The veteran public blockchain Fantom is once again in the spotlight. Last October, the Fantom Foundation announced the Sonic Upgrade Plan, claiming that this plan introduces multiple technological innovations that could significantly boost the performance and scalability of the Fantom network.

On August 2nd of this year, the official team announced the rebranding of Fantom to Sonic Labs, with plans to gain support through the introduction of a large-scale incentive program. Sonic will use the new S token, which will enter the ecosystem through mechanisms such as large-scale airdrops, simplified staking, and incentive programs. Although the transition from Fantom to Sonic Labs is complete, the launch of Sonic is expected in the fourth quarter.

Additionally, on August 14th, the Sonic Labs team announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Andre Cronje, a director at Sonic Labs, has officially taken on the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Andre will continue to lead the design and development of the Sonic network, with a particular focus on creating a new native bridging technology called “Sonic Gateway.” This technology is expected to significantly enhance the security and convenience of transferring assets from other chains, such as Ethereum, to Sonic.

So, what exactly has changed from Fantom to Sonic Labs?

To understand the changes, we need to delve into the history of Fantom first.

Fantom History

Fantom is a Layer 1 (L1) blockchain founded by computer scientist Ahn Byung. It was originally designed to overcome the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization through innovative blockchain technology.

The technical foundation of Fantom is the Lachesis protocol, an advanced Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) consensus mechanism based on Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAG). This protocol allows different blockchains to exist asynchronously without slowing down the main network, providing Fantom with significant advantages in terms of speed and cost.

In 2019, Fantom launched its Opera mainnet, which is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). By supporting Solidity and EVM, Fantom could seamlessly host Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApps), allowing developers to easily migrate their applications. This feature brought widespread attention to Fantom, which was even dubbed an “Ethereum killer” at one point.

During the rapid development of the DeFi sector in 2020-2021, Fantom became one of the hottest projects thanks to its efficient transaction processing and low fees. Andre Cronje, a leading figure in the DeFi space, joined the Fantom Foundation during this period and spearheaded Fantom’s growth within the DeFi ecosystem. He launched notable projects like Yearn Finance and attracted a large number of developers and users to Fantom, pushing its Total Value Locked (TVL) to a peak of $8 billion during the 2021 bull market.

However, in 2022, when Andre Cronje temporarily exited the DeFi space, market confidence in Fantom plummeted, causing the price of FTM tokens to drop from a peak of $30 to $0.19. Besides the challenges in DeFi, Fantom also faced intense competition from newer Layer 1 blockchains like Solana and Avalanche, which set higher standards in terms of performance and scalability. Fantom struggled to keep up in areas such as transaction throughput, storage efficiency, and smart contract execution speed.

As a result, to continue attracting developers and users, Fantom needed a more efficient and scalable technical foundation. This not only required improvements to the existing technology but also the flexibility to accommodate future expansions. It was in this context that the Sonic Upgrade Plan was introduced.

In essence, the Sonic Chain will consist of the L1 Sonic network and a native L2 fully connected to Ethereum. From Ethereum’s perspective, Fantom operates like an L2 but with the speed and security of an L1. Sonic will be a hybrid L1 and L2 EVM network, fully integrated into Ethereum. The upgrade focuses on two core components: the Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM) and the Carmen data storage solution, along with various optimizations.

This transition marks a significant evolution in Fantom’s journey, aiming to position Sonic Labs as a formidable player in the next generation of blockchain technology.

Core of the Sonic Upgrade

The Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM)

One of the key components in the Sonic upgrade is the Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM), a significant enhancement to the existing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The FVM is designed to address the performance bottlenecks inherent in the EVM, providing developers and users with a more efficient environment for executing smart contracts.

Compatibility and Seamless Migration

FVM is fully compatible with the EVM, meaning that all existing EVM-based smart contracts can be seamlessly migrated to the Fantom network without requiring any code modifications. This compatibility reduces migration costs for developers, minimizes development workload, and retains the broad support of the EVM ecosystem.

Optimized Engine Architecture

The engine architecture of the FVM has been comprehensively optimized to support a more efficient execution environment than the EVM. The specific performance improvements of the FVM include:

• Faster Smart Contract Execution: FVM significantly increases the throughput and speed of smart contract processing compared to the EVM. This results in considerably shorter execution times for complex contracts.
• Lower Transaction Latency: FVM processes transactions more quickly and generates blocks faster, reducing the waiting time for users when performing transactions and enhancing the overall user experience.
• Higher Resource Utilization: By optimizing the use of computational and storage resources, FVM reduces the resource consumption required for smart contract execution, making the operation of the entire network more efficient and cost-effective.

For developers, the Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM) claims not only superior performance over the EVM but also offers a more comprehensive set of debugging tools. These tools streamline the development and testing process for smart contracts, making it more efficient and less error-prone. While FVM continues to support mainstream smart contract programming languages like Solidity, it also extends support to additional programming languages. This expansion provides developers with more options, allowing them to choose the most suitable language and framework for their development needs.

FVM incorporates various optimization strategies, giving developers more granular control over the execution of smart contracts, thereby enhancing contract performance and security. Additionally, FVM is equipped with an automated security check mechanism that can detect potential vulnerabilities or risks before a smart contract is executed. This proactive approach helps developers identify and fix issues early in the development process. The built-in sandbox environment ensures that the execution of a smart contract does not affect other parts of the network, thereby improving the overall stability and security of the network.

Carmen Data Storage Solution

The Carmen data storage solution is another critical component of the Fantom Sonic upgrade, addressing the challenges related to data storage in blockchain networks.

