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Solana Co-Founder Toly Recalls Bonk Launch Amid FTX Collapse: The Tweet That Sparked Meme Coin Revival

Solana Co-Founder Toly Recalls Bonk Launch Amid FTX Collapse: The Tweet That Sparked Meme Coin Revival

In the fast-paced world of crypto, sometimes a simple tweet can change everything. That's the vibe from Solana co-founder Anatoly "Toly" Yakovenko's recent post on X, where he reminisced about the tough times following the FTX collapse. If you're new to this, FTX was a major crypto exchange that imploded in late 2022, sending shockwaves through the industry and hitting Solana hard since it was closely tied to FTX's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.

Toly's tweet paints a vivid picture: "I remember it like yesterday. It was the depth of winter, ftx had collapsed, and even the degods had abandoned us. Bonk launched their token and just on instinct I quote tweeted it with “🔥🔥🔥”. @rajgokal turned to me and said “you did it, you f’ing did it”. My phone started blowing up immediately."

Let's break this down. DeGods was a popular NFT project that migrated away from Solana during that rough patch, symbolizing the exodus of projects and users. Bonk, on the other hand, is a dog-themed meme coin built on Solana—think Shiba Inu but with a Solana twist. It launched in December 2022 as a community-driven token, airdropped to Solana users to boost morale and activity on the chain.

Toly's "🔥🔥🔥" quote tweet was essentially a stamp of approval from one of Solana's top figures. Raj Gokal, another Solana co-founder, apparently recognized the impact right away. And boy, did it work. Bonk exploded in popularity, helping to revive interest in Solana and kickstarting a wave of meme coin mania on the platform. Today, Bonk boasts a market cap in the billions and remains a staple in the Solana ecosystem.

Illustration of Anatoly Yakovenko with fire emojis

This story comes in response to a clip shared by the official Solana account featuring Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz praising Solana's capabilities. In the video from CNBC, Novogratz highlights how Solana can handle more transactions per day than the combined equities, fixed income, commodities, and FX markets—over 14 billion TPS capacity. He calls it "the season of Sol," signaling big things ahead for the high-performance blockchain.

For meme token enthusiasts, this tweet underscores how grassroots projects like Bonk can turn the tide for entire ecosystems. Solana's speed and low fees make it a hotspot for meme coins, allowing for rapid trading and community engagement without the gas fee headaches of other chains like Ethereum.

If you're diving into Solana memes, Bonk is a great starting point. Check out their official site here or explore more on platforms like DexScreener. Stories like Toly's remind us that in crypto, resilience and a bit of hype can go a long way.

What do you think—could another meme coin launch spark the next bull run on Solana? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

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