• Fantom Foundation commits $120 million in FTM tokens to support the launch of the Sonic network.

• Sonic Foundation oversees governance and partnerships for the Sonic network.

The Fantom Foundation has allocated 200 million FTM tokens, valued at approximately $120 million, to the Sonic Labs Innovator Fund. This initiative aims to support projects migrating to the new Sonic network, a Layer-1 blockchain with a Layer-2 bridge connected to Ethereum, offering ultra-fast transactions. Notably, the fund was generated by Fantom network creator Andre Cronje through strategic financial management, ensuring no increase in the total FTM token supply.

The $120 million fund is designed to attract key partners, including decentralized application (dApp) developers and infrastructure providers, to build on the Sonic network. Additionally, the Fantom Foundation aims to integrate developers from the existing Fantom ecosystem into Sonic.

This move is part of a broader strategy to rejuvenate the network, which has seen a decline in activity and total value locked (TVL) from a peak of over $13 billion in 2021 to $135 million as of the latest data from DeFillama.

In parallel with the Innovator Fund, the Foundation has announced a community-focused airdrop program to boost the adoption of the Sonic chain. These initiatives underscore Fantom’s commitment to expanding its ecosystem and enhancing the appeal of its new blockchain infrastructure.

Engaging Strategic Partners

The Fantom Foundation is actively engaging with strategic investors across multiple decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and venture partners, including prominent names like Hashed and Michael Egorov, founder of Curve. The Foundation stated its engagement with numerous dApps and top-tier infrastructure providers in areas such as on-chain tooling, compliance, native assets, bridge integration, wallets, indexes, and strategic Web2 partnerships.

This proactive approach aims to create a robust and dynamic ecosystem on the Sonic network, leveraging the expertise and resources of established players in the crypto space. The engagement with strategic investors and partners is expected to drive significant growth and adoption of the Sonic network. The Fantom Foundation’s initiative reflects a broader trend among blockchain networks to allocate substantial funds to incentivize platform development. 

For example, in May, Ethereum’s Layer-2 network Polygon launched a $720 million Community Treasure to fund blockchain projects on Ethereum and Polygon over the next decade. The first season will distribute 35 million MATIC tokens, with plans to award 100 million POL tokens annually, eventually replacing MATIC as the network’s native token.

Similarly, Arbitrum’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) approved a $222 million funding proposal to enhance its ecosystem’s gaming sector. The funding is intended to drive user engagement across the Arbitrum, Orbit, and Stylus gaming communities.

Previous Incentives and Initiatives

Fantom Foundation has a history of providing incentives to stimulate project development. In May, the foundation allocated $6.5 million in FTM tokens to encourage the creation of “safer memecoins.” Additionally, the same month saw the launch of the Fantom Opera network’s “Gas Monetization Program.” This initiative compensates developers by paying them 15% of the total gas fees generated by their applications, aiming to offset the costs associated with gas fees and promote innovative projects within the Fantom ecosystem.