As blockchain networks grow, the increasing storage demands place a significant burden on the operation of nodes. Carmen introduces an innovative data storage structure that reduces the storage requirements and enhances the network’s efficiency and scalability. By optimizing how data is stored and accessed, Carmen allows the network to manage larger amounts of data without compromising performance, making it easier for nodes to operate and maintain the network over time.

Carmen’s dynamic data management capabilities are specifically designed to address the challenges of blockchain data storage. It can manage data storage and deletion based on the actual needs of the network, significantly reducing the storage requirements for validator nodes from the previous 2000 GB to just 300 GB. This optimization lowers the operational costs for nodes, allowing more nodes to participate in network validation, which in turn strengthens the network’s decentralization and security. For instance, historical data that no longer requires frequent access can be compressed or moved, reducing the pressure on real-time storage.

Additionally, Carmen reduces the storage requirements for archive nodes from over 11 TB to less than 1 TB. This drastic reduction in storage costs improves the feasibility and economic viability of maintaining archive nodes, making it easier and more affordable to store historical data.

Carmen introduces intelligent storage strategies that dynamically adjust how data is stored based on its importance and frequency of access. This not only enhances storage efficiency but also ensures the security and accessibility of critical data. The optimized data storage structure of Carmen facilitates easier data retrieval, improving overall network efficiency. This is particularly crucial for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and other use cases that require frequent access to specific data.

Moreover, Carmen supports parallel processing of data requests, allowing the network to maintain high responsiveness even under heavy loads. This capability is essential for blockchain networks with high scalability demands, ensuring that the network remains efficient and responsive as it grows.

$S Token

The Sonic token ($S) is a new token introduced as part of the Sonic upgrade, replacing the existing FTM token and driving the development of the Sonic network ecosystem.

The initial supply of the Sonic token ($S) is set at 3.175 billion, matching the total supply of the FTM token.

When the Sonic network launches, Fantom is providing a 1:1 conversion mechanism for existing FTM token holders, allowing them to seamlessly transition their FTM tokens to Sonic tokens. Additionally, six months after the mainnet launch, an extra 6% of Sonic tokens will be issued as rewards for users and developers of both Opera and Sonic.

To support network growth, team expansion, and marketing, 15% of the Sonic tokens (approximately 47.625 million) will be minted annually after the first six months. Any unused tokens will be burned to prevent inflation.

Yield and Token Distribution

Sonic’s target annual percentage yield (APR) is set at 3.5%. To sustain this yield without triggering inflation during the first four years, the remaining FTM block rewards from the Opera network will be reallocated to Sonic. These rewards, intended for validators and stakers, are already included in the initial supply of 3.175 billion $S tokens.

Core Functions of the Sonic Token

The Sonic token is not only the central asset of the Sonic network but also plays a critical role in incentivizing ecosystem participants, supporting decentralized application (dApp) development, and maintaining network security.

1. Payment of Network Transaction Fees: Sonic tokens are used to pay transaction fees on the Sonic network. Whenever users conduct transactions or execute smart contracts, they pay a fee in Sonic tokens. These fees help maintain the network’s operations and security while incentivizing node participation.
2. Network Security and Consensus Mechanism: Sonic tokens are integral to the network’s consensus mechanism. Users can stake their Sonic tokens to support network validation and participate in the consensus process. Nodes that stake tokens are granted the right to validate transactions and earn rewards, contributing to the network’s decentralization and security.
3. Liquidity Mining: Users can earn Sonic tokens by providing liquidity, which helps increase the network’s liquidity and attract more users and projects to the platform.
4. Running Validator Nodes: To operate a validator node on the Sonic network, a minimum stake of 50,000 Sonic tokens is required. These nodes are responsible for validating transactions and ensuring network security.
5. Developer Rewards: Developers can earn Sonic tokens by building dApps on the Sonic network and attracting users. This mechanism encourages more developers to participate in and contribute to the Sonic ecosystem.
6. Community Engagement Rewards: Community members can earn Sonic tokens by participating in network governance, promoting the network, and using it. This helps boost community involvement and activity.

Sonic Labs Incubator

In addition to the various mechanisms and token upgrades, the Fantom Foundation established an incubator called Sonic Labs in December last year. This incubator is designed to allocate substantial resources and technical support to developers building new projects within the Sonic ecosystem. Sonic Labs aims to foster innovation and ensure that the Sonic network remains a competitive and vibrant platform for decentralized applications and blockchain projects.

Through these comprehensive upgrades and initiatives, Sonic is positioning itself as a robust and scalable platform that can meet the demands of next-generation blockchain technology.

The Sonic Labs incubator has shown promising results, as evidenced by the success of projects that have won awards through its startup accelerator program. Currently, the Sonic ecosystem hosts a total of 351 applications, spanning various innovative fields. These include perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXs), social protocols, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, green technology startups, and RPG blockchain games.

The team behind Sonic Labs is reported to have substantial financial backing, including over 450 million FTM tokens, more than $100 million in stablecoins, over $100 million in other crypto assets, and $50 million in non-crypto assets. With an annual burn rate of $7 million for salaries, the project is financially equipped to operate stably for 30 years.

Although the Sonic mainnet has yet to launch, the project is gaining attention in the market, particularly as Layer 2 solutions for blockchain scalability become increasingly important. Sonic’s upgrades in scalability and security have led to a transaction processing speed of 2,000 TPS (transactions per second) and sub-second performance, indicating significant potential for future growth. The blockchain community is watching closely to see how Sonic will further innovate and grow in the coming years.

Disclaimer

1. This article is reposted from Chain Tea House, with the original author being ChaGuanXiaoEr. If there are any objections to this repost, please contact the Gate Learn team, and the team will handle it promptly according to relevant procedures.

2. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute investment advice.

3. Other language versions of the article were translated by the Gate Learn team. They may not be copied, disseminated, or plagiarized without mentioning Gate.io.