TL;DR

In the current crypto market, as the Meme hype fades, many investors find themselves lost.

Sonic—a new blockchain led by Fantom founder Andre Cronje (AC)—is emerging as the new focal point in the DeFi space.

With comprehensive performance upgrades, a 6% airdrop incentive, and AC’s deep involvement in ecosystem development, Sonic is not only attracting numerous entrepreneurs but also reigniting market enthusiasm for DeFi.

However, looking back at AC’s sudden departure from Fantom, the market remains skeptical about Sonic’s future.

Is this just old wine in a new bottle, or a true innovation? Let’s explore Sonic’s potential and future through the perspectives of renowned DeFi KOL Chen Mo (@cmdefi) and researcher Da Pang Dun (@DaPangDunCrypto).

Can Sonic’s rise become the breakthrough that revitalizes DeFi and ushers in the next golden cycle?

Below is the transcript of our conversation, and the podcast audio is also available:

Xiaoyuzhou link:
https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episode/67cc4aad0766616acd85c5d9

Spotify link:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2CBKjBOyNhkYKpImohvRSP?si=DeUjwfUORwexH2TQIRn1-g

TechFlow: First, could you both introduce yourselves?

Da Pang Dun:

Hello everyone, my name is Da Pang Dun. I entered this industry in the last cycle and have gone all-in on crypto this cycle. I spend my time researching different aspects, whether it’s airdrops, Meme, or various ecosystems I like—I participate in them all.

Chen Mo:

Hello everyone, I’m Chen Mo. I’ve been researching and investing in DeFi since 2020. In the last cycle, I was involved in the Fantom ecosystem and have a strong connection to its founder, Andre Cronje (AC). So, seeing Sonic’s impressive performance after launch makes me very happy.

TechFlow: Chen Mo, you were involved in the Fantom ecosystem last cycle. How do you think Fantom back then compares to Sonic now?

Chen Mo:

The main upgrade with Sonic is performance. The most noticeable difference is that it’s faster, has higher TPS, and supports a degree of parallel execution. Of course, users may be less sensitive to these technical changes.

From a user’s perspective, the biggest difference is AC’s higher level of involvement compared to the last cycle. While AI and Meme have weakened the DeFi sector, and AC is not as “famous” as before, he has stepped to the forefront, building the foundation for the ecosystem. AC now has no idol burden—he’s willing to engage and promote projects in the ecosystem. This reminds me of the Solana Foundation, which leads the community forward together. This kind of leadership is Sonic’s advantage.

So, in a cycle where DeFi isn’t dominant, I hope to see a breakout project that attracts people to DeFi.

TechFlow: Da Pang Dun, you only joined this cycle, and I saw you recently published a research piece on Sonic, pointing out that it’s still in its early stages. Can you share your thoughts?

Da Pang Dun:

I used to focus on the BTC ecosystem and later on Meme coins on Solana. So why did I suddenly start paying attention to Sonic? I believe we are currently in a narrative gap. After the AI wave, many people feel uncertain about the future—not because AI is bad, but because its narrative seems to have been disproven this cycle. Meanwhile, after a series of events, people have become wary of Meme coins. The market is lost.

However, crypto always needs a narrative. That’s when I discovered Sonic. As a DeFi newcomer, it felt like a new world had opened up to me. It’s different from both primary and secondary markets, requiring a lot of calculations. Unlike Meme coins, DeFi opportunities aren’t as “brutal,” but their lifecycle isn’t as short either. DeFi follows mature models, and its stability is exactly what I need.

Another reason is Andre Cronje. Since I wasn’t involved in the Fantom ecosystem, I don’t share the concerns about AC leaving. To me, he feels like Solana’s Toly—a marketer for the ecosystem. Regardless of whether a project is good or bad, as long as it has value, he will promote it. In this narrative gap, the market lacks people like AC who can shake things up. Plus, Sonic Labs is quite active, and the Sonic network has undergone major upgrades, making me even more eager to be part of this ecosystem.

TechFlow: To summarize, you’re bullish on Sonic because: there’s a narrative gap, DeFi is a long-term game, and AC is taking the lead in building the ecosystem. Let me extend this question—many blockchains already have DeFi ecosystems. Why are you more focused on Sonic?

