Author: Haotian
There has been a lot of discussion around @SonicSVM these days, as topics such as airdrops for TikTok users, Solana's "super" gaming chain, and Solana L2 have all been generating a lot of attention. So how can we understand this new "layer2" in the Solana ecosystem?
1) Calling @solana a "layer2" is actually not quite accurate, as it will naturally make people feel the burden of the Ethereum layer2 ecosystem. It's natural to wonder why the high-performance Solana would need a layer2? The reason is very simple - Sonic SVM is actually a specialized extension solution for games and applications.
Even if it is defined as a layer2, it is very different from the traditional Universal layer2. The existence of this type of extension solution is more to solve the specific needs of high-frequency interactions and fast-response applications like games, to avoid the stuttering and latency that may occur when Solana's main chain is processing a large number of high-frequency transactions (e.g. over 4,000 TPS load), which would affect the user experience.
Therefore, I tend to define Sonic SVM as a specialized extension solution specifically for high-frequency applications such as games.
2) This means that Sonic SVM can provide customized functions and performance based on the specific needs of games and applications, such as setting special data structures, caching mechanisms, and parallel processing solutions for game application scenarios; in addition, Sonic SVM can also customize its own governance mechanism and economic model, and make decisions and resource allocations independent of the main chain.
Although Solana's main chain TPS is actually around 2,500-4000 transactions per second, with the current situation of various MEME and PumpFun tokens filling the chain, user transactions also have a significant failure rate, which is unacceptable in some high-frequency interactive game scenarios, as any failure can greatly compromise the user experience.
Therefore, trying this extension solution specifically for application domains with high experience requirements, such as games, can expand Solana's ecosystem beyond financial applications to a wider range of diverse applications, attracting more developers and users to join the Solana ecosystem.
Coincidentally, the previously much-discussed @EclipseFND modular extension solution, which uses SVM as the execution layer to provide extension capabilities based on the Ethereum ecosystem, and the recently much-discussed SOON, which tries to build Solana's OP Stack from the perspective of RaaS commercialization, are also core extensible solution routes for Solana.
All these signs indicate that the Solana ecosystem is building its own "Rollup-Centric" ecosystem, making a new push towards its ultimate goal of flipping ETH.
3) However, simply positioning Sonic SVM as an optional extension solution for Solana is not enough. From the recent Sonic airdrop to TikTok users, it is not difficult to see that Sonic SVM has bigger ambitions beyond Solana: to benchmark TON and become the APP layer for TikTok's on-chain expansion.
As we all know, @ton_blockchain has already become a unique "application chain" framework, relying on the huge user base of the Telegram social platform, with seamless compatibility of on-chain wallets, DApps, and DeFi-like "mini-program" application scenarios, putting it at the forefront of practicing the new generation of blockchain architecture and Mass Adoption.
The deep integration of Sonic SVM with TikTok also aims at the same goal, as TikTok has a larger young user base in the Z generation, with more prominent business value. Being able to build a "chain-linked" environment based on TikTok will have more commercial prospects for future application landing, which is more attractive than simply positioning it as a Solana layer2.
