NFT ecosystem CyberKongz has announced Wednesday, September 10, 1 PM UTC, as the TGE date for the upcoming $KONG token on Ethereum across a number of CEXs, and holders of the $BANANA token will be able to make the transition through the official website at a 1:25 ratio.

What Is the $KONG Token?

The $KONG token is the upgraded successor to $BANANA, the original CyberKongz utility token that became one of the earliest ERC-20 tokens directly tied to an NFT collection. $BANANA was introduced in 2021 alongside the Genesis CyberKongz NFTs, pioneering ERC-721 and ERC-20 token integration. Holders of the Genesis Kongz could stake their NFTs to earn daily $BANANA rewards, which were then used for breeding Baby Kongz, and engaging in various ecosystem activities. This model was among the first to demonstrate that NFTs could generate ongoing utility through fungible tokens rather than simply existing as static collectibles.

Over time, however, the $BANANA tokenomics became outdated. The yield system led to high inflation, which was sustainable in the early wave of NFT excitement but gradually limited the token’s long-term viability. Eventually, the CyberKongz team began exploring ways to evolve the token into a more durable, multi-purpose ecosystem asset. That process led to the creation of $KONG, which is now set to replace $BANANA entirely.

Importantly, the team has clarified that $KONG is not designed as a governance token or a purely gaming-focused currency. Instead, it is a liquidity layer for the brand, intended to connect across staking systems, ecosystem utilities, and deflationary mechanisms. With this, CyberKongz is positioning $KONG as a versatile, multi-utility token built to support the next stage of the project’s ecosystem rather than replicate earlier token models.

After officially introducing the token and launching the whitepaper in August 2025, the team has now confirmed September 10, 1 PM UTC as the official launch date for the $KONG token on the Ethereum network, which is where it will exclusively exist. As of writing, centralized exchanges KuCoin and MEXC have announced premier listings of this token. An official X space is being hosted on September 9 at 2 PM EST for those interested in learning more about this upgrade.

$KONG Tokenomics

When it comes to tokenomics, while the original $BANANA supply was 40 million, the total supply of $KONG is 1 billion, with every existing $BANANA token to be upgraded on a 1:25 basis into $KONG at TGE. The initial circulating supply is over 385 million tokens.

The total supply for this ERC-20 token is allocated across the following 7 categories:

  • $BANANA Holder Conversion (28.2%)
  • Future Community Distribution (42%)
  • Burn (13.46%)
  • Treasury (6.35% - 100% unlocked at TGE)
  • Team (4.01% - 25% unlocked at TGE, followed by 12 months of linear vesting)
  • Investors (3.97% - 25% unlocked at TGE, with 75% linearly vested over the course of 12 months)
  • NFT Community Airdrop (2% - Airdropped at TGE to active OpenSea users that bought $10k worth of Ethereum NFTs since January 1, 2023)

$BANANA holders will have the option to convert their holdings to receive their $KONG airdrop through the CyberKongz website, with MetaMask portfolio alerting holders of this transition. This airdrop makes up 28.2% of the total supply.

The Future Community Distribution allocation is set to be distributed to $KONG stakers as well as Genesis and Baby Kong NFT holders as a yield reward on a seasonal basis. Each season might last between 3 to 12 months, with the amount of token rewards set to vary from one season to the next. Various activations are planned through KongzHub to reward active holders each season. At KongzHub, NFT holders will be able to claim badges to increase their $KONG allocation. Badges will be possible to earn in various different ways, including by being an active community member, collecting rare traits, and so on.

Previously, Genesis Kong holders were earning 10 $BANANA per day before the yield was terminated on August 18, 2025. Any unclaimed yield is said to have been factored into the circulating supply number, and since a snapshot was taken on the time of termination, if you’re a Genesis Kong holder with unclaimed yield, you will have 3 months to claim your respective $KONG. Anyone who doesn’t claim their yield within 3 months will have their token rewards burned. $BANANA tokens that get burnt will be minted into $KONG and sent to the 13.46% burn address “to ensure clean numbers on data aggregators.”

The Treasury allocation consists of the existing treasury reserve converted directly to the upgraded token, with the 6.35% supply dedicated for activities such as CEX listings, ecosystem events, liquidity provision, and more.

What Is the Utility of $KONG?

The utility design of $KONG revolves around staking, ecosystem events with burn mechanics, and Wall-Street-Kongz (WSK) access.

Holders of $KONG will have two main staking options: Constant and Dynamic.

Constant Staking lets users passively accumulate Kong Points (KP). The system works on a fixed accrual rate, with 1 KP earned per staked $KONG per day. At the end of each season or epoch, these Kong Points are converted into an allocation of $KONG based on the relative amount of KP accrued, making this model similar to a variable APR, where rewards fluctuate depending on the number of participants and the size of the pool for that season.

Dynamic Staking connects to ecosystem assets and partnerships, as token holders who stake $KONG together with specific NFTs such as the Genesis CyberKongz, Baby Kongz, or Wall-Street-Kongz (WSK) Passes will receive rewards that go beyond internal token emissions. These external rewards will be distributed through raffles and could include fungible token allocations from partner projects, validator rewards, whitelist opportunities, or incubated product benefits across FullPort Labs ecosystem. Reward allocation will depend on staking tiers, starting at 25k $KONG staked for 1 raffle entry at Tier 1.

Another important part of $KONG utility lies in its deflationary ecosystem burn events. The CyberKongz team has structured ecosystem mechanics where $KONG will be burned in exchange for on-chain participation in brand-related activations. The first major burn event is planned to occur approximately two weeks after the token has launched.

$KONG is also required for entry into the Wall-Street-Kongz (WSK) platform. WSK is an NFT-gated alpha server and research hub aimed at providing members with insights, access, and tools in the broader NFT and crypto landscape. By introducing the WSK Pass, users will now be able to spend $KONG to gain access through a subscription-based model. Users can subscribe on a monthly or yearly basis, and all $KONG used to buy WSK Passes will be burned.

About CyberKongz

CyberKongz is a web3 NFT and DeFi ecosystem that began in March 2021 with the launch of Genesis Kongz NFTs, a set of 1000 pixelated ape PFPs. This was followed by the $BANANA token as a yield-bearing mechanism in April of that year, pioneering ERC-721 and ERC-20 token integration. Genesis Kongz holders could earn $BANANA daily through staking, which could then be used for breeding Baby Kongz. This created one of the earliest examples of an NFT project with a functioning token economy, influencing many later collections.

The project expanded into several collections, including:

  • Baby Kongz – A companion collection bred using $BANANA.
  • CyberKongz VX – interoperable 3D voxel avatars designed for metaverse environments.
  • Genkai – An anime-inspired collection that expanded the brand into a new art direction while becoming the first PFP collection on the Ronin network.

In December 2024, the SEC hit CyberKongz with a Wells notice, but was cleared of investigation in April 2025.