Sonic

Overview

Sonic is a high-performance, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed to support decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 applications. Launched in December 2024, Sonic delivers a transaction throughput exceeding 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) with sub-second finality. This scalability ensures that developers can build applications without facing throughput limitations, while users benefit from swift and efficient transactions .

Native Token: S

The S token serves as the cornerstone of the Sonic network, fulfilling multiple roles:

• Transaction Fees: S tokens are used to pay for transaction processing on the network.

• Staking: Users can stake S tokens to participate in network security and earn rewards.

• Validator Operations: Running a validator node requires holding and staking S tokens.

• Governance: Token holders can participate in governance decisions affecting the network.

At launch, the total supply of S was 3.175 billion tokens, mirroring Fantom’s total supply. An additional 6% of this supply is scheduled to be minted six months post-launch for the airdrop program, rewarding both Fantom Opera and Sonic users and builders. Furthermore, to support ongoing funding initiatives, 1.5% of S tokens will be minted annually for six years, starting six months after the mainnet launch. Any unused tokens from this initiative will be burned to mitigate inflation concerns .

Incentive Programs

Sonic has introduced several initiatives to encourage adoption and development within its ecosystem:

• Fee Monetization: Developers receive 90% of the network fees generated by their applications, aligning financial incentives with network growth .

• Innovator Fund: A fund of up to 200 million S tokens is allocated to onboard applications to Sonic and support new ventures, fostering innovation within the network.

• Airdrop: Approximately 200 million S tokens are designated to incentivize users of both the Fantom Opera and Sonic chains, promoting user engagement and liquidity.

Technological Infrastructure

Sonic’s architecture comprises several key components:

• SonicVM: This execution environment offers lightning-fast processing, full EVM compatibility, and supports programming languages such as Solidity and Vyper. It enhances security and reduces application crashes.

• SonicDB: A specialized database designed for low latency and efficient storage, SonicDB caters to various node types, including RPC, validator, and observer nodes, while minimizing storage requirements and maintenance costs.

• Sonic Gateway: Serving as a native bridge, Sonic Gateway facilitates secure and rapid asset transfers between Sonic and other blockchains, such as Ethereum. At launch, the Sonic Gateway supports bridging four tokens from Ethereum—USDC, EURC, WETH, and FTM. The roadmap includes adding more tokens and introducing a permissionless mechanism for anyone to add new tokens for bridging .

Consensus Mechanism

Sonic employs an Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (ABFT) consensus mechanism in conjunction with a directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure. This approach allows nodes to reach consensus independently without the need for sequential block confirmation, resulting in faster transaction processing and enhanced scalability.

Migration from Fantom Opera

Sonic is transitioning from the Fantom Opera chain and its FTM token. Users holding FTM can upgrade to S tokens on a 1:1 basis through the upgrade portal. The migration period commenced with Sonic’s launch on December 18, 2024, featuring a two-way swap between FTM and S for the first 90 days, followed by a one-way swap (FTM to S only) thereafter. Opera will continue to operate, but all future development focus will shift to Sonic .

Leadership Team

Sonic Labs is led by a team of experienced professionals:

• Michael Kong: Chief Executive Officer

• David Richardson: Executive Chairman

• Andre Cronje: Chief Technology Officer

• Prof. Bernhard Scholz: Chief Research Officer

• Sam Harcourt: Business Development Lead

• Ash V. Khatibi: Marketing Lead

• Yohaan: DeFi Growth

• Seg: Developer Relations

Ecosystem and Partnerships

Sonic has established collaborations with various projects to enhance its ecosystem:

• Chainlink Integration: Sonic utilizes Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to facilitate secure and decentralized asset and data transfers across different blockchains. This integration enhances cross-chain functionality and security.

• USDC.e Integration: Sonic supports USDC.e, a bridged version of the USDC stablecoin from Ethereum, utilizing Circle’s Bridged USDC Standard. This integration facilitates seamless decentralized finance (DeFi) interactions, including efficient trading and liquidity provision.

