Sonic Labs Launches Its EVM-Compatible Layer-1 Blockchain, Sonic Mainnet

Sonic Labs announced today that it has officially launched Sonic mainnet, an EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain platform featuring 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), sub-second finality, and a native, decentralized gateway to Ethereum.

While the mainnet launch marks a notable milestone in the evolution of Sonic, developers can now leverage the platform to build the next generation of applications on unparalleled infrastructure and liquidity while enjoying attractive incentives.

Sonic Builds on Fantom’s Momentum

According to the announcement, Sonic was developed by the same team behind Fantom, a highly scalable blockchain platform for DeFi, crypto dApps, and enterprise applications. As such, the launch of Sonic and its S token marks a notable transition from Fantom and FTM via a one-to-one upgrade process.

Notably, this allows existing FTM holders to start using Sonic seamlessly, as the platform revealed. It will facilitate the transition by offering a dedicated upgrade portal on MySonic that allows FTM holders to upgrade their FTM to S seamlessly on a one-to-one basis.

Notably, holders can freely swap between FTM and S using the upgrade portal within 90 days after Sonic’s mainnet launch. However, holders can only upgrade from FTM to S when the period elapses.

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This impressive upgrade allows Sonic to leverage proven expertise to establish itself as a DeFi hub by revolutionizing developer incentives while providing users with smooth user experiences and access to vast amounts of liquidity.

Michael Kong, CEO at Sonic Labs, expressed delight at the launch of the Sonic mainnet, saying;

“We are proud to launch the new Sonic chain as the next evolution of Fantom, building on its impressive track record of nearly 100% uptime since 2019. Sonic is a revolutionary platform that prioritizes developers, empowering them to create applications with seamless user experiences while earning a share of network fees.”

Sonic Promises Fee Monetization, Security, and Decentralized Interoperability

While the launch of the Sonic main net follows plans to address concerns related to the limited developer incentives offered by many blockchains, the platform revealed it would deploy a Fee Monetization (FeeM) model. 

This model will allow it to reward developers with up to 90% of the network fees generated by their applications, thereby adopting the Web2 ad-revenue strategies popularized by platforms like YouTube.

Sam Harcourt, the Business Development Lead at Sonic Labs, emphasized on this saying;

“Recently, we’ve seen many new chains launch, especially centralized layer 2s where the founders pocket all network fees. This excludes developers from the equation, forcing them to impose extra fees on users to earn revenue. FeeM addresses this by coding developer rewards directly into the chain, ensuring that network fees are shared with developers from the start.”

In addition to this, the platform has also disclosed the debut of the Sonic gateway, which provides users with security, speed, and decentralization. Bernhard Scholz, the Chief Research Officer at Sonic Labs, explained;

“To empower users with effective and trustless control of their assets, we developed the Sonic Gateway, which provides liquidity from other platforms. Powered by our own validators and secured by a fail-safe, the Gateway lets users and apps safely leverage the benefits and incentives of bringing new liquidity to Sonic.”

Per the announcement, Sonic Labs has also disclosed plans to distribute 190.5 million S tokens through an airdrop program to boost the growth of the network. While the airdrop program has been divided into two incentive structures, it focuses on rewarding both users and developers. 

The first structure is the Sonic Points, which reward end-users for early adoption, asset holding, and overall engagement.

Next is the Sonic Gems, which is designed to reward developers for creating applications that drive user activity and innovation. Developers can convert Gems to S and share the tokens with their users to incentivize continuous usage.