🍿 BONK is going bonkers

GM. Can you believe that it's barely 5 days into the new year? It feels like weeks already, with everything that has happened. Let's get right into it.

Today we cover:

• BAYC loans hit a new all-time high

• BONK... is going bonkers

• What to watch for in Web3 gaming

🙉 BAYC Loans Hit New All-Time High

(h/t @punk9059 for the chart)

The number of loans taken out against Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs has reached an all-time high, even more than during the Otherside mint. This is done via BendDAO, an NFT lending protocol that allows owners to take an instant loan by pledging their NFTs.

This is likely contributing to the strong price run-up in BAYC assets leading up to the Jimmy the Monkey mint on Jan 18. It suggests that owners are leveraging up, which means it's wise to be cautious.

☘️ $BONK Is Going Bonkers

💲 What to know: BONK is a meme coin on Solana that was launched 2 weeks back and started to gain traction in the new year. It claims to be the "first Solana dog coin for the people and by the people". Channeling Abraham Lincoln indeed.

It has gone parabolic over the past few days, rising more than 20X since Jan 1 with > $100M daily trading volume and sitting at a $400M fully diluted valua. No wonder it's now the talk of the town.

☘️ In the weeds: According to the Bonkpaper, 50% of the supply was airdropped for free to Solana NFT projects, NFT traders, Artists & collectors, Solana developers. The remaining 50% is held by the team/early contributors, the DAO and for marketing.

See how most of the airdrop recipients are holding on to their tokens in this visualizer:

There has been a flurry of activity, as people rush to incorporate this latest shiny object into their projects:

• New NFTs are minting in BONK

• NFT projects are distributing BONK to their community

• Projects are burning their BONK tokens to acquire users

• DEXes are launching BONK liquidity pools to capture fees

🤑 Why it matters: Solana had a rough couple of weeks. The FTX collapse and steep drop in SOL prices led to an existential crisis, with many questioning the long-term survivability of the chain. BONK has given the Solana ecosystem a much-needed reprieve, injecting a huge jolt of fun energy into the community and developers. It has also drawn a sizeable number of new users into Solana.

BONK combines memecoins and NFTs into a potent brew of degeneracy. Its epic rise indicates that there is a good amount of capital that's willing to participate and could signal a slow shift into a more risk-on environment.

As with all memecoins, there is no real product. It is a trader's game of hot potatoes and it can collapse just as quickly. We would not recommend buying the token at such prices, but it is fun as hell to watch.

Today's Most Interesting Tweets

🐥 What to watch for in Web3 Gaming

🐥 Sappy Seals goes for the memes

🐥 Magic Eden suffers from exploit, recovers quickly

🐥 Bright Moment's Mint Pass for 'Velum' begins today

🐥 A breakdown of Memeland's Captainz mint

🐥 Heavy loans being taken on Apes via BendDAO: Are Apes leveraging up?

That's it for today folks, see you tomorrow. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata). And if you aren't already a subscriber, join us now to get all the daily alpha you need.

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only. None of this is financial or investment advice. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. Please do your own research.