Bonk (BONK) Tokenomics

The token economics of Bonk (BONK), a community-driven meme token primarily operating on the Solana blockchain, are structured around a fixed supply, a community-focused initial distribution via airdrop, and various utility and incentive mechanisms within the Solana ecosystem.

Issuance Mechanism

Bonk operates with a fixed maximum token supply of approximately 93.56 trillion BONK as of January 31, 2024. The initial total supply was 100 trillion BONK, but approximately 6.46 trillion BONK have been burned, resulting in the current maximum supply.

The token is primarily an SPL token on Solana but has been bridged to other chains, including Ethereum (ERC-20), BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Polygon (MRC-20), and Arbitrum (ArbERC-20). However, project-specific functionalities are only accessible using the native SPL BONK token.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial distribution of BONK was heavily focused on the Solana community through a massive airdrop on December 25, 2022, which accounted for 52% of the initial maximum token supply. The overall allocation model is detailed below:

The initial distribution was designed to be community-driven, aiming to minimize the influence of large token holders and promote engagement within the Solana ecosystem.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

BONK functions as a utility token with multiple use cases and incentive mechanisms designed to drive activity and engagement across the Solana ecosystem:

Core Utility and DeFi

• Liquidity Provisioning: BONK can be paired with nine other tokens in liquidity pools on BonkSwap. Liquidity Providers (LPs) earn a pro-rata share of transaction fees from the associated pool, with advertised APYs ranging from 23.43% to 43.36% as of January 31, 2024.
• Staking Rewards (esBONK): Tokenholders who provide liquidity to incentivized pools (specifically BONK/SOL and BONK/USDC) receive esBONK rewards (approximately 55.56 million esBONK distributed daily). These esBONK tokens can then be staked on BonkSwap to linearly unlock native BONK tokens at a 1:1 ratio over 365 days.
• Trading Binary Options: Tokenholders can use BONK to participate in "Bonk or Bust," a binary up/down options trading game based on the SOL/USD price ratio. Correct predictions earn additional BONK tokens, while incorrect predictions result in the loss of staked tokens.
• NFT Creation: BONK can be used as a fee (1 BONK per NFT) to create NFT art collectibles on the platform.

Burning and Buyback Mechanism

BONK incorporates a joint burning and buyback mechanism primarily through the BonkBot Telegram trading bot:

• BonkBot charges a 1.00% trading fee on all transactions.
• 100.00% of this fee is used to buy back BONK tokens.
• The repurchased BONK are then distributed, with 10.00% of the trading fees used to instantly burn BONK.
• As of January 31, 2024, approximately 6.46 trillion BONK have been burned through this mechanism, contributing to the reduction of the maximum token supply.

Referral Program

The BonkBot Referral Program incentivizes user acquisition by rewarding existing users with a percentage of the trading fees generated by referred new users:

• Month 1: 30.00% of the new user’s trading fees.
• Month 2: 20.00% of the new user’s trading fees.
• Month 3 onwards (Perpetual): 10.00% of the new user’s trading fees. These rewards are paid in BONK and funded by a portion of the BonkBot trading fees allocated to cover referrals.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

Early Contributor Vesting

A significant portion of the initial allocation is subject to a locking and vesting schedule:

• Allocation: 21.0% of the initial maximum token supply was allocated to Early Contributors (22 individuals).
• Locking Mechanism: This allocation is subject to a three-year linear token vesting period.
• Unlocking Time: The vesting period began on January 1, 2023.

Staking Unlocks

The staking mechanism involving esBONK also includes a time-based unlock:

• Mechanism: esBONK tokens earned from providing liquidity can be staked on BonkSwap.
• Unlocking Time: Staked esBONK linearly unlocks into native BONK tokens at a 1:1 ratio over 365 days.

Future Unlock Schedule

Based on available data, the vesting schedule for the Early Contributors allocation results in daily unlocks of BONK tokens throughout 2025. These unlocks represent a small, consistent impact on the circulating supply.

The following table details the daily unlock events for the remainder of 2025: