Remember when Solana was reeling from the FTX collapse? That's exactly when BONK burst onto the scene on Christmas Day 2022. The team airdropped half of its massive 100 trillion supply to the struggling Solana community, kickstarting what would become one of the most intriguing evolutions in the memecoin space.

As highlighted in a recent thread from Blockworks Research, BONK started as "the dog coin of the people" but quickly grew into Solana's flagship meme token. Today, nearly a million wallets hold BONK, and it's woven into over 400 apps across decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, payments, and beyond. DeFi refers to financial services built on blockchain without traditional intermediaries, while NFTs are unique digital assets often used for art or collectibles.

What sets BONK apart from most memecoins – those fun, viral tokens often based on internet memes without much real-world use – is its focus on utility and mechanisms to reduce supply. Apps like BonkBot and BonkFun direct a chunk of their fees toward buying back and burning BONK tokens. Burning means permanently removing tokens from circulation, which can help increase scarcity and potentially drive up value over time.

Thanks to these efforts, BONK's total supply has dropped from 100 trillion to about 88 trillion. Community-led events like BURNmas, along with ecosystem burns and tokens locked in rewards programs, reinforce this deflationary narrative. It's not just hype; these are real mechanics making BONK more than a joke.

Take BonkBot, for instance – it's racked up over $87 million in lifetime fees, with millions going straight into BONK burns. And BonkFun emerged as a top launchpad on Solana in 2025, funneling even more into the burn pool during its peak months.

BONK is even going institutional. The Osprey Bonk Trust holds around 2.3 trillion BONK, and there are ETFs in the works, including a 2x leveraged version. ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, allow traditional investors to gain exposure to assets like BONK without directly holding the crypto. Plus, Safety Shot rebranded to Bonk, Inc. (ticker: BNKK), a publicly traded company planning up to $115 million in BONK buys, creating another major supply sink.

From a community airdrop to a multibillion-dollar ecosystem and now a TradFi (traditional finance) player, BONK shows how memecoins can mature. Its success depends on sustaining its culture, burn strategies, and ongoing innovation.

For the full scoop, check out the Blockworks Research report here. If you're diving into meme tokens on Solana, BONK's story is a prime example of how viral fun can turn into lasting utility in the blockchain world.