S Description
Overview
Sonic (formerly Fantom / FTM — rebranded August 2024) (S) is the native gas token of Sonic, a standalone EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain that succeeded the Fantom Opera network. S pays for transaction fees on the Sonic chain and is required to interact with smart contracts and decentralized applications built on it.
The network launched under its new Sonic branding in December 2024, following a rebrand of the former Fantom project. As of 2026-09-02, S trades near $0.027, more than 97% below its January/February 2025 peak of roughly $0.99–$1.03.
Value Proposition
Sonic differentiates itself through FeeM (Fee Monetization), a protocol feature that rebates up to 90% of transaction fees back to the application that generated them. This gives developers a direct revenue stream tied to on-chain usage.
Cumulative builder payouts through FeeM exceeded 2.6 million S as of Sonic Labs' August 2026 recap, and a shift to a tiered rebate structure is under evaluation. Network-wide DeFi TVL stood at roughly $26 million, down sharply from a peak above $1.1 billion in May 2025.
Token Basics
S is a utility token used primarily to pay transaction (gas) fees on the Sonic network. Under the FeeM program, a share of the S fees paid by users of a given decentralized application is rebated directly to that application's developer, embedding S into the chain's core fee-and-rewards mechanism.
A wrapped ERC-20 version, Wrapped Sonic (wS), lets holders use S in DeFi protocols requiring token-standard compatibility.
Tokenomics
S has an uncapped (infinite) maximum supply.
- Initial supply: 3.175 billion S, set 1:1 equal to FTM's total supply at migration.
- Airdrop allocation: 190.5 million S distributed to developers, early Sonic users, and legacy Fantom/Opera users roughly six months after mainnet launch.
- Scheduled emission: approximately 1.5% of supply minted annually for six years post-launch, equal to about 47.6 million S in year one, funding ecosystem and marketing initiatives.
- Net emission is inflationary during this six-year schedule, with no maximum-supply cap.
Launch & Funding
Sonic launched without a public token sale; S replaced FTM 1:1 via migration when Sonic's mainnet went live on December 18, 2024, succeeding Fantom Opera.
- A two-way FTM↔S migration ran for roughly the first 90 days, becoming one-way only afterward; migration was reported complete by around May 10, 2025.
- A $10 million strategic funding round in May 2024, backing the newly created Sonic Foundation, was led by Hashed, with participation from UOB Ventures, Signum Capital, the Aave Foundation, and angel investors such as Stani Kulechov and Robert Leshner.
Blockchain & Consensus
Sonic (S) is the native gas token of the Sonic blockchain, a standalone Layer-1 network that is fully EVM-compatible, allowing existing Ethereum smart contracts and tooling to run on it.
Sonic is the successor to the Fantom Opera network, inheriting its chain history following the 2024 rebrand. Cross-chain transfers between Sonic and Ethereum are handled by the Sonic Gateway bridge.
Team
Andre Cronje, known for founding Yearn Finance, served as Sonic Labs' Chief Technology Officer and led technical work including design of the Sonic Gateway bridge.
On June 19–20, 2026, Cronje resigned from the Sonic Labs board alongside Michael Kong, a director and former Fantom Foundation CEO, and David Richardson, executive chairman; all three remain informal advisors. Matt Visser was named CEO and Kosta Kourkoumelis COO as part of the reset. This followed the February 2026 departures of then-CEO Mitchell Demeter and business head Evan Owens.
Issuing Organization
Sonic is maintained by two entities formed in May 2024 when the Fantom Foundation split: the Sonic Foundation (governance and treasury) and Sonic Labs (chain and application development).
The predecessor Fantom Foundation was reported to be incorporated in the Cayman Islands, with operations also based in South Korea.
Governance
Sonic has no on-chain token-holder voting mechanism, governance forum, or DAO structure for S.
