While the industry is still arguing over Layer 2 capacity expansion, Sonic has provided a new answer with a "bottom-level revolution." Recently, HTX Research released its latest research report Sonic: A Sample of the New Paradigm of DeFi, which disassembled the new public chain Sonic in detail. Under the premise of full compatibility with EVM, it achieved 2000+ by reconstructing the virtual machine, storage engine and consensus mechanism. With TPS throughput, 0.7 seconds for transaction final confirmation, and a single transaction cost of $0.0001, Sonic outperforms mainstream Layer 1 and even most Layer 2 solutions. Sonic, which subverts the performance limit, is reshaping the public chain infrastructure and officially entering the "second-level era" for public chains.
Fantom Opera, as a high-performance public chain based on directed acyclic graph (aDAG), emerged in the early days with its high throughput and fast confirmation capabilities, but with the expansion of the on-chain ecology, the bottlenecks of its traditional EVM architecture gradually emerged: state storage expansion, slow node synchronization, and limited execution efficiency. To this end, Fantom launched a new upgrade solution Sonic, which aims to achieve performance leaps through underlying reconstruction without relying on sharding or Layer2.
Sonic is developed by the reorganized Sonic Labs, and the core team brings together top talents in the industry: CEO Michael Kong, CTO Andre Cronje (founder of Yearn Finance) and Chief Research Officer Bernhard Scholz. The team spent two and a half years optimizing the virtual machine, storage engine and consensus mechanism, and finally created an independent new chain Sonic, which is compatible with EVM and achieves over 2000 TPS, 0.7 seconds final confirmation, and $0.0001 per transaction cost. The storage efficiency is increased by 90%, and the node synchronization time is shortened from several weeks to within two days.
SonicVM: The new virtual machine dynamically compiles EVM bytecode, caches high-frequency operations (such as SHA3 hashes), and pre-analyzes jump instructions, which increases execution efficiency several times and supports high throughput requirements.
SonicDB: adopts layered storage design, separates real-time status (LiveDB) and historical data (ArchiveDB), compresses 90% of storage space, reduces the threshold of node operation and maintenance, and enhances decentralization.
Sonic Gateway: Layer2 cross-chain bridge to Ethereum, balances security and efficiency through batch processing mechanism, supports two-way migration of assets, and seamlessly connects to the Ethereum ecosystem.
Sonic launches native token S, which is exchanged 1:1 with the old token FTM, and undertakes functions such as Gas payment and pledge governance. Its innovative mechanisms include:
Gas Fee Monetization (FeeM): Developers can get up to 90% of the transaction fee share to encourage ecological application innovation; non-FeeM applications will have 50% of the fees destroyed to curb inflation.
Points airdrop system: users obtain points (Passive/Activity Points and Gems) by holding coins, participating in DeFi or interacting with the ecosystem, and exchange a total of 200 million S tokens, forming a positive cycle of "use is mining".
During the market downturn in 2025, the TVL on the Sonic chain grew by more than 500% against the trend, and the scale of stablecoins exceeded US$260 million. The core driving force came from the high-leverage income strategy:
Silo v2 circular deposit and borrow: borrow stablecoins by staking S tokens, superimpose up to 20 times leverage, and capture multiple points and interest rate spread income.
Euler+Rings combination: deposit USDC to mint over-collateralized stablecoin scUSD, combine leverage function to achieve 10 times profit magnification, and obtain Sonic points and protocol airdrops at the same time.
Shadow DEX liquidity mining: provide liquidity of mainstream trading pairs, annualized returns of 169%, and enjoy transaction fee sharing.
The ecological future plan is to introduce RWA (real world assets) income and off-chain payment scenarios, and build a sustainable stablecoin use closed loop through compliant asset endorsement and consumer application expansion.
Sonic's core DEX FlyingTulip was designed by Andre Cronje, integrating trading, lending and leverage functions. Key technical breakthroughs include:
- Adaptive AMM curve: Combining the liquidity aggregation advantages of Curve V2, introducing external oracles to monitor volatility, and dynamically adjusting the curve shape - close to a constant sum curve (low slippage) during low volatility, and close to a constant product curve (anti-liquidity exhaustion) during high volatility, reducing impermanent loss by 42% and improving capital efficiency by 85%.
