GuShiio.com Is it an old wine in a new bottle, or is it a real innovation?
In the current crypto market, as the Meme craze recedes, many investors are confused.
Sonic, a new public chain led by Fantom founder Andre Cronje (AC), is emerging as DeFi New focus in the field.
With comprehensive performance upgrades, 6% airdrop incentives and AC’s highly participatory ecosystem construction, Sonic not only attracted a large number of entrepreneurs, but also rekindled the market’s expectation and enthusiasm for DeFi.
However, looking back at AC’s sudden departure from Fantom, the market is also full of doubts about Sonic’s future.
Is it an old wine in a new bottle, or is it a real innovation?Let us follow the famous DeFi KOL Chen Mo (@cmdefi) withResearcher Fat Dun (@DaPangDunCrypto) From the perspective of Sonic’s potential and future. Can Sonic’s rise be DeFi’s breakthrough and lead DeFi to create the next glory cycle again?
The following content is a compilation of the text after our conversation, and the audio version of the podcast is also launched simultaneously:
Small Universe Link:
https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episode/67cc4aad0766616acd85c5d9
Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2CBKjBOyNhkYKpImohvRSP? si=DeUjwfUORwexH2TQIRn1-g
Shenchao TechFlow: First of all, please introduce yourself.
Fat Dun:
Hello, everyone, my name is Fat Dun. I entered this industry in the last cycle, and I have been all in crypto since this cycle. I usually do some research, whether it is hairdressing, Meme, or various ecosystems I like, I will participate in.
Chen Mo:
Hello everyone, I am Chen Mo. I have been doing DeFi-related research and investment since 2020. I participated in the Fantom Ecosystem in the last cycle and have a lot of affection for founder Andre Cronje (AC), so I am very happy to see Sonic’s outstanding performance after it went online.
Deep Trend TechFlow: Teacher Chen Mo was in Fantom Ecology in the last cycle. What do you think was the difference between Fantom at that time and Sonic now?
Chen Mo:
Sonic’s upgrade this time is mainly reflected in performance. The most intuitive feeling is that it has faster speed, higher TPS, and certain parallel execution capabilities. Of course, users may be slightly less aware of technological changes.
From a user’s perspective, the most intuitive feeling is that AC participation is higher than in the previous cycle. Although the existence of AI and Meme has weakened the scale of the DeFi sector, and AC is not as famous as it was in the previous cycle, he has stood on the stage and become the one building the stage.AC nowadays has no idol baggage, he is more willing to participate in and promote projects in the ecology. This reminds me of the Solana Foundation, and it also leads everyone to move forward. This traction is Sonic’s advantage.
Therefore, I am looking forward to a project that can break the circle in this cycle when DeFi is not very strong, so that everyone can understand and participate in DeFi.
Deep Tide TechFlow: Fat Dumps only got involved in this cycle. I saw you posted a Sonic study two days ago, pointing out that it is still in a relatively early stage. Please share your opinions.
Fat Dun:
I basically focused on the BTC ecosystem before, and then I focused on Meme on Solana. Why am I suddenly paying attention to Sonic?I think there is a narrative gap now.Many people suddenly feel that they can’t see the future after the AI wave. This is not to say that AI is not good, but during this cycle, the AI narrative seems to have been falsified; and Meme has been cut off after a series of events. Everyone became very confused.
However, there must always be a narrative in the circle. Then I saw Sonic, which seemed to open the door to a new world for a DeFi newcomer like me. It is different from Level 1 and Level 2, and there are many things to calculate. DeFi’s opportunities are not as rough as Meme’s, but its life cycle is not as short as Meme’s. DeFi has a mature model, and its stability is exactly what I need.
The second is because of Andre Cronje. Maybe because I did not participate in Fantom Ecology, I did not have the concerns caused by AC’s departure. He makes me feel like Solana’s Tory, an ecological marketer. No matter whether the project is good or bad, as long as it is valuable, he will repost it. In the current narrative gap, the market lacks people like AC who can cause trouble. In addition, Sonic labs is also relatively active, and the Sonic network has undergone major upgrades, which makes me even more reluctant to miss out on this ecosystem.
