Fantom, as soon as a high contender within the layer-1 blockchain race, is gunning for a significant comeback with its new ‘Sonic’ structure. The mission, now working as Sonic Labs, is making an attempt to erase the reminiscence of previous stumbles with an entire technological refit designed for uncooked velocity and scale.
Nonetheless, to succeed, it should persuade skeptical validators to return, show its new safety is ironclad after a devastating hack, and discover its place in an area crowded with fierce rivals.
At its coronary heart, Sonic is an entire rebuild of the Fantom community from the within out. The overhaul introduces a brand new Fantom Digital Machine (FVM), a closely tweaked Lachesis consensus mannequin, and a novel database known as Carmen. This new engine is constructed for one factor – Efficiency.
The objective is a community that may deal with upwards of two,000 transactions per second (and probably over 10,000) and ensure them in lower than a second. The system formally went stay in December 2024.
A darling’s rise and a devastating fall!
Not way back, Fantom regarded like a real Ethereum killer. Its promise of a quick, low cost, and scalable platform made it a darling of the late 2021 bull run. An explosion of decentralized apps (dApps) and the backing of DeFi heavyweight Andre Cronje despatched its recognition into the stratosphere.
Then, the Multichain bridge imploded in July 2023, and Fantom’s momentum shattered. The protocol’s failure vaporized over $210 million throughout a number of chains, however Fantom took essentially the most brutal hit, dropping round $122 million from its ecosystem.
Supply: TradingView
The hack brought about stablecoins to lose their peg and liquidity to flee the community, cratering consumer belief and its Complete Worth Locked (TVL). In a bid to get well funds, the Fantom Basis received a courtroom order in Singapore to power Multichain’s liquidation.
Andre Cronje himself has at all times been a wild card for the mission. His sudden exit from the DeFi scene in March 2022 despatched the FTM token spiralling, simply as his later return to the muse sparked a brand new wave of optimism. Now, because the Chief Expertise Officer of Sonic Labs, Cronje is steering the community’s subsequent chapter.
Sonic’s engine room – FVM and Carmen
Two key items of expertise drive the Sonic improve: the Fantom Digital Machine (FVM) and the Carmen database.
The Fantom Digital Machine (FVM) rips out the outdated Ethereum Digital Machine (EVM) and replaces it with a custom-built, high-speed different. Whereas it stays suitable with current EVM code so builders don’t have to start out from scratch, the FVM makes use of “super-instructions” that bundle routine duties into single instructions.
This intelligent trick, together with smarter knowledge dealing with, lets the FVM course of good contracts at blistering speeds. Actually, some checks present it’s 65 occasions quicker than its predecessor.
Working alongside the FVM, the Carmen database assaults the “state bloat” drawback that plagues so many chains. This difficulty makes it more and more tough and costly for validators to retailer the community’s complete historical past. Carmen makes use of a flat, file-based system and might carry out “stay pruning” of outdated knowledge, which slashes the information footprint for validators by as a lot as 90%.
That makes operating a node cheaper and extra accessible, which in flip helps maintain the community decentralized and quick.
New token, new guidelines – ‘S’ token and revamped economics
The improve additionally rolled out a brand new native token, ‘S’. Present FTM holders can swap their tokens for ‘S’ at a one-to-one price. Whereas the preliminary 3.175 billion ‘S’ provide will match FTM’s, Sonic can also be overhauling its financial engine to get individuals utilizing the brand new chain.
The brand new mannequin kicked off with an airdrop of 190.5 million ‘S’ tokens, or 6% of the preliminary provide, to attract in customers and builders. For six years, one other 1.5% of the availability will likely be created yearly to fund ecosystem initiatives, and any of those funds left unused will likely be burned. After 4 years, a gradual 1.75% annual inflation will likely be launched to pay validators for securing the community.
How Sonic plans to win over builders
Sonic Labs isn’t simply hoping builders present up; it’s paying for them with a multi-pronged incentive plan and a hefty struggle chest.
The principle attraction is the Sonic Labs Innovator Fund, which has put aside as much as 200 million FTM (value about $120 million) to assist current initiatives transfer over and new ones get began on Sonic.
On high of that, the Sonic Growth Program is a bounty system created to encourage all kinds of latest dApps in numerous fields.
Maybe, the largest carrot is the brand new “Charge Monetization” (FeeM) mannequin. This program utterly modifications how builders can earn cash. Accredited dApps can now pocket as much as 90% of the transaction charges their apps generate – An enormous soar from the outdated 15% lower.
Placing safety first with audits and bounties
After the Multichain catastrophe, safety can’t be an afterthought. Sonic’s key elements, like its native bridge to Ethereum, have been combed over by safety outfits like OpenZeppelin, Quantstamp, and Certora.
To again this up, Sonic Labs is placing its cash the place its mouth is. The group has partnered with Immunefi to launch a $2 million bug bounty program, paying researchers to seek out and report any safety holes they could have missed.
Market buzz and the highway forward
The lead-up to the Sonic launch positively bought individuals speaking, pushing FTM’s value up within the months earlier than the mainnet went stay. A basic “promote the information” dip adopted the launch, however the actual take a look at for Sonic isn’t short-term value motion. Its success hinges on whether or not it could use its new tech to construct an ecosystem that folks really wish to use.
With a quicker engine, a pile of money for builders, and a renewed concentrate on safety, Fantom is making a severe play to get again within the recreation. The following few months will present if this “Sonic growth” is the beginning of an actual comeback or only a flash within the pan.