A dog-themed meme token has sparked a surge in sales of Solana’s Saga phone, with prices skyrocketing to as much as $5,000. This comes after the phone was initially labeled a “failure” by its makers.
According to data from online marketplace eBay, several Saga phones have been sold for over $2,000 each. Most of these phones are listed as “sealed and unopened,” and the majority of sellers are based in the United States. Interestingly, one phone was even sold for an astounding $5,000, as reported by The Block.
The sales of Solana Saga phones gained momentum last week when arbitrage traders began chasing a 30 million BONK token airdrop given to every phone owner. This airdrop reached a peak value of over $700, which is significantly higher than the phone’s price of $599.
The surge in sales can be attributed to the rapid popularity of the dog-themed BONK token among blockchain users in November. During a 24-hour period, BONK experienced a staggering 110% spike and extended its 30-day gains to over 700%. This sudden surge in popularity lifted the fortunes of the Saga phone, which previously faced uncertainty about its future due to disappointing sales.
Anatoly Yakovenko, the founder of Solana, expressed skepticism about the phone’s market appeal in an interview earlier this year. He stated, “We haven’t seen a ton of signal whether that’s a compelling enough thing to sell 50,000 units. I think 25,000 to 50,000 units to feel like there is a hardcore user base for developers to be compelled to ship applications.” However, the recent surge in sales suggests that there is indeed a growing user base for the Saga phone.
The Saga phone was first released for sale earlier this year, and in August, its price was reduced from $1,000 to $599. Solana co-founder Raj Gokal announced last Friday that the phone is now sold out in the United States and the European Union.
It is worth noting that the dog-themed BONK token, along with the airdrop and subsequent surge in Saga phone sales, has had no direct affiliation with Coindesk, the source of this article. Despite this, it is evident that the impact of meme tokens on the cryptocurrency market continues to be significant, with the Saga phone benefiting greatly from this trend.