A Solana Saga phone appears to have sold for as much as $5,000 on eBay — more than eight times its retail cost — after a frenzy to pick up a free memecoin airdrop caused the devices to sell out on the official website for the first time.
According to a Dec. 16 listing on the online marketplace eBay, two unopened, in-box phones have recently sold, listed for $5,000 or “best offer,” while another device has sold for $3,316 or “best offer.”
An additional 20 devices managed to sell for over $2,000 over the weekend, a more than $1,400 markup on the original $599 price tag on the Solana Mobile website.
Since the device launched on May 8, each new Saga phone has come with a free 30 million Bonk (BONK) token airdrop. Last week, traders began noticing that a price surge in Bonk meant that the free airdrop had become more valuable than the device itself, causing the phone to sell out as of Dec. 16.
The Saga is SOLD OUT!
— Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) December 16, 2023
Words cannot describe how much we appreciate your support. We are nothing without this amazing community
While these past few days will be cemented in our history, we’re excited for the future
Stay tuned ✨ pic.twitter.com/KJje8lBDLL
Buyers of these scalped Saga phones are likely a bet that the price of the memecoin will continue to appreciate even further. In the last 30 days, Bonk surged nearly 800% as the token gained mass traction among memecoin enthusiasts and opportunistic traders.
However, for traders to profit from the eye-watering $5,000 price tag, the price of Bonk would need to grow a further 620% from its current value. This would see Bonk command a total market cap of $8.68 billion — placing it at a similar valuation to Tron (TRX) or Polkadot (DOT).
Related: Solana phone sales skyrocket as degens scramble for pumped-up BONK
However, it would seem that the phone buyers may not be solely betting on the price of Bonk, with several Solana-based projects recently announcing airdrops and other financial incentives for device users.
In a Dec. 17 post to X (formerly Twitter), the pseudonymous founder of the decentralized finance protocol, Solend, confirmed that the team would work on an airdrop for Saga phone holders.
true, solend is working on an airdrop for saga owners https://t.co/1EnphaJV5J
— Rooter | Solend (@0xrooter) December 16, 2023
Additionally, a fellow memecoin project called Samoyed Coin (SAMO) announced it would be releasing an airdrop for Saga holders, with more details “coming soon.”
On Nov. 15. decentralized storage provider GenesysGo previously announced that users could mine its native Shadow (SHDW) token through an application on the Saga phone.
Web3 Gamer: Games need bots? Illivium CEO admits ‘it’s tough,’ 42X upside