Fantom (FTM) Announces Further Details on New Blockchain, Sonic Network (S), Promising an Airdrop

The Total Value Locked (TVL) in the Fantom ecosystem saw a sharp increase last week as investors poured back in ahead of the upcoming significant upgrade called Sonic.

Fantom (FTM) Announces Further Details on New Blockchain, Sonic Network (S), Promising an Airdrop

Fantom (FTM), once renowned for its layer-1 blockchain, is regaining attention on the brink of a major upgrade named Sonic.

On the evening of May 17, the Fantom Foundation published a crucial governance proposal, revealing to the project community a new blockchain called Sonic Network (S). Sonic Network is a new layer-1 blockchain developed by Fantom on the new Sonic technology platform, replacing Fantom's previous Opera version.

After the deployment of Sonic Network, FTM holders will be able to convert tokens 1:1 to obtain the new network's token, named S. Those who prefer not to convert can continue holding FTM. However, the Fantom Foundation encourages users to migrate to the new network, where all project attention and development efforts will be focused.

The remainder of the proposal retains the changes previously announced for the Sonic upgrade earlier this year.

As previously reported by Coin68, the Sonic upgrade is a strategy proposed by the Fantom team in early 2024 aimed at a complete overhaul of the project. Key changes include the establishment of a new blockchain with a processing speed of 2,000 transactions per second; the creation of bridges to Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains; support for staking and liquid staking; sponsorship for DeFi, AI, SocialFi development within the ecosystem; and notably, the potential for an airdrop of S tokens to users.

However, Fantom has not disclosed specific criteria for the airdrop to avoid users rushing into "farming," according to project communications with DLNews.

The timeframe for the Sonic upgrade has not been disclosed, but estimates suggest it will occur around "late summer, early fall" of 2024. In the coming period, the Fantom community will have the opportunity to contribute feedback on the Sonic deployment proposal through governance forums.

Both the FTM token price and Fantom's TVL have increased by over 30% in the past 7 days, the clearest indication that funds are flowing back into the project.

Chart 4h of FTM/USDT pair on Binance at 11:20 AM on May 18, 2024

Specifically, while the FTM price rose from $0.64 to $0.84, Fantom's Total Value Locked (TVL) reached $200 million on May 16, before decreasing to $129 million at the time of writing. This is the highest TVL level Fantom has achieved since July 2023, following the Multichain hack that severely impacted the ecosystem.

TVL fluctuations of Fantom in the past year, screenshot from DefiLlama at 11:20 AM on May 18, 2024

However, this remains significantly lower than Fantom's TVL record of nearly $8 billion in March 2022, indicating that this layer-1 blockchain still has a long way to go to reclaim its lost position.