Although the Solana smartphone has seen a real boom in sales, could the blockchain-based mobile phone be just temporary hype?
Solana’s blockchain-integrated smartphone: between adoption and criticism
The Solana phone was introduced in June 2022 in New York, and it already promised a good dose of innovation.
In addition to the obvious smartphone functionality, the first Solana Saga offers blockchain integration.
The goal is to bring Web 3.0 and Blockchain to a greater number of users.
So the task of a mobile device is simple in theory, but in practice, things are very different.
After an official announcement from Solana Labs that Solana Saga was sold out, smartphones started booming in the used markets.
Prices then reach $5,000 on eBay, compared to $599 on Solana’s official website.
Moreover, the integration of blockchain into Solana’s smartphone calls into question the status of certain categories of users.
Such as the elderly, who already face difficulties with traditional smartphones.
To enhance its offerings, Solana has set up a BONK token offering.
The total amount of the offer reaches 30 million units, or $690 in total.
However, the current price of the token has seen a sharp decline, standing at $0.0000311 as of December 15.
Then it’s worth $0.00001983 today, according to data from CapMarketCap.
On December 17, the founder of Solend announced that Solana will offer several airdrops starting next year, which will be intended for users of Solana’s smartphone.
It is worth noting that the issue of device performance, for mysterious reasons, overshadows the popularity of BONK.
Thus, it seems that Solana Labs is relying on BONK’s performance to save the device that had some difficulties selling in its early days.
However, if BONK fails to convince investors, Solana users may turn away from the device in favor of bigger, more established brands.