Da Pang Dun:

First, Sonic is a new blockchain with significant profit potential. Second, to accelerate its growth, Sonic has promised an airdrop of about 6%—something rarely seen in established DeFi ecosystems. Lastly, Sonic has low institutional involvement, making it feel more grassroots and startup-like.

TechFlow: Berachain recently launched PoL, a major milestone for them. Meanwhile, several VC-backed tokens, such as $KAITO, $IP, and $BERA, have been performing well. Berachain also focuses on DeFi, so from a DeFi perspective, how do you compare Berachain and Sonic?

Chen Mo:

I’m involved in both ecosystems. Comparatively, I think Sonic offers more opportunities. Sonic is bottom-up, while Berachain has massive funding and institutional support, with many projects collaborating with the official team. They follow different approaches. Sonic is more friendly to small and mid-sized entrepreneurs, and AC actively helps projects that minimize RUG risks.

Additionally, Berachain distributes points through staking, whereas Sonic uses liquidity mining—making it more engaging for retail investors. As TVL increases, fees and rewards rise, boosting token prices, which in turn further drives up TVL. This creates a positive Ponzi-like spiral, giving people a sense of growing alongside the project. Shadow, which is trending now, also built up its TVL step by step.

In contrast, point-based projects require users to deposit funds upfront and wait for TGE to receive returns. Many people constantly monitor TGE, calculating what token price they need to break even, losing that sense of growing with the project. These are two opposite dynamics. Point-based projects are better suited for those with substantial capital seeking stable returns, while Sonic offers bigger alpha opportunities. You could call it retro, but I think that’s exactly what’s missing in today’s market. People are too impatient, focusing only on profits while ignoring the journey of growing with a project.

Moreover, liquidity mining is often criticized for being unsustainable, a challenge that no existing mechanism has fully solved. However, Sonic gives users a different experience.

TechFlow: You previously mentioned Sonic’s upgrade is primarily technical. Could you briefly explain the (3,3) mechanism and how Sonic’s (3,3) in this cycle differs from Fantom’s (3,3) in the past?

Chen Mo:

The original (3,3) comes from OHM (OlympusDAO). The initial mechanism was simple: if both parties hold, it’s a balanced state (1,1); if both stake, it’s a positive state (3,3); and if both sell, it’s a downward spiral (-3,-3)—this follows game theory principles.

AC combined the veToken model with the (3,3) model to create ve(3,3). ve(3,3) allows users to use voting power to decide which liquidity pool receives incentives, while voters can earn real returns like transaction fees from the supported pool.

Shadow’s x(3,3) is an optimized version of ve(3,3). The original veToken was difficult to trade—once locked, you had to be in it for the long haul. x(3,3) allows users to exit early but requires them to give up 50% of their earnings to those who remain. This is a significant change, providing an exit strategy for those who need to leave while doubling the rewards for those who stay in the ecosystem.

TechFlow:

These changes seem to explain why Shadow stands out, but the entire Sonic ecosystem is performing exceptionally well. Is it because Shadow has sparked enthusiasm, or is it driven by the intrinsic value of $S? Are there other innovative projects in the Sonic ecosystem?

Chen Mo:

The Sonic ecosystem mainly consists of micro-innovations like Shadow. Looking at TVL, we see a substantial inflow of capital. Many projects that struggled in other ecosystems have joined Sonic due to subsidies, bringing liquidity with them. This method of acquiring users with real money is similar to early DeFi. Since DeFi has been relatively inactive this cycle, many old mechanisms now feel unfamiliar.

Overall, when Sonic provides token incentives and subsidies, its TVL will inevitably rise. In terms of innovation, I believe Shadow is the most outstanding.

Da Pang Dun:

Right now, Shadow is in a league of its own. For many people in the Sonic ecosystem, the primary goal is the 6% airdrop. This airdrop targets both regular users and project teams. However, many projects have distributed these airdrops to users, meaning users can actually receive two rounds of airdrops, which has further motivated participation.

Secondly, as Chen Mo mentioned, many people had never engaged with DeFi before. In this narrative gap, DeFi has reignited people’s enthusiasm for research.

