There has been a lot of discussion around @SonicSVM these days, as the topics of airdrops to TikTok users, Solana "super" game chain, and Solana L2 have all been generating a lot of attention. So how can we understand this new "layer2" of the Solana ecosystem?
1) Calling Solana a "layer2" is actually not quite accurate, as it will naturally make people think of the burden of the Ethereum layer2 ecosystem. It's natural to wonder why the high-performance Solana would need a layer2? The reason is easy to understand - Sonic SVM is actually a specialized expansion 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 such expansion solutions is more to solve the special needs of high-frequency interactions and fast-response applications like games, to avoid the stuttering and latency that can occur when Solana's main chain is processing a large number of high-frequency transactions (e.g. over 4,000 TPS load).
Therefore, I tend to define Sonic SVM as a specialized expansion solution for high-frequency applications like 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 noticeable failure rate, which is unacceptable in some high-frequency interactive game scenarios, as any failure can significantly impact the user experience.
Therefore, trying this expansion solution specifically for high-experience game and specific application domains can expand Solana's financial application scenarios to a wider range of diverse applications, attracting more developers and users to join the Solana ecosystem.
Similarly, the previously much-discussed @EclipseFND modular expansion solution, which uses SVM as the execution layer to provide expansion 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 expandable solution paths for Solana. Sonic SVM is undoubtedly one of these core expandable solution paths.
All signs indicate that the Solana ecosystem is building its own "Rollup-Centric" big ecosystem, making a new push towards its ultimate goal of flipping ETH.
3) However, simply positioning Sonic SVM as one of Solana's optional expansion solutions 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, relying on the huge user base of the Telegram social platform, has already become a unique "application chain" framework, seamlessly compatible with 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 this goal, as TikTok has a larger young user base in the Z era and higher commercial 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 just being positioned as a Solana layer2.
