Fantom’s Sonic Shift: Unlocking a $11 Trillion Market for Developers

Fantom’s Sonic Shift: Unlocking a $11 Trillion Market for Developers
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Key Points

Sonic will be the first native integration for on-chain access, enabling developers to tap into a $11 trillion market. The Sonic era is poised to begin with the launch of the testnet.

Sonic Labs, formerly known as the Fantom team, recently announced on X that Sonic will be the first native integration for on-chain wallet scoring, offering developers access to a potential $11 trillion market.

This transition marks a significant shift in both technological and social evolution, opening doors to the unsecured lending global market.

The founder of HyperChain Capital recently highlighted on X that the Sonic era is about to commence, setting a new standard for blockchain efficiency and speed.

The Sonic testnet went live on September 6, with plans to introduce play-to-earn testnet games soon.

2024 marks the debut of the shift from the Fantom Opera network to the newly launched Sonic chain.

Fantom to Sonic Transition

This transition is more than just a technological shift; it emphasizes the crucial role tokenomics plays in a project’s long-term viability.

Sonic Labs, the rebranded Fantom team, is introducing the Sonic chain and the S token, which will replace the FTM token on a 1:1 basis. Sonic Network is an ultra-fast Layer 1 blockchain. This transition began following a June 2024 announcement, which included the launch of a $120 million fund allocated in FTM tokens to support developers and projects migrating to Sonic.

New Features of Sonic

  • Validator rewards
  • Improved staking mechanisms
  • Airdrops for early users

The complete transition is expected to unfold over the upcoming months.

What is the Sonic Upgrade?

The Sonic upgrade enhances the features that Fantom brought to the crypto industry. Here’s what the upgrade includes:

1. Speed Boost

The Sonic upgrade increases throughput on the chain, achieving speeds of over 2,000 TPS with single-second finality. This positions Fantom alongside successful competitors like Solana.

The speed increase is enabled by the Fantom Virtual Machine.

2. FVM (Fantom Virtual Machine)

The Fantom Virtual Machine replaces the old Ethereum Virtual Machine model, offering:

  • Conversion of old EVM bytecode into a new virtual machine format
  • Support for super instructions
  • Optimization of common transaction types

3. Enhanced Validator Efficiency

Sonic validators can execute smart contracts with up to 65 times more efficiency and speed compared to the old EVM mechanics.

4. Reduced Storage Requirements

The Sonic upgrade reduces storage requirements by 90% through the new Carmen database storage technology. This technology uses a flat storage mechanism rather than a tree-like structure, allowing:

  • Simplified data retrieval
  • Live pruning of unnecessary historical data without disrupting the network

Live pruning helps free up space and decrease storage needs. This new technology is currently in the testnet phase, with the Sonic network expected to replace the Fantom Opera Network in Q4 2024.

Incentives and Airdrops

Fantom has introduced a robust strategy to attract developers and users to the chain. The incentives include:

Airdrops for Builders

Builders who are accepted to develop for Sonic will receive airdrops, boosting the dApp ecosystem.

Gas Monetization Program

Developers are also encouraged through the Gas Monetization Program. Requirements for rewards include:

  • The dApp must be live for over 1 month on the mainnet
  • Developers need to generate at least 15,000 transactions per contract
  • An active multi-sig wallet address is required

This strategy aims to replicate the ad-revenue share model seen with Web2 creators.

What is Fantom?

Fantom is a Layer 1 blockchain created in 2018, known for its fast and low-fee user experience. Fantom has been a leader in crypto technology and has always been supported by skilled developers.

By 2019, Fantom partnered with Binance, leading to the creation of the EVM-compatible Fantom Opera. By March 2022, Fantom was the second-largest chain for DeFi, with TVL reaching around $8 billion.

Success was driven by community-driven apps and the DeFi innovator Andre Cronje, known for high-tech DeFi applications like Yearn Finance and Solidly.

With Cronje’s return and increasing TVL, the Fantom ecosystem continues to grow, with expanding applications and user bases.