TL;DR
- Allocation for Sonic Migration: The Fantom Foundation has allocated up to 200 million FTM tokens (worth approximately $120 million) to the Sonic Labs Innovator Fund. This fund aims to accelerate partner migration to the new, ultra-fast Sonic network.
- Targeted Allocations: The fund will support native applications, strategic grants to decentralized apps (dApps), and infrastructure tools for developers and users.
- Angel Investors and Airdrop Plans: Notable investors include Michael Egorov (Curve), Stani Kulechov (Aave), and Robert Leshner (Compound). An upcoming airdrop for early users will convert FTM to the forthcoming “S” token at a 1:1 ratio.
The Fantom blockchain has made a significant move by allocating a crypto fund of 200 million FTM tokens (equivalent to approximately 120 million USD) to support the migration of its partners to the new L1 high-throughput Sonic network.
💸 Announcing: Sonic Labs Innovator Fund
We're committing up to 200,000,000 FTM to accelerate partner migration for the #Sonic launch!
🤝 The fund complements our 100M+ $S airdrop and will attract an influx of innovative dApps to Sonic.
Learn more 👇https://t.co/KnFJMm8DDr pic.twitter.com/zihVJWBw3Q
— Fantom Foundation (@FantomFDN) June 20, 2024
The fund draws from Fantom’s treasury, which is expertly managed by co-founder Andre Cronje. Importantly, this allocation will not impact the circulating supply of the FTM cryptocurrency, nor will it introduce inflationary elements.
Targeted Allocations and Sonic’s Features
The allocated funds will be used for various purposes, including grants for native applications, strategic grants to decentralized applications (dApps), and infrastructure tools for developers and users.
Sonic, distinct from the similarly named layer-2 network on Solana, is a first-level blockchain equipped with a layer-2 bridge for Ethereum. Its key feature is its ability to handle high transaction throughput.
The Fantom team introduced Sonic in March following the completion of the Opera upgrade. The network is backed by the Sonic Foundation, responsible for governance, and Sonic Labs, which will drive dApp growth and user adoption.
Thanks to the 120 million USD fund, the migration to Sonic is expected to occur swiftly, creating an on-chain ecosystem ripe for successful applications.
The blockchain infrastructure team is already working to provide essential tools on Sonic, including native resources, bridge integration, non-custodial wallets, onboarding platforms, and web2 partnerships.
Angel Investors and Airdrop Plans
Notable angel investors in the project include Michael Egorov (Curve), Stani Kulechov (Aave), Robert Leshner (Compound), Tarun Chitra (Gauntlet), and Sam Kazemian (FRAX). Venture partners Hashed, Signum and UOB Ventures are also involved.
The Fantom Foundation’s post confirms an upcoming airdrop for early users. Additionally, all FTM crypto will be converted at a 1:1 ratio with the forthcoming “S” token, which serves as the gas and governance token of Sonic. The airdrop is slated to occur six months after Sonic’s mainnet launch and will include a points incentive program.
Fantom’s Past Success and Current Challenges
This move by the Fantom Foundation echoes their previous web3 acceleration fund established in July 2021, which allocated 370 million FTM crypto (equivalent to 74 million USD).
Back then, the network experienced significant growth, with the Total Value Locked (TVL) surging from 400 million USD to 7.7 billion USD in just seven months. FTM’s value also multiplied approximately 17 times in a little over three months.
However, the recent support for Sonic comes at a critical juncture for DeFi on Fantom. The network has faced challenges, including low on-chain activity and a stagnant TVL. The commitment to Sonic aims to revitalize the ecosystem and propel Fantom into a new era of innovation.
