Solana-based meme coins Bonk (BONK) haw outshined all of the meme coins in the top 100 cryptocurrencies with over a 25% surge in the last 24 hours.
At the time of writing, BONK was up 24.3% in the last 24 hours, exchanging hands at $0.000026 per data from CoinMarketCap. The crypto asset’s market cap had surpassed $1.8 billion, overtaking Dogwifhat (WIF), another Solana-based dog-themed competing meme coin whose market cap stood at 1.71 billion.
The meme coin’s daily trading volume had surgery 155% over the past day, hovering around $544 million. However, BONK is still down 44% from its all-time high of $0.000047, which it attained on March 4.
Bonk, a meme coin that gained popularity in 2023, saw a significant rise as the meme coin craze boosted Solana’s value.
Initially known as another dog-themed meme coin, Bonk has expanded its utility to encompass decentralized finance (DeFi) integration. The project also collaborates with cross-chain communication protocols, NFT marketplaces, and various other crypto market ecosystems.
BONK trading pairs are now available on major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, OKX, and Bitstamp.
BONK’s latest price spike follows a July 8 post on X by BONK DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization overseeing the Bonk project. The post announced a proposal to burn 84 billion BONK tokens (worth $2 million) from its Treasury, which is now in effect. These 84 billion tokens were transferred to the DAO by BONKBot during the second quarter.
Token burning, the process of permanently removing a certain number of tokens from circulation, often results in a decrease in supply. This reduction in the total available supply can create a scarcity effect, potentially increasing demand and driving up the token’s price.
Additionally, according to an X post from whale tracker FishTheWhales, whales are buying BONK, further contributing to its price increase.
BONK’s recent price spike also coincides with a broader rally in meme coins.
Among these, the frog-themed Pepe (PEPE) emerged as the second-best performer on Tuesday, with holders profiting more than 12% in the last 24 hours. The Ethereum-based token experienced a 42% increase in volume, reaching $1.12 billion, the highest among meme coins.
Other popular meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) also saw gains, rising by 3.9% and 3.11%, respectively.
Overall, the meme coin market cap increased to $42.53 billion, marking a 7% rise in the past 24 hours.
This rally in meme coins comes as major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin begin to recover after dropping below $55,000 on July 5, its lowest point in five months.
Last week, Bitcoin (BTC) ended at around $55,850, an 11% decrease from the previous week’s close of $62,775. Significant selling pressure pushed BTC to as low as $53,500 on Thursday before rebounding to $58,250 and settling at $55,850.
During this downturn, BTC Spot ETFs saw net inflows of $238 million. Cumulative trading volume since their inception stands at approximately $315 billion, reflecting a decline in trading activity typical of Q3.
Matteo Greco, a Research Analyst at Fineqia International, pointed out to crypto.news that this decrease in activity should be viewed as a seasonal trend rather than negatively. Interestingly, the recent price behaviour did not correlate with BTC Spot ETF flows, deviating from historical patterns where ETF flows significantly influenced prices.
“For the first time since their inception, there is a noticeable decoupling between price action and capital flows, indicating that recent price behaviour has been driven mainly by trading activity within the crypto-native space,” said Greco.
As of Tuesday, Bitcoin was up over 3% in the past day to $57,515, with 24-hour lows and highs of $55,256 and $57,879, respectively.
Bitcoin’s dominance has slightly decreased by 0.26% to 53.64%, indicating increased activity in the altcoin market. The global crypto market cap has risen by 3.4% to $2.12 trillion.
The significant rise in the meme coin market is often linked to Bitcoin’s performance due to its influence on the broader cryptocurrency market.
When Bitcoin performs well, it typically boosts investor confidence and interest in alternative coins (altcoins), including meme coins. This effect can create a positive feedback loop, where rising prices attract more investors, further driving up prices.