From Fantom to Sonic: A Comprehensive Brand and Technology Upgrade for the Future

In today’s era of rapid blockchain technology iteration, the established public chain Fantom has completed a crucial evolution. To break through performance bottlenecks and plan for long-term development, the Fantom Foundation officially launched a brand upgrade in 2024, transforming the network into Sonic, and introduced a new native token S. This is not just a simple rebranding but a comprehensive overhaul from underlying technology to economic model, aiming to create a faster, more scalable, and developer-friendly ecosystem.

Core Upgrade: Technological Reshaping and Strategic Shift

The core of this upgrade is to address the limitations of the original network and embrace a broader traditional finance (TradFi) world. The specific changes can be summarized in the table below:

1. Hardcore Technical Upgrade: A Leap in Speed and Efficiency

• Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM): Fully compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), but optimized architecture enables faster smart contract execution and lower latency, providing developers with more comprehensive tools.
• Carmen Storage Scheme: This is a groundbreaking optimization that reduces the storage requirements for validator nodes from approximately 2,000 GB to 300 GB, significantly lowering node operation costs and aiding network decentralization.

2. Strategic Expansion: From Web3 to Traditional Finance

Sonic’s ambitions go beyond technology. Its team has proposed large-scale TradFi (Traditional Finance) expansion plans, including exploring ETF issuance, establishing a US entity Sonic USA, and expanding cooperation with banks and brokerages. This marks Sonic’s commitment to becoming infrastructure that connects the crypto world with mainstream finance.

The New and Old Token Replacement: Everything You Need to Know About S Token

With the network upgrade, the new S token will fully replace the original FTM token, becoming the fuel, staking, and governance asset on the Sonic network.

1. Conversion and Supply

• 1:1 Seamless Conversion: Existing FTM holders can exchange FTM for S tokens at a 1:1 ratio. During the initial phase of the upgrade, bi-directional conversion will be supported, but in the future (e.g., after 90 days of mainnet launch), it will be locked into one-way conversion (FTM → S), so holders should pay attention to official deadlines.
• Initial Supply: The initial total supply of S will be the same as FTM, totaling 3.175 billion tokens. According to plans, six months after mainnet launch, an additional 6% (approximately 190.5 million tokens) will be minted for rewarding users and developers; thereafter, a certain percentage of annual issuance will be used for ecosystem growth, with unused portions burned to control inflation.

2. Innovative Economic Model

The economic model of S tokens is quite attractive, especially emphasizing incentives for ecosystem builders:

• Fee Monetization (Fee Monetization): One of the most revolutionary mechanisms. On the Sonic network, up to 90% of transaction fees (Gas Fee) generated by smart contracts will be directly returned to the contract’s developers. This provides developers with a sustainable, usage-based income model.
• Deflationary Design: The network burns S tokens through various mechanisms (such as transaction fee burns, unclaimed airdrops), aiming to offset the effects of issuance and potentially increase token scarcity over the long term.

Latest Market Dynamics: S Token Data Overview

According to Gate exchange data, as of December 24, 2025, the market performance of the new Sonic network token S is as follows:

• Current Price: approximately $0.0695 USD.
• Circulating Market Cap: about $200 million.
• Global Market Rank: around 150.

Summary and Outlook

Fantom’s upgrade to Sonic is a rebirth from the inside out. It not only brings exponential performance improvements through FVM and Carmen but also reshapes developer incentives with innovations like FeeM, and sets ambitious strategies for TradFi integration.

For users, converting FTM to S promptly is the first step to participate in the new ecosystem. For developers and investors, Sonic represents a new public chain choice that balances high performance, strong incentives, and compliance prospects. Its future ecosystem development and application deployment are worth continuous attention.