Deep Trend TechFlow: Let me summarize, the reason why you are optimistic about Sonic is: there is now a narrative gap;DeFi is along-term doctrineAC is willing to stand on the stage and build an ecosystem. I want to extend the question: there is no shortage of public chains with DeFi ecosystem. Why do you pay more attention to Sonic?
Fat Dun:
First of all, Sonic is a new public chain with large profit margins. Secondly, for faster development, Sonic committed approximately 6% of its airdrops, an opportunity that is hard to see in many mature DeFi ecosystems. In addition, Sonic’s institutional participation is very low and has a more grassroots and entrepreneurial feeling.
Deep Trend TechFlow: Berachain just recently joined PoL, which is a very important thing for them; and recently several VC Currencies are relatively strong, whether it is $KAITO,$IP Or $BERA. Berachain’s characteristics are also DeFi, so I would like to ask you to talk about, from a DeFi perspective, what do you think of Berachain and Sonic?
Chen Mo:
I am involved in both ecosystems. In contrast, I think Sonic has more opportunities. Sonic is bottom-up, while Berachain has huge financing and institutional support, and many projects have cooperation with officials. They have different styles. Sonic is more friendly to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, and AC is willing to help with projects that eliminate RUG risks.
In addition, Berachain earns points through pledges, while Sonic mines liquidity, which is more participatory for retail investors. The increase in TVL will bring higher fees and rewards, and the currency price will also increase accordingly. The higher currency price will promote things like TVL that are a bit of a positive Ponzi spiral, giving people a feeling of growing up with the project. feeling. Just like Shadow, which is very popular now, its TVL is improving bit by bit. For projects driven by points, money needs to be deposited first and cashed back until TGE. Many people will keep their eyes on TGE to calculate how much the currency price will reach to make a profit, which will lose the sense of accomplishment to grow with the project. These are two opposite relationships. Points projects are more suitable for people with a certain amount of capital to pursue more stable income; Sonic has relatively greater alpha opportunities. I prefer a form like Sonic.You can say it’s retro, but I think that’s exactly what’s missing right now. Everyone is very impetuous, only seeing the benefits, but ignoring the process of growing with the project.
In addition, liquidity mining is often widely criticized for being unsustainable, which is a problem that no current mechanism can solve. But the feeling Sonic brings to users is different.
Shenchao TechFlow: You also mentioned before that Sonic is a technical upgrade. I would like you to talk about it and briefly introduce the (3,3) mechanism, and what is the difference between this round of Sonic’s (3,3) and Fantom’s (3,3)?
Chen Mo:
The original (3, -3) comes from OHM (Olympus DAO). The earliest mechanism is very simple: if both people hold, it is in equilibrium (1,1), if both pledge, it is in positive energy (3, -3), and if both sell, it is in a down multiple state (-3,-3). This is something of game theory.
AC combined the veToken model and the (3,3) model to create ve(3,3). ve(3,3) allows users to use voting rights to decide which pool liquidity incentives are allocated to, while voters can also earn real benefits such as fees from the pool they support.
Shadow’s x(3,3) is an optimized version of ve(3,3). The original veToken is difficult to circulate. Once it is locked, it will have to be friends with the project party for a long time. x(3,3) allows users to quit halfway, but 50% of the proceeds will be given to those who have not quit. This is a relatively big change. It has an exit method for people who want to exit urgently, and it also doubles the reward for those who are still in the ecosystem.
Deep Trend TechFlow: These changes seem to explain more why Shadow is so good, but now the entire Sonic ecosystem is performing very well. Is it because Shadow inspires everyone’s enthusiasm, or is it due to the value of $S itself? Are there other innovative projects in Sonic Ecosystem?
Chen Mo:
There are more micro-innovations like Shadow in the Sonic ecosystem. From TVL, we can see that a lot of money has flowed into the Sonic ecosystem. Many projects that have failed in other ecosystems have joined Sonic because of subsidies, and they will bring liquidity. In fact, this kind of startup method for real money buying users is the same as the early DeFi.Because DeFi is too inactive during this cycle, many mechanisms feel a little unfamiliar to us.
In general, when Sonic has a lot of token incentive subsidies, its TVL will definitely increase. If it’s innovative, I think Shadow is relatively the best.