Governance and treasury responsibility formally sits with the Sonic Foundation, separate from Sonic Labs' product-development role. Following the June 2026 board resignations, Sonic Labs publicly committed to greater governance transparency, more traceable decision-making, and a new risk-and-compliance committee, alongside closer engagement with token holders and community stakeholders — stated reforms rather than an existing formal governance process.
Roadmap
Sonic Labs is internally testing Spawn, an AI-based smart-contract-generation tool, ahead of a wider community rollout, per its August 2026 development recap.
- Evaluation of shifting the FeeM fee-rebate program from a flat 90% rebate to a tiered rebate structure.
Security
At launch, Sonic Labs said OpenZeppelin, Quantstamp, and Certora audited the Sonic Gateway bridge; it runs a $2 million Immunefi bug bounty covering the L1 and Gateway.
- CertiK Skynet scores the project 85.48 (Grade A) with 3 audits listed, though Sonic Labs has no direct CertiK audit and is not KYC-verified.
- The July 2023 Multichain bridge exploit cost about $120 million on the pre-rebrand Fantom bridge; Sonic Labs won a Singapore court order to liquidate Multichain Foundation.
- In November 2025, Beets, a Sonic DEX, lost about $426,000 to a Balancer-protocol exploit; users were reimbursed in S by January 15, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sonic (S)?
Sonic (formerly Fantom / FTM — rebranded August 2024) (S) is the native gas token of Sonic, a standalone EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain that succeeded the Fantom Opera network. S pays transaction fees on the chain and is required to use smart contracts and applications built on Sonic. As of 2026-09-02, S trades near $0.027.
How is Sonic different from Fantom (FTM)?
Sonic is the rebranded, upgraded continuation of the Fantom network, launched under new branding when its mainnet went live on December 18, 2024. FTM holders migrated to S 1:1; the underlying chain became a new Layer-1 called Sonic, replacing the earlier Fantom Opera network, with the token symbol changing from FTM to S.
What is the maximum supply of S?
S has an uncapped maximum supply. Its initial supply was set at 3.175 billion S, matching FTM's total supply at the time of migration, and roughly 1.5% of supply is minted annually for six years post-launch (about 47.6 million S in year one), making net emission inflationary during that period.
What is FeeM and how does it work?
FeeM (Fee Monetization) is a Sonic protocol feature that rebates up to 90% of the transaction fees generated by a decentralized application directly back to that application's developer, paid in S. Cumulative builder payouts exceeded 2.6 million S as of Sonic Labs' August 2026 recap, and a shift to a tiered rebate structure is under evaluation.
Who leads Sonic Labs after the 2026 leadership changes?
Matt Visser became CEO and Kosta Kourkoumelis became COO after Andre Cronje, Michael Kong, and David Richardson resigned from the Sonic Labs board on June 19–20, 2026. This followed the February 2026 departures of then-CEO Mitchell Demeter and business head Evan Owens; the earlier resignees remain informal advisors to the project.
Has Sonic been audited?
Sonic Labs stated that OpenZeppelin, Quantstamp, and Certora audited the Sonic Gateway bridge at launch, and it runs a $2 million Immunefi bug-bounty program covering the L1 protocol and the Gateway. CertiK Skynet separately scores the project 85.48 (Grade A), though Sonic Labs has not undergone a direct CertiK audit.
Has Sonic ever been hacked?
The pre-rebrand Fantom bridge lost about $120 million in the July 2023 Multichain exploit, prompting Sonic Labs to win a Singapore court order liquidating Multichain Foundation. Separately, in November 2025 the Sonic-based DEX Beets lost about $426,000 to a Balancer-protocol vulnerability; affected users were reimbursed in S by January 15, 2026.
Does Sonic (S) have on-chain governance?
No on-chain token-holder voting, governance forum, or DAO structure for S has been established. Governance and treasury responsibility formally sits with the Sonic Foundation, and following June 2026 leadership changes, Sonic Labs committed to greater governance transparency and a new risk-and-compliance committee.
