HTX Research Latest Research Report丨Sonic: A Case Study of the New DeFi Paradigm

By: blockbeats|2025/04/28 13:50:18

While the industry was still embroiled in the Layer 2 scaling debate, Sonic offered a new answer through a "foundational revolution." Recently, HTX Research released its latest research report "Sonic: A Blueprint for the DeFi New Paradigm," detailing the new public chain Sonic. While fully compatible with the EVM, Sonic has achieved a throughput of over 2000 TPS, 0.7-second transaction finality, and a transaction cost of 0.0001 USD, outperforming mainstream Layer 1 solutions and even surpassing most Layer 2 solutions. The performance-boosting Sonic is reshaping public chain infrastructure, officially ushering in the "sub-second era" of public chains.

Sonic's Road to Innovation: 2000+ TPS, 0.7s Finality, Nearly Zero Cost

As a high-performance public chain based on a Directed Acyclic Graph (aDAG), Fantom Opera initially stood out for its high throughput and fast confirmation capabilities. However, as the on-chain ecosystem expanded, the limitations of its traditional EVM architecture became increasingly apparent: state storage expansion, slow node synchronization, and constrained execution efficiency. To address this, Fantom introduced the new upgrade solution Sonic, aimed at achieving performance leaps through fundamental reconstruction without relying on sharding or Layer 2.

Led by the restructured Sonic Labs, Sonic's core development team brought together top industry talents, including CEO Michael Kong, CTO Andre Cronje (founder of Yearn Finance), and Chief Research Officer Bernhard Scholz. Over a period of two and a half years, the team comprehensively optimized from the virtual machine, storage engine to the consensus mechanism, ultimately creating the standalone new chain Sonic. While being EVM-compatible, Sonic has achieved over 2000 TPS, 0.7-second finality, $0.0001 transaction cost, a 90% improvement in storage efficiency, and reduced node synchronization time from weeks to within two days.

Technological Breakthrough: A Triad Performance Leap

· SonicVM: The new virtual machine dynamically compiles EVM bytecode, caches high-frequency operations (such as SHA3 hashing), and pre-analyzes jump instructions, improving execution efficiency several times over to support high-throughput demands.

· SonicDB: Using a layered storage design, it separates real-time state (LiveDB) from historical data (ArchiveDB), compressing storage space by 90%, reducing node 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 bi-directional asset migration, and seamless integration with the Ethereum ecosystem.

Tokenomics: Dual Incentives for Developers and Users

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

· Gas Fee Monetization (FeeM): Developers can receive up to 90% of transaction fee sharing, incentivizing ecosystem app innovation; non-FeeM apps have 50% of fees burned to deter inflation.

· Point Airdrop System: Users earn points (Passive/Activity Points and Gems) through holding tokens, participating in DeFi, or ecosystem interactions, redeemable for a total of 200 million S tokens, creating a "usage is mining" positive feedback loop.

Stablecoin Ecosystem: Nested Yields and Counter-trend Growth

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

· Silo v2 Recurring Borrowing: Pledge S tokens to borrow stablecoins, leverage up to 20x, capturing multiple points and spread yields.

· Euler+Rings Combination: Deposit USDC to mint overcollateralized stablecoin scUSD, leverage up to 10x, while receiving Sonic points and protocol airdrops.

· Shadow DEX Liquidity Mining: Provide liquidity for mainstream trading pairs, earning up to 169% APY and receiving a share of trading fees.

The ecosystem's future plans involve introducing Real World Asset (RWA) yields and off-chain payment scenarios, expanding through compliant asset backing and consumer app integration, establishing a sustainable stablecoin utility loop.

DeFi Infrastructure Innovation: Adaptive AMM and Dynamic Risk Management

Sonic's core DEX, FlyingTulip, designed by Andre Cronje, integrates trading, lending, and leverage functions, with key technological breakthroughs including:

· Adaptive AMM Curve: Combining Curve V2's liquidity aggregation advantage, introducing external oracle monitoring of volatility, dynamically adjusting the curve shape—close to a constant-product curve during low volatility (low slippage), and approaching a constant-product curve during high volatility (preventing liquidity depletion), reducing impermanent loss by 42%, and improving capital efficiency by 85%.