Lastly, I’m curious about AC’s vision. Every DeFi project faces the question: what’s the endgame? Besides exchange listings, are there other exits? Compared to traditional finance, DeFi offers much higher yields. Sonic is working on abstract wallets and gaming products, and AC has expressed willingness to operate under U.S. regulations. This makes me wonder if AC’s goal is to bridge DeFi into Web2—after all, in Web3, users are more inclined to try GameFi rather than traditional games, with earnings being the primary motivator.

TechFlow: This brings us to our next topic. People are playing in the Sonic ecosystem because they still see profit potential. How do you view indicators like market cap/TVL, and at what stage of ve(3,3) should we be cautious? What should we watch out for at TGE?

Chen Mo:

In Sonic, I focus more on DeFi—that’s its greatest strength. Just as Solana’s strength lies in Meme coins, and as long as Meme coins thrive, Solana won’t decline, Sonic’s trajectory resembles early Solana, where the airdrop serves as an entry point. As for Sonic’s long-term potential, it depends on DeFi’s sustained momentum.

ve(3,3) is different from (3,3). Unless the entire Sonic ecosystem experiences a sharp decline in trading volume, there is theoretically no risk of collapse—and with incentives in place, this is unlikely. Meanwhile, the points model tends to burn out excitement at TGE. In contrast, Sonic follows Fantom’s slow-growth model, which could eventually produce a legendary project like OlympusDAO or Luna.

Ultimately, there must be an attention-grabbing element—just as people associate Meme coins with Solana, they should think of Sonic first when looking for DeFi opportunities. If that happens, it would be a major success. Moreover, AC’s expertise lies in DeFi, and he was one of the first to propose many of these mechanisms, including ve(3,3). I’m eager to see what AC identifies as the key trend of this era—if he gets it right, Sonic’s ceiling could be extremely high.

TechFlow: Speaking of legendary projects, there’s been a lot of buzz around Super.exchange lately. Have either of you participated in it?

Da Pang Dun:

I started playing with Super.exchange very early on, and what struck me the most was this: understanding the logic behind such projects is crucial. Super.exchange’s model relies on using DEX transaction fees to buy back and burn tokens, a mechanism similar to “trading mining.” The funds for the buyback and burn mainly come from external exchange trading volume, so external trading volume must remain high. Otherwise, the buyback amount will decrease, making it hard for the token price to rise. But there are two key issues with external exchanges:

1. Although nearly 60% of the total token supply has been burned, external exchanges still calculate the FDV based on the initial 1 billion supply, causing ordinary retail investors to mistakenly think the FDV is too high and be unwilling to buy in.
2. The liquidity pools on external exchanges are created by users, and the project team cannot control them.

Additionally, early investors may see high returns, but due to market sentiment fluctuations and a decline in external trading volume, the actual returns might be much lower than expected. The key right now is whether external trading volume can continue to grow. If not, the buyback and burn mechanism will struggle to drive the token price up, and the project will find it hard to sustain long-term development. Many people don’t understand this mechanism and may end up losing money.

As for the DeFi risk signals I mentioned earlier, I’d like to ask Chen Mo: Every DeFi project has a flywheel, and sometimes trading volume is the key factor for the flywheel. How should I identify these critical factors? When these data points show problems, should we be concerned?

Chen Mo:

My personal understanding is that there’s no absolute point for this. For some projects with a flywheel mechanism, there’s definitely a point to kickstart the flywheel. If the incremental growth slows down or declines at this point, it’s relatively risky. Back in the OHM era, a flywheel that had stopped could potentially start again. However, in today’s cycle, people’s attention is too scattered, and after the flywheel stops, there are many other things to engage with. Moreover, there’s a lack of real demand to restart the flywheel. During a DeFi bull market, the huge liquidity demand was the key to igniting the flywheel, but now, few project teams will create large pools on-chain, and the presence of DEXs has become quite low.

TechFlow: You just mentioned that AC is also making moves in terms of compliance in the U.S., and like Daniele’s Hey Anon, which had a wave of hype. Besides DeFi, are there any other sectors or projects in the Sonic ecosystem that you’re optimistic about?