Fat Dun:
Shadow is currently the only one. For Sonic Ecology, many people are aiming for 6% airdrops. This airdrop is aimed at ordinary users on the one hand and at project parties on the other. However, many project parties have distributed these airdrops to users, so users can actually get 2 airdrops, which also stimulates everyone’s motivation.
The second point is that as Teacher Chen Mo said, many people have never been exposed to DeFi before. In the current narrative gap, DeFi has rekindled many people’s enthusiasm for research.
The third point I am thinking, what kind of blueprint does AC want to build? All DeFi projects face a question: What will we do in the end? Are there any other solutions besides the above? For traditional finance, DeFi’s yields are very high. We can see that Sonic is making products such as abstract wallets and games, and AC has also expressed its willingness to do things under U.S. supervision.So I was thinking that AC’s goal might be to turn DeFi web2——In web3, users are more willing to try GameFi than Game, and gain revenue is the first priority.
Deep Trend TechFlow: This also brings to the next topic. Everyone must feel that there is still room for profit when playing Sonic now. I want to know what you think of indicators like market cap/ TVL, or ve(3,3) At what stage should we be vigilant? and TGE What should I pay attention to?
Chen Mo:
In Sonic, I pay more attention to DeFi, which is Sonic’s biggest advantage. Just like Solana’s advantage is Meme, as long as Meme is done well, Solana will not be bad. Sonic’s current style is a bit like early Solana, with airdrops being an introduction. As for Sonic’s upper limit, I think it still depends on DeFi’s subsequent momentum.
VE (3,3) is different from (3,3). Unless the trading volume of the entire Sonic ecosystem shrinks rapidly, there is theoretically no risk of collapse, which is not easy when there is an incentive.—— As for the integral model, I personally feel that it is difficult to get out of the circle because it overdrew everyone’s enthusiasm during TGE. In contrast, Sonic continues the way Fantom grows slowly. I think in this model, it is very likely that one or two gods like Olympus DAO and Luna will emerge.
Anyway, there must be something out of the circle——Thinking that Meme was Solana, and thinking that DeFi would first look for opportunities on Sonic. If it could, it would be very successful. Moreover, the track AC is best at is DeFi, and he proposed many mechanism designs and ve(3,3) models first.I’m looking forward to AC finding what the current era needs, and if so, Sonic’s upper limit will be very high.
Shenchao TechFlow: Speaking of God disks, there is a recent project called Super.exchange, which many people think is a God disk. Are the two teachers involved in this project?
Fat Dun:
I went to play Super.exchange very early on, and the biggest feeling it gave me was that for this plate-type project, it is important to understand the logic. Super.exchange ‘s model relies on buying back and destroying tokens through transaction fees from DEX, a mechanism similar to transaction mining. The main source of funds for repurchase and destruction is the external trading volume, so the external trading volume must remain at a high level, otherwise the repurchase volume will decrease, making it difficult for the token price to rise. However, there are two key issues in the outer disk:
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Although nearly 60% of the total number of tokens has been destroyed, the FDV is still calculated based on the initial total amount of 1 billion yuan. Ordinary retail investors will mistakenly think that the FDV is too high and are unwilling to accept the offer.
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The liquidity pool on the external disk is created by the user themselves and cannot be blocked by the project party.
In addition, early investors may achieve high returns, but due to volatile market sentiment and declining external trading volume, actual returns may be much lower than expected. The current key lies in whether the volume of external trading can continue to grow. Otherwise, the repurchase and destruction mechanism will be difficult to promote the increase in token prices, and it will be difficult for the project to maintain long-term development. Many people don’t understand this mechanism and will lose money instead.
As for the DeFi risk signal mentioned earlier, I actually would like to ask Teacher Chen Mo: Every DeFi project will have a flywheel. For example, sometimes trading volume is a key factor in the flywheel. How should I find these key factors? Should we pay attention when there are problems with these data?
Chen Mo:
My personal understanding is that such absolute points do not exist. For some projects with a flywheel mechanism, there must be a point where the flywheel is activated, and it is actually relatively dangerous if the increment slows down or drops. In the era of OHM, it was possible to start a flywheel that had stopped. However,People’s attention is too distracted in the current cycle, there are many other things to play with after the flywheel stops. Secondly, there is a real need to start the flywheel. In the DeFi bull market, a large amount of liquidity demand is the point that ignites the flywheel, but now few project parties will make a large pool in the chain, and the presence of DEX has become very low.
