Bonk and dogwifhat: The Solana Memecoin Season Explained
BONK gained more than 11,000% in 2023 and peaked on December 15, 2023, then fell over 70% within weeks. dogwifhat launched in November 2023, reached $4.83 and a $4.58 billion market cap, and was about 91% below that peak by March 2025.
Between late 2023 and early 2024, memecoins on Solana became the busiest part of crypto. Two dog-themed coins, BONK and dogwifhat, led it. Their paths show both how fast a memecoin season grows and how quickly it can cool.
BONK
| Fact | Detail (source: The Block, January 8, 2024) |
|---|---|
| 2023 performance | Up more than 11,000% during the year |
| All-time high | December 15, 2023 |
| Fall by January 8, 2024 | More than 70% below that high |
| Listings | Binance and Coinbase |
The scale of the 2023 gain is partly a base effect: when a coin starts at an extremely small value, even small amounts of buying look like huge percentages. It also shows how exchange listings and a rising Solana price lifted all the coins together. Read more in how to read screener metrics.
dogwifhat (WIF)
| Fact | Detail (source: Decrypt) |
|---|---|
| Launch | November 2023 on Solana |
| The meme | A photo of a Shiba Inu named Achi, wearing a knitted hat on the token's art |
| All-time high | $4.83 per coin, market cap $4.58 billion (March 31, 2024 by the source's context) |
| Later fall | Nearly $0.43 in March 2025, a 91% drop from the high |
The project's own description is "literally just a dog wif a hat". That a coin with no function beyond the meme reached more than $4 billion is a sign of how much a clear, shareable joke is worth in this market.
The Las Vegas Sphere campaign
In February 2024 the community launched a "Sphere Wif Hat" fundraiser with a goal of $650,000 to put a dogwifhat image on the Las Vegas Sphere, and reached the goal by mid-March 2024, with about $698,000 in USDC held in a multi-signature wallet. As of March 2025, according to Decrypt, the ad had not appeared, and a Sphere spokesperson said there was never a deal with dogwifhat. This is a clear lesson in verifying claims: fundraising that reached its target is not the same as an agreement with the other party.
What drove the season
- Cheap, fast transactions. Solana made small trades practical.
- Exchange listings. Each listing gave a wave of new buyers.
- A rising base asset. SOL's price rose through early 2024, and in March it reached about $160, its highest since January 2022, according to TechCrunch.
- Launchpad supply. Pump.fun opened on January 19, 2024, and soon created thousands of new coins a day. See Pump.fun explained.
How quickly it cooled
By early January 2024, The Block reported that Solana's daily active addresses had fallen from 981,000 on December 21, 2023 to 614,000, while BONK, dogwifhat and Popcat had fallen 70%, 55% and 38% from recent highs. Memecoins had been a major source of Solana trading volume. When the buyers stopped, volume dropped as quickly as it had risen.
Lessons for Elysium traders
- Seasons end. Plan the exit when you plan the entry. See take profit and stop loss.
- Percent gains mislead on small bases. Look at liquidity and absolute size.
- Verify promotions. Ask who confirmed a deal, and whether the other side said so.
- Chain-wide activity matters. Memecoins rose and fell with the platform's overall activity. Elysium's launchpads face the same dynamic. See Elysium vs Solana and Base memecoins.
- Size for a 70% to 90% fall. Both coins experienced it, and both were among the leaders. See position sizing.
Sources
- The Block: Bonk falls 70% from all-time high as memecoin demand on Solana decreases (Jan 8, 2024)
- Decrypt: What is dogwifhat (WIF)
- TechCrunch: Solana's price rises to $160 as memecoin mania rises (Mar 13, 2024)
Numbers and dates were checked on November 11, 2026 and can change. Nothing here is financial advice.
FAQ
When did BONK reach its all-time high?
December 15, 2023, after gaining more than 11,000% over 2023, according to The Block.
What was dogwifhat's peak?
$4.83 per coin and a $4.58 billion market cap, with the price about 91% lower by March 2025 according to Decrypt.
Did the dogwifhat Las Vegas Sphere ad happen?
The community raised its goal by mid-March 2024, but as of March 2025 the ad had not appeared and a Sphere spokesperson said there was never a deal.
Why did Solana memecoins fall in early 2024?
Buying slowed after the late-2023 rush, and Solana's daily active addresses fell from 981,000 to 614,000 in about two weeks according to The Block.
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