- Dynamic LTV lending model: borrowing from Curve's LLAMMA liquidation mechanism, but adjusting the collateral rate (LTV) in real time according to market volatility. For example, the ETH collateral lending rate can drop sharply from 80% in the calm period to 50% in the volatile period, reducing systemic risk.
Sonic, with its triple advantages of "high performance + nested returns + low threshold", is expected to exceed $2 billion in TVL within 12 months, and the market value of token S may hit billions of dollars. Its model has established a new paradigm for the industry: replacing liquidity speculation with on-chain efficiency and real returns, which may trigger a fundamental change in the logic of public chain competition.
Potential risks are concentrated on the technical level, including adaptive AMM's reliance on external oracles, which may cause abnormal liquidity pools if the price feed is attacked; high leverage strategies face liquidation risks in extreme market conditions, and need to be combined with hedging tools (such as perpetual contract short orders) to manage volatility.
From a macro perspective, Sonic is expected to become a dark horse in the DeFi recovery wave in 2025, and the success of its stablecoin ecosystem has created broad room for growth for the ecosystem token S and the overall network value. The rise of Sonic verifies a key proposition: in a bear market, through mechanism innovation and performance breakthroughs, DeFi can still build a "yield fortress" to attract rational funds to stay for a long time. Its nested income model, developer incentive system and efficient infrastructure provide a reusable template for the industry. If RWA and payment scenarios are successfully integrated, Sonic may become a bridge connecting on-chain income and real economic needs, pushing DeFi into a new stage of large-scale application.
To read the full report, please visit: https://square.htx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/HTX-Research-Zui-Xin-Yan-Bao.pdf
HTX Research is the exclusive research department of HTX Group, responsible for in-depth analysis, comprehensive reports and professional evaluations on a wide range of fields such as cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and emerging market trends. HTX Research is committed to providing data-based insights and strategic foresight, playing a key role in shaping industry perspectives and supporting wise decisions in the digital asset field. With rigorous research methodologies and cutting-edge data analysis, HTX Research is always at the forefront of innovation, leading the development of industry thought and promoting a deeper understanding of the ever-changing market dynamics.
If you would like to communicate, please contact [email protected]
A recent survey by Seedly and Coinbase unveils that 57% of financially savvy Singaporeans own cryptocurrency, with nearly half expressing optimism for its future. While crypto adoption is on the rise, concerns around market volatility and regulation persist among non-crypto users.
JoyPolymarket prediction markets indicate Trump leads 2024 U.S. Presidential Election odds, reflecting dynamic public sentiment and financial speculation in the evolving landscape of political forecasting.
AnaisBinance launches the Inscriptions Marketplace, revolutionizing crypto trading by enabling users to buy, sell, and mint tokens, backed by strategic partnerships and a focus on innovation.
WeiliangNYCB's acquisition of Signature Bank led to initial gains, but a $260M Q4 loss and dividend cuts reflect deeper challenges, sparking debates over crypto's role.
MiyukiSouth Korean crypto exchanges successfully stopped cybercriminals from stealing over $82 million through romance scams. Their secret weapon: abnormal transaction detection systems that actively spot and block fraudulent activities, providing a robust defence against online scams.
JoyLugano pioneers digital finance by integrating Bitcoin, CBDCs, and stablecoins, showcasing a future where diverse digital currencies coexist, transforming traditional economic structures.
AlexPixelmon transitions from an NFT debacle to a promising crypto project with a $8M raise, strategic partnerships, revamped games, and a community-driven future with the MON token.
BrianIndia's RBI cautiously progresses on its digital rupee, balancing innovation with privacy and regulatory prudence, while showing openness to cryptocurrency taxation adjustments and startup collaborations in CBDC development.
WeiliangValkyrie partners with BitGo as custodian for its Bitcoin ETF, heralding industry-wide custodial diversification and intensifying the competitive landscape of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
MiyukiThe $21 million Genesis-SEC settlement signifies a pivotal shift in crypto regulation, impacting Genesis, its affiliates, and setting a precedent for industry-wide regulatory compliance.
Alex