· Dynamic LTV Lending Model: Drawing inspiration from Curve's LLAMA liquidation mechanism but dynamically adjusting the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio based on market volatility. For example, the ETH collateral loan-to-value ratio can plummet from 80% during calm periods to 50% during volatile periods, reducing systemic risk.

Conclusion: The Significance of DeFi 2.0

With its triple advantage of "high performance + nested yield + low threshold," Sonic is expected to exceed $2 billion in TVL within 12 months, and its token S may impact billions of dollars in market capitalization. Its model has established a new paradigm for the industry: replacing liquidity speculation with on-chain efficiency and real returns, potentially triggering a fundamental shift in the logic of public chain competition.

Potential risks are concentrated at the technical level, including the Adaptive AMM relying on an external oracle, which could result in liquidity pool anomalies if the price feed is attacked. High-leverage strategies face liquidation risks during extreme market conditions and require hedging tools (such as perpetual contract shorts) to manage volatility.

From a macro perspective, Sonic is poised to be the dark horse in the 2025 DeFi revival wave, with the success of its stablecoin ecosystem creating broad upside potential for the ecosystem token S and overall network value. Sonic's rise validates a key proposition: even in a bear market, through mechanism innovation and performance breakthroughs, DeFi can still build a "yield fortress" to attract rational capital for long-term retention. Its nested yield model, developer incentive system, and efficient infrastructure provide the industry with a reusable template. If successfully integrated with RWAs and payment scenarios, Sonic may become a bridge connecting on-chain yield with real economic demand, propelling DeFi into a new stage of mass adoption.

To read the full report, please visit: https://square.htx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/HTX-Research-Latest-Report.pdf

About HTX Research

HTX Research is the dedicated research arm of HTX Group, responsible for in-depth analysis of a wide range of areas including cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and emerging market trends. HTX Research produces comprehensive reports, offers professional evaluations, and is committed to providing data-driven insights and strategic foresight. It plays a key role in shaping industry perspectives and supporting informed decision-making in the digital asset space. With rigorous research methods and cutting-edge data analysis, HTX Research always remains at the forefront of innovation, driving industry thought leadership and facilitating a deep understanding of the evolving market dynamics.

This article is a contributed piece and does not represent the views of BlockBeats

On June 9, The Kobeissi Letter, citing Goldman Sachs data, reported that global investors are selling South Korean stocks at an unusually rapid pace. In the latest trading session, foreign investors sold about $801 million worth of Kospi constituent stocks again; total foreign outflows last week reached about $10 billion, and the market has been in net foreign selling on nearly every trading day over the past month. According to the data cited in the report, foreign investors have sold about $75 billion worth of South Korean stocks so far this year. Meanwhile, South Korean retail and institutional investors together recorded roughly $69 billion in net buying over the same period, suggesting that the market’s main buying support has come from domestic capital rather than returning overseas funds. The information currently disclosed still mainly comes from The Kobeissi Letter’s retelling and Goldman Sachs data summaries, while public details on the statistical period and the specific definition of “selling” remain relatively limited.

Fortune Warns of Strategy’s Financing Structure Risks as Bitcoin Premium Narrows

Fortune warned that Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury model faces growing financing risks as MSTR’s net asset premium narrows and preferred stock dividend pressure increases.

Ferrari Challenge Le Mans: Carl Moon to Dominate in WEEX Livery

The art of absolute control. Inside Carl Moon’s Ferrari 296 Challenge quest at Le Mans, taming the storm together with the official WEEX livery.

Sahara AI Responds to SAHARA’s Sharp Drop: No Contract or Product Security Issues Found, Internal Investigation Underway

Sahara AI responded to SAHARA’s 60% price drop, saying no token contract or product security issues have been found and an internal investigation is underway.

