Solana Games Layer2 Sonic

Let’s talk about another Solana Layer2 project called Sonic.

Remember the Ore project on Solana?

After Ore started mining, Solana immediately fell into congestion - the transaction failure rate was as high as 75%.

Essentially, this is a fight for public chain block space. When a chain suddenly has a specific event/popular application, congestion will inevitably occur on the chain. In the Crypto world, the most popular solution to this problem is Layer 2 expansion - a trend we have seen many times on Ethereum (and parallel EVM is also worth paying attention to). Similar to Ethereum Layer 2, Solana now also has a Layer 2 solution.

Moreover, applications such as games, payments, and perp DEX (especially full-chain games) prefer a specific environment to allow them to stretch their hands, rather than sharing a blockchain with other DeFi, NFT, social, etc. Even blockchains such as BNB Chain (My DeFi Pet, I think) and Avalanche (Avalanche also became stuck due to a surge in traffic last year) that focus on performance far higher than Ethereum will become stuck due to the emergence of popular applications such as games.

In the future, Solana will also expand its products such as Blink and mobile phones. When the number of users increases to a certain level, it becomes particularly important whether Solana's space can meet the needs of user growth. In addition to Layer2, which will be discussed next, another Solana expansion solution worth paying attention to is ZK Compression (ZK state compression). Interested friends can read this article by BlockBeats: https://theblockbeats.info/news/53967

Solana Layer 2: Sonic

Sonic is a Solana Layer2 focused on the gaming track.

They announced the financing information of the agreement on the 18th: they have completed a $12 million Series A financing, with a valuation of $100 million. Bitkraft led the investment, and Galaxy Interactive, Big Brain Holdings, Matt Sorg (Solana founding team), Nom (Bonk) and other institutions and individuals participated in the investment. (The seed round is currently unclear)

Technical side

Technical stuff is not my forte, so I will briefly write down my own understanding here:

Sonic is Solana Layer2, transaction requests occur on Layer2, and consensus and settlement occur on Layer1 Solana. Sonic has built-in native composable game primitives and extensible data types based on the on-chain ECS framework, as well as sandbox tools brought by the game engine, to provide game developers with a more convenient build experience. In simple terms, Sonic provides game developers with a lot of game-related tools and infrastructure that developers can use right out of the box.

The underlying technology framework used by Sonic is HyperGrid, which aims to introduce customizability and scalability for game developers without affecting compatibility with the Solana main chain.

In addition to high performance, HyperGrid's advantages are:

• Atomic interoperability with Layer1 Solana: Instantly enjoy Layer1 Solana services and liquidity;

• Supports seamless deployment of dApp from EVM to SVM (developer-friendly, low threshold);

• The HyperGrid framework is similar to OP Stack and supports developers to quickly deploy Layer2;

Ecological side

The dApps that are currently being deployed on Sonic are:

@LumiterraGame (RPG)

@RageEffect_ (3A FPS?)

@JogoJogoGame (AI-driven prediction market)

@KeplerHomes (Traditional P2E blockchain game)

@Fomoney2048 (On-chain game with built-in Ponzi scheme)

The development path of game chains is the same: attract more developers to develop games through incentives, or attract games from other ecosystems to migrate, and support applications with the potential to become blockbusters. If a blockbuster game can be launched, the game chain can take a breather. In short, all operations should prioritize attracting market attention. Ronin XAI is like this. Sonic should be like this in the future. Every chain is eager for a blockbuster - it requires the right time, place and people. Sonic's subsequent development also requires games that can attract traffic to settle in.

Odyssey

Currently, the Sonic testnet Odyssey event has begun. Interested friends can try it out for free. (Currently, the only way to participate in Sonic is the Odyssey event). Friends who want to participate can refer to this guide ⬇️

https://blog.sonic.game/sonic-testnet-odyssey-guide

In any case, Sonic is the first Solana Layer2. As @jason_chen998 teacher mentioned, "If the Solana Foundation is as political as the Ethereum Foundation, then Sonic's political correctness should be very high."

For Solana, the construction of Sonic can help them solve some potential problems, and it can also expand Solana's influence and attract more game developers to settle in. Therefore, it is not surprising that they can get $12 million in financing.

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