TLDR;
- Bonsai is being used to monetize content on Lens and incentivize mints on Pods & Zora
- Onchain campaigns via $BONSAI are driving more revenue for creators
- Bridging to zkSync Era and Base simultaneously to expand the token network
- Then bridging to Lens Network to continue providing value in the ecosystem
Going cross-chain
Last month, we announced Bonsai is going cross-chain, and this will remain our key focus over the coming months—expanding our token network across zkSync Era, Base, and the upcoming Lens Network. In that update, we outlined our vision for $BONSAI to become the first cross-chain token network capable of generating a viral flywheel effect through incentives and monetization. This ambitious goal is driving our decisions and execution moving forward, including the critical step of bridging the token across these networks.
The token network is the product
For those unfamiliar with our journey, both @c0rv0s and I have been full-time protocol devs in crypto since 2020. We've moved from shipping various smart contracts and features for our first project (MadFi) to launching a memecoin and securing investment from prominent backers. This experience shifted our focus from building value purely at the protocol level to creating value for a token network.
While the memecoin meta has evolved, we’ve come to realize that our token is much more than a simple meme—it's become something akin to a social token. Despite this shift, we’ve remained committed to our original vision for Bonsai: a monetization and rewards layer for crypto social. Over the summer, we experimented with Lens Open Actions and SocialFi games, though we didn’t ship everything as planned; this was partly because we were still figuring out the right path forward for the token.
We’ve built a strong foundation within the Lens ecosystem, complemented by an exceptional mobile experience with Orb. Bonsai is the primary currency for most features on Orb and is the de-facto collect currency across the Lens ecosystem. Creators have collectively earned over 13 million $BONSAI, which has established a positive link between our token and creator monetization. With the token consistently accounting for the majority of paid collects, I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. And this is purely with collectable content—we haven't yet seen a viral Lens Open Action or SocialFi app capitalize on the Bonsai token network.
Experiments run by Adam Levy led to the creation of Bello’s Blueprint Program. They are currently using the token to drive onchain campaigns, resulting in more mints and higher revenue for creators. This has been a significant boost for Bonsai, growing our token holder base with a high retention rate across campaigns. Interestingly, Coop Records is running similar campaigns with other social tokens, yielding the same results.
We've positioned $BONSAI at the forefront of creator monetization on Lens and as a key incentive mechanism on minting platforms like Pods and Zora.
Onchain campaigns where token incentives drive revenue are clearly working for creators, and so we’ll continue to explore them as sponsorship opportunities as well as a potential way to generate revenue for the Bonsai treasury.
As protocol devs, we gravitate towards experiments like Uniswap v4 hooks, Zora’s ERC20z standard, as well as our own use of the 404 standard. We view Bonsai as an experiment in growing the largest onchain economy for creators, no matter the chain they are using.
Expanding to zkSync Era & Base
Expanding Bonsai to zkSync Era & Base is "Phase One" of our cross-chain strategy.
We are bullish on zkSync's vision for the Elastic Chain, an expanding verifiable blockchain network to onboard the next billion users. We've already seen many zk chains announced - with many of them focused on consumer applications. As the Elastic Chain expands and more users come onchain, we expect the $BONSAI token network to expand alongside it.
With the majority of mints across NFT platforms happening on Base, it's essential that $BONSAI is present where the creators and collectors are actively engaged. More importantly, we're closing the loop for onchain campaigns led by Adam, Bello's Blueprint program, Coop Records, and others. By ensuring incentives are available on the same chain as the mints—coupled with upcoming updates to Orb—we aim to convert collectors into true fans of creators, fostering greater participation in the community.
The bridged Bonsai Token is powered by LayerZero’s OFT standard. For those who wish to bridge their tokens from Polygon, Stargate will be available as an option. However, bridging is optional, as our primary focus is expanding Bonsai's reach to a new audience of creators, collectors, and traders. Additionally, users interested in our LP incentives are welcome to bridge and participate, with more details on those incentives coming later this week.
Lens Network
The Lens Network will be "Phase Two" of our cross-chain strategy, marking the next major step for Bonsai. This phase will open up new possibilities for $BONSAI within the broader Lens ecosystem.
Though some might see Lens Network as the final stage, we envision this as just another step in the journey. With the upcoming launch of additional zk chains and the growth of the Elastic Chain, we're actively exploring new integrations. These include innovations in collectible content and other novel ways to utilize $BONSAI.
