Following a spike in demand, Solana has canceled some orders of Saga mobile phones due to shortages. Demand rose due to the free 30 million BONK tokens that come with the phone.
Solana Labs might have already had a win on its hands with its blockchain and native token which have become some of the biggest in the industry. But the company decided last year to enter the mobile phone business by releasing the Solana Saga, an Android phone that came with Solana apps pre-installed and many other features that a crypto lover would need.
Now, it seems that the demand for this phone has become unmanageable as Solana Mobile announced on December 22nd, 2023, that it will be canceling orders made for the phone.
Solana Labs Overwhelmed?
It is worth noting that a lot of the issues that Solana is facing are due the the unprecedented spike in demand for the Solana Saga. BONK, a Solana-based token, has shot up in value in the last few weeks and traders are scrambling to get their hands on it.
Conveniently, one of the perks of a Solana Saga is that each device comes with 30 million bonk tokens, which is worth a little under $700 as of this article. Naturally, orders for the Solana Saga went up and the phone sold out.
According to an official statement on X, Solana Mobile only had 20,000 units of the phone for global purchase but an inventory error meant that this number was misrepresented. As such, many orders had to be canceled.
“Given this, we are unfortunately unable to fulfill orders that were placed after inventory ran out,” Solana Mobile said, adding that some orders were canceled due to suspicious activity or payment risks.
Those who have been affected by the cancellation have been informed and will be given a refund and Solana Mobile has apologised for any inconvenience. While this incident will be disappointing for the consumers who tried to order the phone, it does show the interconnectedness of the crypto industry.
The BONK tokens that come with the Solana Saga were a minor perk but once their value began going up, Solana Mobile was inundated with orders from around the world. And as many have pointed out, the Solana Saga costs about $600 but the tokens that come with it can be worth more than the phone itself. As the price of BONK rises and falls, there will be a back-and-forth of sorts regarding which is more appealing to buyers. And if Solana Mobile and other companies offer free crypto with their products, this sort of situation will need to be accounted for.
Moving forward, it seems that Solana’s phones will remain popular within the crypto-loving community. It has many features including token storage that will appeal to most crypto lovers and, in some cases, the chance to get hundreds of dollars worth of crypto for free.
