday has catapulted bonk to become the third-largest dog-themed token, behind dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB). Its $500 million market capitalization is now greater than floki's (FLOKI) $400 million and BabyDogeCoin’s $350 million.

Despite being initially fashioned as a meme coin, bonk saw quick adoption in the Solana ecosystem after it was introduced. Several Solana projects integrated the token for use as payment for NFTs , and some introduced "burn" mechanisms for NFT-based events in the weeks after launch.

Bonk has been a team of 22 individuals with no singular leader, all of whom were involved in the inception of the project, CoinDesk previously learned from one of the several developers. All have previously built decentralized applications (dapps), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and other related products on Solana.

Since October, strong interest in the Solana ecosystem seems to have boosted the token's attraction. Trading volume crossed $80 million on Tuesday – a 10-fold increase from the $8 million daily average at the start of November.

Data shows traders have also opened highly leveraged bets on the token with the rise in prices. Open interest – or the amount of unsettled futures positions – climbed to $100 million on Tuesday, compared with under $10 million at the start of November.

Other dog-themed tokens also gained in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. DOGE surged 16% and SHIB jumped 10%. FLOKI, meantime, fell as traders took profits after a 25% jump on Tuesday.