A Viral Solana-Based Memecoin Is Up 2,500% Despite The Brutal Bitcoin And Ethereum Crypto Price Winter

BitcoinBTC
, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies are currently deep in a crypto price winter that’s wiped trillions of dollars from the previously red-hot market (and could be about to get even worse).

Subscribe now to Forbes’ CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor and successfully navigate the latest bitcoin and crypto market crash

The price of some big so-called memecoins—cryptocurrencies such as dogecoin and shib inu—that rocketed over the last two years have crashed back in recent months but have held onto some of their gains better than many had expected—helped by Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.

Now, a solana-based cryptocurrency called bonk that’s also based on the shib inu doge meme is trying to recreate the success of earlier memecoins—racking up a 2,500% price rally despite the devastating crypto crash that’s plunged the biggest crypto companies into crisis.

It’s in a brutal bear market that you need up-to-date information the most! Sign up now for the free CryptoCodex—A daily newsletter for traders, investors and the crypto-curious that will keep you ahead of the market

MORE FROM FORBESEthereum Founder Suddenly Powers A Shock FTX Crypto Price Rally As Bitcoin StrugglesBy Billy Bambrough

“We’re here to reward everyone that made solana what it is today,” bonk developers posted to Twitter last month.

SolanaSOL
, an ethereum rival closely linked to the collapsed FTX crypto exchange and boasting relatively high transaction speeds and low fees, has been hard hit by the FTX implosion over the last few months, dropping out of the crypto top ten. The solana price has, though, seen a boost from bonk’s price surge, adding 35% over the last week.

Bonk’s huge rally, soaring by around 2,500% since its December 25 launch and 150% in the last 24 hours alone, has been helped by a so-called airdrop that’s seen free tokens distributed to solana developers and solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) collectors. Some 50% of bonk’s 56 trillion supply was sent out over the last week.

However, bonk is unlikely to hold onto these gains, despite several solana NFT projects moving to integrate bonk. Over the last year, various viral cryptocurrencies have burst onto the scene, briefly burning brightly but ultimately leaving investors out of pocket.

Squid game, a cryptocurrency inspired by but unaffiliated with the wildly popular Korean-language NetflixNFLX
show of the same name, in 2021 saw its price rocket by over 100,000% in a matter of days only to collapse into nothing.

Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free, daily newsletter for the crypto-curious

MORE FROM FORBESMove Your Funds ‘Immediately’-Serious $2.2 Billion Crypto Warning Issued After Sudden Bitcoin And Ethereum Rival Price CrashBy Billy Bambrough

Dogecoin, the largest memecoin with a market capitalization of almost $10 billion, has held onto much of its price increase but has only been sustained by tangental support from Tesla billionaire and Twitter owner Elon Musk. Over the last two years, Musk has declared himself the “dogefather” and promised to put a dogecoin on the moon via his rocket company SpaceX.

Meanwhile, some crypto market watchers think the more developed crypto market could be in for a rally, with non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies, sometimes called altcoins, potentially making the biggest moves.

“These are new signs that the prolonged sideways slide is ending, and one should be prepared for higher volatility, and this time it may be the altcoins that come to life first, not bitcoin,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, wrote in emailed comments.