WEN is a newly launched meme cryptocurrency on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. The token has gained significant market traction after it was airdropped to over a million wallets.
The airdrop, which took place on January 26, was facilitated through the decentralized exchange aggregator (DEX) platform Jupiter as part of a test of its newly launched token launchpad.
More Than 1 Million Solana Wallets Eligible For WEN Airdrop
Over a million Solana wallets were eligible for the WEN airdrop. This included active Jupiter users, NFT holders on the DEX, and owners of the Solana Saga smartphone. Each wallet that met these eligibility criteria could claim 643,652 WEN tokens from the airdrop, worth around $70 at that time.
Since it was airdropped, WEN has experienced a price increase of approximately 483%.
However, after hitting its peak during the airdrop, WEN is now trading at a fraction of a penny. While the token’s price fluctuations have caught some traders off guard, investors should note that cryptocurrencies can experience extreme price volatility, especially during and immediately after an airdrop.
At press time, WEN is changing hands at $0.0001558 – up over 32% in the last 24 hours. With a 24-hour trading volume of over $50 million, WEN’s total market capitalization stands at $155.6 million.
17% of WEN’s Total Supply Could Be Burned
However, according to data reviewed by crypto news outlet CoinDesk, just under half of the wallets that made WEN’s whitelist had claimed their tokens.at current prices. This means investors hunting airdrops have left $39 million in value on the table, assuming that the opportunity to claim WEN stopped right now.
However, a good chunk of WEN is expected to go unclaimed by the end of the three-day airdrop period. On-chain data reveals that at least 17% of WEN’s 1 trillion token supply could potentially be burned.
The final claim numbers could dictate the meme cryptocurrency’s price by restricting its total supply. The token’s developers minted 1 trillion WEN, out of which, 700 billion tokens were earmarked for the airdrop period. The team also promised to burn any tokens that weren’t claimed at the end of the airdrop come January 29, 2024.
If the current rate of airdrop claims holds, around 175 billion WEN could be burned. However, this figure is likely to be larger, especially if the token claim rate continues to slow down.
The busiest time for WEN token claims was unsurprisingly right at the start of the airdrop. In the first hour alone, airdrop hunters made 225,000 claims transactions, causing a massive spike in the market on Jupiter’s liquidity pool protocol Meteora.
Meteora is a market-making protocol on the Solana network that is mainly used for token swapping. The LP had allocated 200 billion WEN to support its liquidity.
Growing Popularity of Solana-Based Meme Tokens
Meme tokens deployed on the Solana network have historically experienced significant price surges. This is why we can see that WEN recipients are holding on to their tokens as they hope the token to skyrocket in value.
Traders also speculate that WEN may follow in the footsteps of other Solana tokens that gained popularity in recent months, such as BONK and Dogwifhat (WIF). Both tokens have seen their prices skyrocket.
According to CoinMarketCap, BONK has gained more than 1,000% over the past year while WIF’s value has surged by more than 110% over the past 30 days.
Meanwhile, the Solana network has been handling immense demand during airdrops. Data from Solana Floor notes that approximately 118,000 wallets have been attempting to connect to various airdrops on the blockchain, simultaneously.
As per reports, the network has surpassed Ethereum (ETH), the largest smart contract blockchain, in 7-day stablecoin trading volume for the first time. Just last week, Solana facilitated stablecoin transfers worth $103 billion, outperforming all other blockchains in the process.
Additionally, Solana also surpassed Ethereum in terms of NFT trading volume in December 2023.
At the time of writing, SOL is trading at $97.17 – up 0.2% in the last 24 hours.
