Introduction

Sonic SVM, as Solana ecosystem’s first Layer 2 solution tailored for gaming, is reshaping the future of blockchain gaming through its breakthrough technological innovations and strong financial backing. In the following sections, we will dive deep into Sonic SVM, examining its ecosystem development and future plans.

Sonic SVM Introduction

Sonic SVM is the first atomic SVM (Solana Virtual Machine) Layer 2 network scaling project in the Solana ecosystem, focused on optimizing gaming and high-frequency interactive applications. It aims to provide a high-speed, low-cost transaction environment, making it particularly suitable for game development and operation. Sonic SVM is built on Solana’s first concurrent scaling framework, HyperGrid, developed by the Sonic team (formerly Mirror World). The framework is designed to achieve high customizability and scalability while maintaining native composability with Solana.

Founders & Team

Sonic SVM is developed by Mirror World Labs. The founder, Chris Zhu, is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur born in Shanghai. With an extensive background, including previous experience at ByteDance, Chris is regarded as a Web3 CEO who deeply understands TikTok. The team has long been focused on game development within the Solana ecosystem and is dedicated to driving blockchain gaming innovation through Sonic SVM.

Funding Background

In June 2024, Sonic SVM completed a $12 million Series A funding round, led by Bitkraft, with participation from notable investors, including Galaxy Interactive, Big Brain Holdings, Matt Sorg (Solana founding team), and Nom (Bonk). The funding aims to support product upgrades and ecosystem expansion. Additionally, as early as the beginning of 2022, Sonic had already secured a $4 million seed round, bringing its total funding to $16 million. [1]

Tokenomics

With the launch of the Sonic SVM mainnet, the Sonic Foundation has introduced $SONIC—the token designed to power the long-term development and vision of Sonic SVM, as well as the multi-SVM ecosystem driven by Sonic HyperGrid. SONIC is the native token of Sonic SVM, with a total supply of 2.4 billion tokens. Of this supply, 57% is allocated to the community, including 30% for community and ecosystem development, 7% for initial claims, and 20% for HyperGrid rewards.

Source: https://blog.sonic.game/announcing-sonic-the-native-token-to-power-sonic-and-the-multi-svm-ecosystem

Project Development Timeline

In 2023, the Sonic SVM project took its first major step with the completion of its core team formation, marking the initiative’s official launch. The technical team focused on designing the Sonic HyperGrid framework, refining the project’s infrastructure through multiple rounds of rigorous technical validation. By June 2024, Sonic SVM launched its testnet, attracting many developers and users while putting the project’s performance and stability to the test. Within just one week of its launch, the testnet accumulated over 100,000 wallet addresses. As January 2025 arrived, the $SONIC token was officially minted, followed by the Token Generation Event (TGE).

As technology advances and the market matures, Web3 gaming is expected to become a significant part of the mainstream gaming industry. However, the current top Web3 games are primarily deployed on Polygon, BNB Chain, and Ethereum, with the top 25 games by Unique Active Wallets (UAW) and the top 10 games by market capitalization all originating from these ecosystems—none from Solana. With its high performance and low latency, Sonic SVM is well-positioned to play a crucial role in this market, driving the mass adoption of Web3 gaming.

Overview of the Sonic SVM Ecosystem

Currently, the Sonic SVM ecosystem consists of three key components: HyperGrid architecture serves as the foundational cornerstone of the entire Sonic SVM ecosystem, Rush ECS is the functional component framework developed for future game deployment projects, and SonicX represents the core growth driver of the entire Sonic SVM ecosystem.

The Foundation of the Ecosystem: HyperGrid

Sonic SVM is built on the HyperGrid architecture, a specialized Solana Rollup framework. HyperGrid is based on a multi-grid approach, where each grid operates semi-autonomously while remaining anchored to the Solana mainnet for consensus and finality.

Source: https://docs.sonic.game/developers/hypergrid-framework/hypergrid-infrastructure/architectural-overview

The HyperGrid ecosystem adopts a staking protocol, where validators must stake $SOL as collateral to participate in the network. This staking mechanism is not merely a passive fund lock-up but an active commitment to ensuring the security and continuity of all grids within HyperGrid. Aligning with EigenLayer’s re-staking concept, the collective staking pool acts as the underlying security layer for the entire HyperGrid system.

In the HyperGrid ecosystem, validators also function as shared sequencers, meaning that L2 platforms built on HyperGrid will prioritize these validators as their sequencers. As part of their compensation, validators receive a portion of sequencing fees, creating an additional revenue stream.

Additionally, the system incorporates watcher nodes, which are responsible for verifying the accuracy of transactions occurring across various L2 chains. These watcher nodes play a critical role in detecting centralized malicious activities, which may trigger a slashing mechanism if found. In return for their monitoring services, watcher nodes are rewarded with SONIC tokens.

Functional Architecture: Rush ECS

Rush ECS is a fully Rust-based, declarative, high-speed Entity Component System (ECS) framework developed by the Sonic SVM team. It is designed with a single primary goal: to simplify the integration of blockchain technology into existing developer tools—specifically game engine SDKs and APIs—using proven developer experience abstraction techniques.

Source: https://docs.sonic.game/developers/rush-ecs-framework/introduction#the-rush-user-journey

To better illustrate how Rush ECS works, here is a typical user journey for game developers:

• Developers build a game using their preferred game engine.
• Download the Rush CLI tool from the Sonic repository.
• Create a blueprint of their game world using Rush’s TOML DSL and store it on-chain.
• Use Rush CLI to parse the blueprint, which automatically generates:
  • Smart contract code
  • An SDK that interacts with the smart contracts
• Utilize the SDK generated for their preferred game engine.
• Deploy and manage on-chain programs using the Rush CLI.

