HTX Research Latest Report | Sonic: A Sample of the New Paradigm in DeFi

When the industry is still debating Layer 2 scalability, Sonic provides a new answer with a "bottom-up revolution." Recently, HTX Research released the latest research report "Sonic: A Sample of the New Paradigm in DeFi", detailing the new public chain Sonic. Under the premise of full EVM compatibility, it achieves over 2000 TPS throughput, 0.7 seconds for final transaction confirmation, and a transaction cost of $0.0001 by reconstructing the virtual machine, storage engine, and consensus mechanism, outperforming mainstream Layer 1 and even surpassing most Layer 2 solutions. The performance-defying Sonic is reshaping public chain infrastructure, officially ushering public chains into the "second-level era."

Sonic's Path to Innovation: Over 2000 TPS, 0.7 Seconds Confirmation, Nearly Zero Cost

Fantom Opera, a high-performance public chain based on directed acyclic graphs (aDAG), initially stood out due to its high throughput and fast confirmation capabilities. However, as the on-chain ecosystem expanded, the bottlenecks of its traditional EVM architecture gradually became apparent: state storage expansion, slow node synchronization, and limited execution efficiency. To address this, Fantom launched the new upgrade plan Sonic, aiming to achieve performance leaps through bottom-up reconstruction without relying on sharding or Layer 2.

Sonic is developed by the reorganized Sonic Labs, led by a core team of industry top talents: CEO Michael Kong, CTO Andre Cronje (founder of Yearn Finance), and Chief Research Officer Bernhard Scholz. The team has spent two and a half years optimizing everything from the virtual machine, storage engine to the consensus mechanism, ultimately creating the independent new chain Sonic, which achieves over 2000 TPS, 0.7 seconds for final confirmation, and $0.0001 per transaction cost while being EVM compatible, with storage efficiency improved by 90% and node synchronization time reduced from weeks to within two days.

Technical Breakthrough: A Triad of Performance Leap

SonicVM: A new virtual machine dynamically compiles EVM bytecode, caches high-frequency operations (such as SHA3 hashing), and pre-analyzes jump instructions, significantly improving execution efficiency to support high throughput demands. SonicDB: Adopts a layered storage design, separating real-time state (LiveDB) from historical data (ArchiveDB), compressing storage space by 90%, lowering node operation and maintenance thresholds, and enhancing decentralization. Sonic Gateway: A Layer 2-like cross-chain bridge to Ethereum, balancing security and efficiency through a batch processing mechanism, supporting bidirectional asset migration, and seamlessly connecting to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Token Economics: Dual Incentives for Developers and Users

Sonic introduces the native token S, which can be exchanged 1:1 with the old token FTM, serving functions such as gas payment and staking governance. Its innovative mechanisms include:

• Gas Fee Monetization (FeeM): Developers can receive up to 90% of transaction fee sharing, incentivizing ecological application innovation; non-FeeM applications will have 50% of fees burned to curb inflation.
• Points Airdrop System: Users can earn points (Passive/Activity Points and Gems) through holding tokens, participating in DeFi, or ecosystem interactions, redeeming a total of 200 million S tokens, forming a positive cycle of "using to mine."

Stablecoin Ecosystem: Nested Yields and Counter-Cyclical Growth

During the market downturn in 2025, Sonic's on-chain TVL grew over 500%, with the stablecoin scale surpassing $260 million, driven by high-leverage yield strategies:

• Silo v2 Circular Lending: By staking S tokens to borrow stablecoins, leveraging up to 20 times, capturing multiple points and interest spread profits.
• Euler+Rings Combination: Depositing USDC to mint over-collateralized stablecoin scUSD, combining leverage functions to achieve 10x yield amplification while earning Sonic points and protocol airdrops.
• Shadow DEX Liquidity Mining: Providing liquidity for mainstream trading pairs, with an annualized yield of 169%, and enjoying transaction fee sharing.

Future ecological plans include introducing RWA (Real World Assets) yields and off-chain payment scenarios, expanding through compliant asset endorsements and consumption applications, to build a sustainable stablecoin usage closed loop.

DeFi Infrastructure Innovation: Adaptive AMM and Dynamic Risk Control Sonic's core DEX FlyingTulip, designed by Andre Cronje, integrates trading, lending, and leverage functions, with key technological breakthroughs including:

• Adaptive AMM Curve: Combining the liquidity aggregation advantages of Curve V2, introducing external oracles to monitor volatility, dynamically adjusting curve shapes—close to constant product curves during low volatility (low slippage) and approaching constant sum curves during high volatility (preventing liquidity exhaustion), reducing impermanent loss by 42% and improving capital efficiency by 85%.

• Dynamic LTV Lending Model: Drawing on Curve's LLAMMA liquidation mechanism, but adjusting collateral ratios (LTV) in real-time based on market volatility. For example, the ETH collateral borrowing rate can drop from 80% during calm periods to 50% during volatile periods, reducing systemic risk.

Conclusion: The Sample Significance of DeFi 2.0

With the triple advantages of "high performance + nested yields + low thresholds," Sonic's TVL is expected to exceed $2 billion within 12 months, and the market cap of token S may reach tens of billions. Its model sets a new paradigm for the industry: replacing liquidity speculation with on-chain efficiency and real yields, potentially triggering a fundamental shift in public chain competition logic.

Potential risks are concentrated at the technical level, including the adaptive AMM's reliance on external oracles, which could lead to liquidity pool anomalies if price feeds are attacked; high-leverage strategies face liquidation risks in extreme market conditions, requiring the use of hedging tools (such as perpetual contract shorts) to manage volatility.

From a macro perspective, Sonic is expected to become a dark horse in the DeFi recovery wave of 2025, with the success of its stablecoin ecosystem creating vast upward space for the ecological token S and the overall network value. The rise of Sonic validates a key proposition: in a bear market, through mechanism innovation and performance breakthroughs, DeFi can still build a "yield fortress" that attracts rational capital for long-term retention. Its nested yield model, developer incentive system, and efficient infrastructure provide a reusable template for the industry. If successful in integrating RWA and payment scenarios, Sonic may become a bridge connecting on-chain yields with real economic demands, pushing DeFi into a new phase of large-scale application.

About HTX Research

HTX Research is the dedicated research department under HTX Group, responsible for in-depth analysis across a wide range of areas including cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and emerging market trends, writing comprehensive reports and providing professional assessments. HTX Research is committed to providing data-driven insights and strategic foresight, playing a key role in shaping industry perspectives and supporting informed decision-making in the digital asset space. With rigorous research methodologies and cutting-edge data analysis, HTX Research consistently stands at the forefront of innovation, leading industry thought development and fostering a deeper understanding of the ever-changing market dynamics.