Here's Why I Wouldn't Touch This Meme Coin With a 10-Foot Pole

With a market cap over $500 million, Bonk (CRYPTO: BONK) is one of the 10 largest meme coins as of May 19, 2026. The Bonk website says that this cryptocurrency bridges internet culture and modern finance, and reports that there are over 1.1 million Bonk holders.

To give credit where it's due, some people are clearly invested in Bonk and its success. I'm not one of them, and I'd highly recommend avoiding it for several reasons.

Image source: Getty Images.

Meme coins are almost always a losing investment

Cryptocurrency investing is a risky endeavor, but buying meme coins is in a whole different universe of risk. A 2024 report by BDC Consulting found that 40% of meme coin projects are pump-and-dump schemes, 30% are rug pulls, 20% have extra fees, and 2% to 3% are honeypot scams. Add it all up, and you're looking at a 92% to 93% chance of buying into a scam or a meme coin with costly extra fees.

That leaves a small percentage of meme coins that aren't scams, and the rest aren't exactly good investments. Meme coins sometimes have brief periods of success, but it's not because of fundamental value. It's because they had a moment of popularity. Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) was the first example, peaking in 2021 when it became a household name, and has mostly lost value since then.

This same pattern has already played out with Bonk. An anonymous developer launched it on Solana in late 2022 due to the blockchain's speed and low transaction fees. Bonk peaked at $0.00005916 in November 2024 and has since lost about 90% of that peak value (as of May 19). Based on what Bonk has to offer, there's no reason to believe it will turn things around.

There's nothing special about Bonk

Bonk was designed to be a community token on Solana, according to its website and white paper. As part of this goal, the Bonk team airdropped half the initial token supply to the Solana community, including NFT artists and DeFi users.

This situation isn't unique. The teams behind meme coins often talk about building and rewarding a community. Considering how quickly these projects lose value, it's hard to argue that they reward token holders. Cryptocurrencies can be good investments, but not the ones with meme-inspired dog mascots.

Like other meme coins, including famous names like Shiba Inu, Bonk also has an underwhelming ecosystem. There's a decentralized exchange called BonkSwap that almost nobody uses. BonkSwap has less than $1 million in total value locked (TVL), according to DeFiLlama. The Bonk token is used as a payment method within this Bonk ecosystem.

Bonk doesn't distinguish itself from other meme coins, and there's nothing to suggest it offers value as an investment. Bonk's best days are probably behind it, and I wouldn't put any amount of money into it.

Lyle Daly has positions in Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.