Da Pang Dun:

My capital size is not large, so sometimes I look for opportunities with higher odds. My participation mainly follows three approaches:

1. Find new projects to seize alpha opportunities, but be cautious of RUG risks. AC also mentions when forwarding projects that they don’t know how the project will perform next.
2. I look at NFTs. Many people now like rights-based NFTs, which have strong social promotion properties. Each NFT has its own design and suffix. You can imagine an X Space full of Derps avatars, which would be quite an impressive scene. Additionally, images are more likely to leave an impression and have a stronger cultural appeal. Project teams also offer discounts on these NFTs. My initial $Shadow was actually an airdrop from the Derps project team.
3. Stable returns. I don’t choose stablecoin LPs that require large amounts of capital; instead, I look for opportunities by anchoring assets to $S.

TechFlow: I also received the $Shadow airdrop through Derps, and I think the NFTs on Sonic have some DeFi aspects to them. It started with a token, then the token could be used to buy snacks to feed the Derps, and later you could decorate your room. Similar projects include Berps, etc. They are not pure NFT projects.

Da Pang Dun:

Yes, the NFTs in the Sonic ecosystem all have a bit of DeFi property. As Chen Mo said, if the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about DeFi is Sonic, then it has succeeded. In the Sonic ecosystem, pure Meme projects are hard to make. Everything carries a bit of DeFi characteristics, or it is difficult to be recognized in this circle.

TechFlow: I think after this wave of changes, people will no longer be interested in purely Meme projects. There needs to be something else to make them attractive. Chen Mo, do you think the Sonic ecosystem has potential in areas beyond DeFi?

Chen Mo: I’ve also been following Daniele’s ANON project. Before Sonic really took off, there was also a wave he led. What I’m mainly focused on is still DeFi-related things, including DeFAI. Other than that, apart from new projects, there aren’t many advantages.

TechFlow: The only DeFAI project I know on Sonic is Hey Anon. A similar one would be Allora on Polychain, which hasn’t released a token and mainly provides infrastructure for AI.

Chen Mo:

Yes, but Hey Anon hasn’t reached a level where it can break into the mainstream. However, there may still be opportunities later on, as Daniele did a lot of interesting things last cycle.

TechFlow: Recently, Binance’s “DeFi+AI” research has frequently mentioned Hey Anon, so it seems like more people are starting to pay attention to it.

Earlier in the conversation, both of you mentioned that DeFi is Sonic’s calling card, but recently, attention has shifted towards Sonic’s performance. Does Sonic have a unique competitive advantage in terms of performance? Will the launch of new blockchains like Monad impact Sonic?

Da Pang Dun:

Monad is very hot, having gained 4 million active users in just a few days. However, I think what AC said about final confirmation is correct. Users don’t really care about a single metric, but are more concerned with how long it takes to see results after initiating a transaction. Sonic has a great user experience.

Chains like Arbitrum and Monad are also fast, and everyone has been optimizing their technology for a long time, so there’s no clear winner. Today’s blockchains are not like Ethereum, where you can do everything. I think modern blockchains should be application chains, focused on doing one function well, and the chain is just a carrier. Sonic needs to find its own direction. DeFi today is different from before; we can’t let people think Sonic’s DeFi is outdated. Performance is just the foundation, but what applications it supports is the key to the future.

Chen Mo:

We are no longer in the era where TPS is king. In the ancient web3 era, there was no ecosystem, so everyone focused on TPS. But after so many years of development, the market has already provided solutions for performance — either like Ethereum L2, offloading performance, or like Solana, doing parallel processing. The performance gap is no longer a major issue; it’s the competitive ecosystem that will determine the winner.

Disclaimer：

1. This article is reproduced from [TechFlow]，Copyright belongs to the original author [TechFlow], if you have any objection to the reprint, please contact Gate Learn team, the team will handle it as soon as possible according to relevant procedures.

2. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article represent only the author’s personal views and do not constitute any investment advice.

3. Other language versions of the article are translated by the Gate Learn team, not mentioned in Gate.io, the translated article may not be reproduced, distributed or plagiarized.