Safety Shot Shares Plunge After $25M Bonk Memecoin Bet

Shares of Nasdaq-listed beverage company Safety Shot tumbled 50% on Monday after the firm unveiled plans to purchase $25 million worth of Bonk, a Solana-based memecoin, as part of a revamped treasury strategy. The company said it had formed a strategic alliance with Bonk’s founding contributors, aiming to integrate itself deeply into the token’s ecosystem.

According to Safety Shot, the decision to focus on Bonk as its primary treasury asset was driven by the token’s “clear and distinct advantages over its competitors.” 

The firm pointed to Bonk’s high-speed, low-cost transaction capabilities on the Solana network, which it says outpace rivals like Shiba Inu and Pepe that rely on slower, more expensive Ethereum-based infrastructure. It also noted that Bonk avoids the inflationary issues tied to Dogecoin.

Bonk is currently the fifth-largest memecoin by market capitalization, valued at about $1.9 billion with 77 trillion tokens in circulation. While it saw a sharp price surge in November 2024, the token has since dropped 57% as the broader memecoin rally cooled over the past six months.

Safety Shot Investors React with Sell-Off

Safety Shot CEO Jarrett Boon described the move as “a bold first step in a much broader corporate evolution,” highlighting that the company had cleared all outstanding debt and retained over $15 million in cash before making the investment. The plan also involves issuing $35 million in preferred shares, which can later be converted into common stock.

Despite the confidence from leadership, the market’s reaction was swift and negative. The company’s shares (SHOT) fell to $0.59 in after-hours trading, erasing recent gains. The stock had risen 36% over the past month but is now down 22.5% for the year.

Safety Shot, formerly known as Jupiter Wellness, is best known for producing Sure Shot, a beverage designed to help detoxify blood alcohol levels. Boon previously co-founded GBB Drink Lab, which developed the Safety Shot formula.

Memecoin Market Faces Broader Declines

Safety Shot is not the first publicly traded company to venture into the memecoin space. In May, GD Culture Group, a livestreaming and e-commerce firm, announced plans to raise as much as $300 million for a crypto treasury reserve that would include the politically themed TRUMP token.

The broader memecoin market has been struggling in 2025. Data from CoinMarketCap shows a 25% drop in total memecoin market capitalization since the start of the year, even as the overall cryptocurrency market cap has risen 22% over the same period. 

This divergence highlights the risk Safety Shot is taking with its high-profile shift toward digital assets.

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