Some of Rush’s core components have already reached stability and are available for use in development environments, while others are still in the development or testing phase.

Source: https://docs.sonic.game/developers/rush-ecs-framework/features

Note: Rush is still in active development. Bugs, crashes, major changes, and partial feature updates may occur. For the latest updates, please refer to the Sonic SVM Developer Documentation.

Core Growth Driver: SonicX

SonicX is an application built on Sonic SVM—a blockchain-based “tap-to-earn” gaming platform that integrates with TikTok. It allows users to log in using their TikTok accounts and play games to earn rewards. This model incentivizes user participation by offering tokens or other rewards, increasing engagement and making the platform more attractive.

Leveraging Sonic SVM’s high performance and low transaction costs, SonicX ensures a smooth gaming experience. Future developments for SonicX may include adding more game varieties, improving platform scalability, and exploring new partnerships. Additionally, SonicX may continue to leverage TikTok’s social network effects to expand its user base and market influence.

Currently, four projects have launched on SonicX:

Sonic Odyssey

Sonic Odyssey is an event launched alongside Sonic Testnet, aimed at helping more users learn about and experience Sonic. The official team has prepared a series of rewards to encourage and reward users for their participation and feedback.

Source: https://odyssey.sonic.game/task

Fomoney

FoMoney is a fully on-chain pioneering game which has officially partnered with Sonic SVM. The project has released a series of game quests as part of Sonic Odyssey.

Source: https://x.com/Fomoney2048

Mahjong123

Mahjong123 is an innovative mahjong matching game that combines classic mahjong rules with modern puzzle mechanics. The game is available on Telegram and web platforms. Players can match three identical mahjong tiles to clear them. Alternatively, they can clear tiles by selecting sequences like 1-2-3, adding a strategic layer inspired by traditional mahjong mechanics. Mahjong123 is developed and operated by Mahjong Meta, and within just one week of joining Sonic Odyssey, the game accumulated over 150,000 active users.

Source: https://x.com/0xMJM

Hunting Field

Hunting Field is a Click to Earn tower defense mini-game set against the backdrop of protecting the continent from orc invasions. The game features level progression, mining, PvP, and guild activities. It incorporates more than ten secret techniques and hundreds of branch skills that can be freely combined to create powerful combinations. Players don’t need to spend too much time thinking about skill combinations, which aligns well with the casual gaming principle of mini-games.

Source: https://x.com/HuntingField

Sonic SVM Outlook

Recent Collaborations

Partnership with Injective to Build the Smart Agent Hub

Sonic SVM has announced a collaboration with Layer 1 blockchain network Injective to jointly develop the first cross-chain AI agent platform—Smart Agent Hub. This platform will leverage Sonic’s HyperGrid technology to establish a dedicated SVM grid on Solana, seamlessly integrating with the Injective ecosystem via the IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) protocol. [3]

Launching the G.A.M.E. Fund with Galaxy Interactive

Sonic SVM recently introduced the G.A.M.E. (Game, AI, Meme, Ecosystem) Fund 1, aimed at accelerating innovation in Web3 gaming, AI agents, and social media content creation tools on the HyperGrid platform. The fund will offer up to $1 million per project, with no cap on the number of accelerator participants. [4]

RoadMap

The Sonic SVM roadmap outlines three progressive development phases, each driving the growth and expansion of its ecosystem. These phases focus on key milestones from the initial network setup to full ecosystem scalability, emphasizing technological advancements and community engagement.

Phase 1: Network Generation (Q4 2024 – Q1 2025)

The Network Generation phase focuses on establishing the Sonic SVM infrastructure and launching key partnerships. During this phase, the HyperGrid shared-state network will be deployed, enabling the creation of interconnected SVM networks for seamless interoperability. A decentralized node set called HyperFuse will also be launched to ensure the security and integrity of HyperGrid operations. By the end of this phase, the Sonic SVM network will officially be established.

Phase 2: Mainnet Alpha Launch (Q1 2025)

The Mainnet Alpha launch marks the transition from testnet to mainnet. The Mainnet Alpha deployment introduces major services including bridging, DEX, oracle, and NFT programs. During this phase, SonicX will also launch Android and iOS applications. Sonic Bridge will support asset transfers for tokens like SOL, sSOL, sonicSOL as well as stablecoins, including USDC and USDT. Additionally, all HSSN validators will be activated to secure and operate the network effectively.

Phase 3: Ecosystem Expansion (Q2 2025)

The final phase focuses on scaling the Sonic SVM platform to accommodate broader developer and user demands. This phase includes integrating new Sonic Virtual Machines (SVM) through the HyperGrid Optimistic Rollup Stack. Sonic Grid V2 will be released on the test network, followed by mainnet deployment. Additionally, the SONIC staking program will be launched, allowing SONIC holders to stake and delegate their tokens to HSSN validators to earn rewards, with a slashing mechanism to ensure network security. Finally, the RUSH ECS framework will expand and support new SDK clients, enabling more on-chain games and use cases.

Conclusion

Sonic SVM is the first atomic virtual machine Layer 2 network in the Solana ecosystem, aimed at providing optimized solutions for gaming and high-frequency interactive applications. Built on the HyperGrid framework, it supports high customizability and scalability while maintaining native composability with Solana. The Sonic SVM ecosystem includes HyperGrid architecture, Rush ECS functional components, and SonicX as core growth drivers. HyperGrid serves as Sonic’s ecosystem foundation, providing a Solana Rollup framework, while Rush ECS offers development tools for game deployment. SonicX is the core growth driver of the Sonic SVM ecosystem, utilizing Sonic SVM’s high performance and low transaction cost features to provide users with a smooth gaming experience. As technology advances and the market matures, Sonic SVM is well-positioned to become a major player in the Web3 gaming market, driving mass adoption of Web3 gaming.