Altcoin Spotlight: What is Sonic (S)?

It can be challenging to keep up to date with all of the new tokens and token changes in the cryptocurrency world. That is why MintDice.com developed its altcoin spotlight, both to explain new projects that are becoming more popular and to keep you up to date on changes in the cryptocurrency world.

This week, we will be discussing Sonic, which was previously known as a token called Fantom, though it recently underwent some major changes. Keep reading to learn more.

What is Sonic?

Sonic is a layer one platform that developers can use to launch dApps. A competitor to Ethereum, Sonic was once called the Fantom network, though it has transitioned to being called the Sonic network in Q3 2024.

Something unique about the Sonic platform is their fee monetization program, which allows for developers to receive 90% of the fees charged for transactions on this platform. This makes it a very attractive platform for new developers or those who don’t have a large backing.

Sonic additionally offers dynamic translation tools and something called the Sonic Gateway, which allows developers to insert the code used to build their dApps on other platforms, translating them to the correct format for the Sonic platform before porting them over. This makes it easy for developers to migrate their dApps from another platform like Ethereum and makes them more attractive than a lot of other platforms in the space.

How Does Sonic Work?

Sonic is built on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. While the original Fantom chain was built on the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), the transition to Sonic is a transition to its own blockchain, meaning Sonic now has its own virtual machine maintained by its own validators.

Sonic was built to be energy efficient while also processing 10,000 TPS. While this isn’t quite as high as Solana, it is much higher than before and definitely considered competitive in the virtual machine industry.

What is S?

S is the token that is native to the Sonic platform. Once called FTM, the process to convert all FTM tokens to S began in January 2025. Tokens are exchanged at a 1:1 ratio.

If you already held FTM on a centralized exchange or directly in the Fantom ecosystem, the change has likely already been done for you. However, if you hold FTM on a decentralized exchange, then be sure to visit the Sonic platform so you can find out how to transfer your tokens into S. Please note that specific FTM positions you hold may need to be closed before you can port your tokens to S.

Once you hold S, these tokens can be used to pay for transaction fees, stake the network, and run validators. Besides being a utility token, S is also a governance token, and once you hold a certain amount, you can vote on improvements and changes proposed for the network. S is an inflationary token, with several token unlocks planned for the future. Sonic does use a linear decay mechanism, however, to help incentivize early investors to hold S tokens long-term.

**It is important to note that the Sonic network is NOT associated with the SONIC ticker symbol. SONIC is a memecoin project that has little viability. The Sonic we are talking about in this article is represented by just the S symbol.

Who Created Sonic?

Sonic/Fantom was created by Michael Kong, who is the current CEO. He still remains actively involved in the project with the assistance of David Richardson, Andre Cronje, and Bernhard Scholz.

Sonic is backed by Sonic Labs, located in George Town, Cayman Islands. Sonic is currently undergoing a transformation from Fantom to Sonic, and it seems there are numerous developers working on the project constantly.

Should You Buy Sonic?

As far as altcoin projects go, Sonic isn’t the worst one to invest in. For one, we are reasonably sure it is not a scam, and the developers seem very open and accessible.

That being said, Sonic is just one of many similar projects in this space, meaning we aren’t sure what level of the market it will eventually inhabit.

Sonic can be compared to Ethereum, Solana, Sui, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, just to name a few. Of course, we don’t have a crystal ball, so it is possible that Sonic could rise to become the prominent project—but, that being said, there is an even larger chance that it doesn’t, though it is currently in the top 50 altcoins on CoinMarketCap in terms of market capacity.

Because the virtual machine industry is so new, we aren’t even sure how many spaces there will be for these types of projects in the future, and of course, Ethereum is the first, and Solana is the next most likely to take that spot from Ethereum someday. Sonic isn’t even on most investors’ radar yet, anyway.

So, if you are planning to develop or invest in a particular project on Sonic, then it is worth it to invest in the token backing the platform. But know that while we think this project is one of the good ones, there is a possibility that you may lose your entire investment.

If you are looking to invest in an EVM similar project just for the purpose of investment, we recommend Solana, as this is one of the few altcoins that is currently taking the world by storm and seeing frequent expansion of user base.

Where Can You Buy Sonic?

Sonic is available for purchase on most centralized exchanges as well as several decentralized ones. Anywhere you were once able to purchase FTM, should now list S, instead. Below are the major exchanges that offer trading pairs for Sonic.

·      Binance

·      Bitpanda

·      OkX

·      Gate.io

·      KuCoin

·      Bybit

Of course, there may be other exchanges that offer the token; these are just the major ones we know of.

Overall, we don’t think that an investment in Sonic is the worst option out there, but we aren’t sure how viable this project will be in the future, either. But if you are a developer looking to build new dApps, Sonic is an excellent option to consider thanks to their pro-developer policies and options.