Bonk (BONK) Tokenomics

Bonk ($BONK) is a Solana-based meme token with a strong community focus, designed to incentivize ecosystem growth, reward participation, and provide utility across DeFi, gaming, and NFT applications. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of its token economics, including issuance, allocation, usage, incentives, locking, and unlocking mechanisms.

Issuance Mechanism

• Genesis Supply: BONK launched with a maximum supply of 100 trillion tokens, later reduced to ~93.56 trillion due to burns.
• Airdrop: 50% of the initial supply was airdropped to the Solana community on December 25, 2022, targeting NFT projects, DeFi users, artists, developers, and collectors.
• No Public/Private Sale: There were no public or private sales; the token was not used to raise funds for the project.

Allocation Mechanism

The initial allocation was designed to maximize community engagement and ecosystem development. The table below summarizes the main allocations:

• DAO Allocation: BONK DAO controls 15.8% for community-driven initiatives, with governance managed via Realms.
• Early Contributors: 21% is linearly vested over three years, incentivizing long-term commitment.

Usage and Incentive Mechanisms

Core Utilities

• DeFi: BONK is used in liquidity pools (e.g., BONK/SOL, BONK/USDC) on BonkSwap and other Solana DEXs. LPs earn a share of transaction fees (APY ranged from 23.43% to 43.36% as of Jan 2024).
• Staking: LPs receive esBONK rewards, which can be staked to unlock BONK at a 1:1 ratio over 365 days.
• Gaming: BONK is integrated as an in-game currency across 25+ blockchain games.
• NFTs: BONK can be used to mint NFTs and participate in NFT-related staking protocols.
• Binary Options: "Bonk or Bust" allows users to bet on SOL/USD price movements, earning or losing BONK based on outcomes.

Incentive Programs

• Referral Program: BonkBot users can refer others and earn a percentage of trading fees (30% in month 1, 20% in month 2, 10% perpetually).
• Buyback & Burn: BonkBot charges a 1% trading fee, 100% of which is used to buy back BONK. 10% of these fees are instantly burned, reducing supply.
• Ecosystem Rewards: Fees from various BONK ecosystem products are distributed to the BONK Rewards Pool, which rewards users who lock their tokens.

Locking and Unlocking Mechanisms

Locking

• Early Contributors: Subject to a 3-year linear vesting schedule starting January 1, 2023.
• esBONK Staking: esBONK tokens earned by LPs are locked and linearly unlock BONK over 365 days.
• BONK Rewards Pool: Users can lock BONK to receive a share of ecosystem fees.

Unlocking

• Genesis Unlock: Most allocations (except early contributors) were fully unlocked at genesis (Dec 25, 2022).
• Vesting Schedule: Early contributors' tokens unlock gradually over three years.
• esBONK Unlock: esBONK staked on BonkSwap unlocks BONK at a 1:1 ratio over 365 days.

Allocation, Locking, and Unlocking Table

Additional Notes

• No Mint/Freeze Authority: The Solana token contract does not allow for minting or freezing, ensuring supply immutability.
• Governance: While the DAO manages treasury allocations, protocol changes are controlled by the project team, with no open governance for tokenholders.
• Ecosystem Integration: BONK is integrated across 139+ applications, including DeFi, gaming, NFT, and social platforms, and is available on 40+ DEXs and CEXs.

Summary

Bonk’s token economics are designed to maximize community participation, incentivize ecosystem growth, and ensure long-term alignment through vesting and DAO-managed allocations. Its mechanisms for issuance, allocation, usage, and incentives are transparent and community-focused, with robust DeFi and gaming integrations, and a clear vesting schedule for core contributors.