Roadmap and Future Goals

Sonic Labs has outlined a comprehensive roadmap to guide the network’s development and expansion:

Phase One: Network Generation

• HyperGrid Shared State Network: Launch of the HyperGrid framework to support the creation of interconnected Sonic Virtual Machines (SVMs), facilitating seamless interoperability among various applications.

• HyperFuse Node Deployment: Establishment of a decentralized node set named HyperFuse to ensure the security and integrity of HyperGrid operations.

• Outcome: Official birth of the Sonic SVM network, providing a scalable and customizable infrastructure for developers.

Phase Two: Mainnet Alpha Release

• Core Services Activation: During this stage, Sonic Labs plans to implement core infrastructure components such as oracle services and bridging functionalities. These are vital for enabling external data access and seamless cross-chain transactions.

• Sonic X Applications: Mobile applications for Android and iOS platforms are set to be launched, offering users direct access to Sonic’s features and decentralized applications (dApps) from mobile devices.

• Outcome: These developments aim to solidify Sonic’s foundational ecosystem, increasing accessibility and preparing the network for higher user volume and more complex applications.

Phase Three: Ecosystem Expansion

• Additional SVM Integrations: Sonic plans to introduce support for additional Sonic Virtual Machines across a modular framework, thereby expanding computational capacity and parallel execution capabilities.

• Advanced Staking Mechanisms: The introduction of flexible staking products will allow users and institutions to participate in the network with varied risk and lock-in preferences.

• Outcome: These features are expected to deepen community participation and diversify use cases, helping Sonic evolve into a versatile and scalable infrastructure platform for DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and more.

Bridge and Interoperability Expansion

• Multi-Chain Asset Support: Sonic Gateway will progressively support bridging more assets across different chains, with a permissionless framework for listing new tokens planned for future releases.

• Security Audits and Verifiability: As Sonic expands its cross-chain capabilities, all bridging protocols are undergoing continuous security audits, including verifiability enhancements through zero-knowledge proofs and Chainlink Data Streams.

Distinctive Features and Differentiation from Other EVM Chains

Sonic differentiates itself from other EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchains through a combination of performance, developer alignment, and architectural innovation:

• Scalability and Finality: With a design goal of 400,000 TPS under optimal conditions and consistent sub-second finality, Sonic exceeds throughput metrics of most EVM chains, including Ethereum L2s. This positions Sonic for real-time applications such as high-frequency DeFi trading, social media dApps, and gaming .

• Modular Architecture via SVMs: Sonic enables the deployment of custom virtual machines on top of its base layer through the Sonic Virtual Machine (SVM) framework, allowing tailored execution environments for different use cases—akin to application-specific blockchains but within a shared network environment.

• Developer Revenue Streams: By allocating 90% of user transaction fees to developers, Sonic creates a sustainable ecosystem where app builders are directly compensated in proportion to their on-chain activity. This economic model contrasts sharply with traditional L1 chains where miners or validators capture most of the fees.

• Fully EVM-Compatible Yet Innovatively Layered: While supporting Solidity, Vyper, and all EVM tooling, Sonic combines EVM execution with a parallelized DAG consensus that enables multiple transactions to be confirmed concurrently without collisions. This combination provides both familiarity and performance.

• Governance and Treasury Mechanism: Governance rights attached to the S token include proposals, upgrades, and treasury spending approvals. Treasury inflows are driven by network fees and periodic token issuance, and these resources are governed on-chain with delegated voting and quorum requirements.

• Security and Formal Verification: The core contracts and bridging components of Sonic undergo third-party audits and formal verification with platforms like Certora and OpenZeppelin, improving resilience against both logic and runtime vulnerabilities.

This complete architecture and roadmap represent Sonic’s strategy for delivering a highly scalable, modular, and economically incentivized platform for developers and users in the multi-chain Web3 ecosystem.