WEEX Deposit/Withdrawal Dynamic Island: Your Asset Status, Always in Sight

WEEX introduces Deposit and Withdrawal Info on Dynamic Island for iOS. See fund transfer progress on your dynamic island, lock screen, or while using other apps. No more guessing. No more refreshing.

Scaling Crypto Derivatives: The Digital Asset Infrastructure Behind High-Volume Trading

In the fast-moving digital asset ecosystem, derivatives platforms face an extreme architectural test. High-leverage futures markets demand more than just standard security—they require absolute operational precision, zero-latency matching engines, and ironclad structural scalability, all while navigating intense market volatility.

As global platforms scale to meet these demands, the industry is shifting away from rigid, monolithic setups toward a more agile, "decoupled" infrastructure philosophy.

The Blueprint for High-Volume Copy Trading

For elite global exchanges like WEEX (founded in 2018), this architectural choice becomes critical when scaling high-volume retail features like social copy trading. When thousands of users automatically mirror the real-time strategies of elite traders simultaneously, it triggers sudden, monumental spikes in concurrent transactional volume.

To prevent execution latency or settlement bottlenecks during these peak volatility events, a platform's primary engine must remain entirely dedicated to risk management, copy-trade synchronization, and order matching.

The Architectural Rule: New-generation platforms must separate front-end user execution engines from heavy backend infrastructural overhead to eliminate operational friction.

By separating these layers, platforms can maintain complete sovereignty over their trading environments and user experiences while strategically aligning with institutional-grade infrastructure ecosystems. This strategic framework allows modern exchanges to leverage advanced Digital Asset Custody infrastructure such as Cobo’s behind the scenes, ensuring that backend wallet management scales elastically alongside trading spikes.

Capitalizing on Market Momentum and 400× Leverage

In a derivatives arena where platforms offer up to 400× leverage on perpetual contracts, capital efficiency and market agility are core business metrics. To capture market momentum, an exchange needs the ability to rapidly expand its asset offerings, supporting everything from legacy crypto assets to sudden, trending altcoins across a massive library of trading pairs.

Adopting a flexible, scalable Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) solution such as Cobo’s could completely rewrite the development timeline for high-growth exchanges. Instead of spending months of engineering capital building out custom backend wallet architectures for every new blockchain network, platforms can deploy localized infrastructure in days.

This agility allows platforms to instantly scale their listings to over a thousand trading pairs without compromising security or delaying time-to-market. It mirrors the exact operational advantages seen during high-velocity market events, similar to how advanced wallet infrastructure empowers platforms during sudden asset surges; allowing exchanges to pass that speed and liquidity directly to their global user base.

A Mature Foundation for Growth

The synergy between trusted infrastructure ecosystems and global trading platforms represents the natural evolution of a maturing crypto market. As WEEX continues to scale its global spot and derivatives offerings for over 6 million users, adopting robust backend paradigms proves that platforms no longer have to compromise between cutting-edge trading velocity and uncompromised structural security.

Morning Report | BitMine increased its holdings by 126,971 ETH last week; trader Eugene announced his exit from the crypto market

Overview of Important Market Events on June 8th

Wang Chuan: How can one not feel anxious after the neighbor Old Wang made thirty times profit by investing in storage stocks? (Seven) - A quarter-century cycle

In-depth analysis of the "reflexivity" bubble trap in storage stocks: Beware of the backlash from the bullwhip effect and the false narrative of high growth; do not let the short-term myth of wealth become a wealth abyss that cannot be recovered for 25 years.

Get Paid to Onboard? Try WEEX’s New Homepage with Rewards for Registration, Deposit & Trade

WEEX just launched a brand new homepage and a 3-step new user onboarding guidance. Complete Registration → Deposit → Trade to earn exclusive rewards. Faster navigation, clear progress, and instant bonuses. Download the latest WEEX App to try it now.

WEEX Custom Layout: Build Your Perfect Trading Workspace in Seconds

WEEX introduces custom layout on futures trading page: left/right panel switch, hide/show core modules, full-screen focus, and one-click reset. Trade your way now.