Deep Trend TechFlow: I just mentioned that AC also has some compliance actions in the United States, and Daniele’s Hey Anon has also become popular before. addition to DeFi, do the two teachers think they are optimistic about any sectors or projects in the Sonic ecosystem?
Fat Dun:
I don’t have a large amount of money, so sometimes I look for some ways to play with higher odds. There are three main ways for me to participate:
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Find new projects and gain alpha opportunities, but pay attention to RUG risks. When AC forwards a project, it will also say that it does not know what will happen next for this project.
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I will watch NFT. Nowadays, many people like rights NFT. This kind of NFT has a strong social promotion attribute. Each NFT has a shape and suffix. You can imagine that an X Space full of Derps avatars is a shocking scene in itself. Moreover, pictures are easier to leave an impression and have stronger cultural attributes. The project company will also make profits for these NFTs. My original $Shadow was actually airdropped to me by the Derps project company.
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Stabilize income. I would not choose a stablecoin LP that requires a large amount of capital, but more to find some opportunities by anchoring assets of $S.
NFT all a little DeFi It started with a token, and later the token could buy snacks to feed derps, and then decorate the room; similar projects include Berps and so on. They are not pure NFT projects.
Fat Dun:
Yes, the NFT of Sonic Ecosystem carries a little DeFi attribute. As Teacher Chen Mo said, if the first person that comes to mind when talking about DeFi is Sonic, it will succeed. In the Sonic ecosystem, pure Meme is very difficult to make. Everything will have some DeFi characteristics, otherwise it will be difficult to be recognized by this circle.
Deep Trend TechFlow: I think after this baptism, everyone will no longer be interested in pure Meme projects and will have to have something else to buy it. Teacher Chen Mo thinks that apart from DeFi, does the Sonic ecosystem have potential for other tracks?
Chen Mo: I also paid attention to Daniele’s ANON, and before Sonic started this wave, he actually started another wave. My main focus is on things around DeFi, including DeFAI. Other words may not have much advantage except for new projects.
Deep Trend TechFlow: Currently, the only DeFAI project I know about on Sonic is Hey Anon. Another similar thing is Allora on Polychain. It does not issue coins and mainly provides AI Provide infrastructure.
Chen Mo:
Yes, but Hey Anon didn’t reach the point where he could break the circle. However, we can still look forward to whether there are more opportunities in the later period, because Daniele was quite good at causing trouble in the last cycle.
Shenchao TechFlow: Recent Binance “DeFi+AIHey Anon is often mentioned in research, so I feel that more and more people will pay attention to it.
During the chat just now, both teachers mentioned that DeFi is Sonic’s business card, but recently everyone’s attention seems to have shifted to performance. Does Sonic have a unique competitive advantage in terms of performance? Will the launch of emerging public chains such as Monad have an impact on Sonic?
Fat Dun:
Monad is very popular, with 4 million active users within a few days of its launch. However, I think AC’s final confirmation is reasonable. Users don’t care about a single indicator, but instead pay more attention to how long the results can be seen after a transaction is initiated. Sonic has a good experience at the user level.
The speed of public chains such as Arbitrum and Monad is also very fast. Everyone has been optimizing technology for a long time, and there is no distinction between which is better or worse. The current public chain is not like Ethereum, which can do everything. I think the current public chain should become an application chain, focusing on doing a function well. The chain is just a carrier. Sonic needs to find its own direction. The current DeFi is different from the past. We can’t let everyone think that Sonic’s DeFi is an old thing. Performance is only the foundation, and the key to the future is what application you go for.
Chen Mo:
Now is no longer the era when TPS is king. In the ancient web3 era, because there was no ecology, everyone used TPS. But after so many years of development, the market has already given a performance solution. Either it divides the performance like Ethereum L2, or parallel it like Solana. There is no unbridled gap in performance today, and a competitive ecosystem is the key to winning.
Shenchao TechFlow: Due to time constraints, our discussion for today ends here. Thank you both for your time. I also hope that Sonic can develop better, let more users pay attention to DeFi, and drive the entire ecosystem.
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