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It seems that every time a dog-themed memecoin like Dogecoin (DOGE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB) goes mainstream, another lurks in the shadows, waiting to hop on its own hype train.
The value of the newest such memecoin Bonk (BONK), a Shiba Inu-themed Solana Token, has risen more than 400% in the month, according to CoinMarketCap data. The hype for the Solana Saga token and phone skyrocketed last week after owners of that phone found out they could claim 30 million BONK tokens, worth about $560 at press time.
The Saga phone sold out immediately after its 20,000 units in the US, and Bonk hit an all-time high six days ago. Solana (SOL), the cryptocurrency tied to the level-1 blockchain focused on by Saga and Bonk, is also up more than 21% on the week.
The Bonk hype has since faded, but other Solana-based memecoins such as Dogwifhat (WIF) have also benefited greatly from the interest.
A symbol literally based on a Shiba Inu in a knitted beanie, Dogwifhat is up 42.46% in the last 24 hours and is up 864% in the last seven days at the time of writing. The token currently has a market cap of around $218 million, according to CoinGecko data. By comparison, Bonk’s market cap is more than five times that at $1.14 billion.
Of course, these aren’t the first dog memes to take off, and I doubt they’ll be the last. However, these market moves signal that retail interest and appetite is shifting back to cryptocurrencies after a prolonged bear market.
What’s happening on web3
- Worldcoin no longer offers Orb verification in India, Brazil and France
- Why Asset Tokenization Can Be a Key Growth Driver in Crypto (TC+)
- Crypto Valuations ‘Come Back to Earth’ in 2023, But VCs Expect to Rise Again in 2024 (TC+)
- AR Platform Really Launches ‘Fandime’ NFTs To Reward Users With Exclusive Movie-Related Content
- EthSign brings DocuSign-like functionality to Line, Telegram with a web3 twist
- WazirX volume falls off a cliff amid India’s crypto audit
- Why these 30 web3 founders are optimistic about 2024 (TC+)
- Robinhood is on a quest to dive deeper into crypto (TC+)
The last pod
For this week episode, Jacqueline interviewed Staci Warden, the CEO of the Algorand Foundation, the organization behind the Algorand level-1 blockchain.
Previously, Warden worked at the Milken Institute and oversaw initiatives related to capital market development, fintech financial inclusion, cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
Prior to that she was at JPMorgan, where she was an executive director and head of public sector coverage. He also worked at Nasdaq and the US Treasury. Warden sits on the advisory boards of the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment, and the US Financial Technology Association.
As for Algorand, it is a Singapore-based blockchain that aims to be fast, secure, decentralized and “the greenest” with its carbon-negative network. It had approximately 615,000 active addresses at the time of recording.
We discussed Algorand's ecosystem, decentralization, and real-world use cases being built during the bear market.
We also talked about:
- Tokenization of assets
- The foundations behind blockchains
- US expansion challenges
- Algorand's plans for 2024
Sign up to Chain reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to catch up on the latest episodes and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
Follow the money
- Financial web3 data startup Tres has raised an $11 million Series A round
- Gaming titan Nexon invests $100 million in its web3 venture MapleStory Universe
- Innovation lab web3mine, focused on building web3 tools, raised a $6 million seed round
- Banking-as-a-service platform provider Fiat Republic has raised $7 million in seed expansion
- Fyde Treasury has raised a $3.2 million seed round to help manage and scale crypto holdings on-chain
This list was compiled with information from Messari as well as reports from TechCrunch itself.
What else are we writing?
Want to escape the web3 world? Here are some TechCrunch articles that caught our attention this week.
- Electric scooter company Bird has filed for bankruptcy
- Secondary Investors Say Some Valuations Still Too High (TC+)
- Tesla is asking for a stay in the federal race-bias lawsuit as it wraps up other cases
- 8 predictions for artificial intelligence in 2024
- The small and affordable EVs we missed in 2023
Follow me on twitter @Jacqmelinek for crypto news, memes and more.
