$97,455.00
3.94%$3,416.89
5.64%$7.25
12.37%$2.26
5.08%$670.21
4.04%$188.16
2.54%$0.325798
12.89%$1.00
-0.01%$3,408.31
5.90%$0.926539
11.99%$0.247143
4.42%$39.30
10.07%$23.14
9.74%$4,067.08
6.55%$5.38
6.47%$4.70
25.54%$0.00002243
13.26%$97,344.00
3.94%$0.366189
7.82%$32.94
25.79%$0.260152
2.72%$3,421.03
5.92%$458.43
12.06%$9.30
1.66%$13.52
14.45%$101.51
9.58%$0.0000181
18.25%$3,608.34
5.94%$5.22
8.87%$4.24
4.18%$1.00
0.15%$10.29
-1.99%$0.999747
-0.06%$10.54
11.00%$313.34
9.58%$0.163183
7.76%$0.487967
10.72%$1.19
10.06%$26.72
6.68%$7.42
13.52%$0.04698315
12.61%$3.91
8.68%$193.16
9.48%$24.45
0.03%$477.95
12.55%$1.32
9.81%$1.13
22.24%$0.781733
9.64%$5.10
9.76%$0.123112
6.44%$1.042
15.37%$0.341816
10.80%$45.19
3.94%$2.68
21.22%$6.81
9.53%$1.73
5.59%$1.76
9.33%$1.85
8.13%$0.00003217
21.40%$1.42
7.97%$5.20
11.86%$1.001
28.98%$2.21
19.41%$21.66
10.32%$3,419.61
6.15%$0.215877
10.73%$2.06
13.90%$97,340.00
3.81%$0.03047432
22.51%$0.440708
11.35%$2.28
11.21%$5.22
7.99%$3,505.06
5.91%$3,817.84
5.61%$0.996632
-0.12%$0.00017392
12.41%$0.0344806
11.83%$114.46
12.30%$13.14
8.20%$3,602.36
6.07%$1.75
15.05%$0.0368676
16.02%$0.02764201
7.11%$18.97
11.41%$97,560.00
3.92%$1,674.47
5.31%$0.02796017
19.05%$3.32
-0.05%$0.580222
15.44%$1.00
-0.07%$0.377844
9.88%$1.36
6.19%$11.22
7.35%$1.32
15.07%$0.228559
8.22%$0.133143
12.80%$4.49
10.23%$97,223.00
4.28%$3,513.97
5.64%$0.828189
10.44%$6.94
9.50%$192.15
2.53%$35.99
7.68%$1.63
15.31%$0.85898
8.59%$0.077005
15.69%$0.726384
9.97%$0.495235
7.50%$16.74
7.21%$54.74
8.77%$0.302749
10.01%$1.51
9.67%$0.946712
12.65%$0.00000109
7.55%$0.83343
13.80%$233.75
1.95%$1.12
9.50%$14.42
7.65%$6.42
15.41%$35.53
12.72%$0.488925
10.50%$0.489777
10.43%$96,562.00
2.92%$97,001.00
3.99%$5.28
17.93%$1.19
10.91%$54.04
22.61%$3,396.02
5.39%$3.92
4.40%$0.00000211
-0.21%$3.02
9.21%$0.823729
-26.08%$0.087556
10.95%$3.26
10.65%$3,419.61
5.96%$0.164452
9.40%$0.278021
9.68%$0.7058
12.26%$0.775236
12.11%$0.998968
0.16%$0.627304
10.48%$83.07
12.26%$200.88
2.88%$0.785308
36.77%$3,420.43
5.77%$1.94
8.88%$1.59
18.61%$2.40
6.28%$2.09
5.08%$0.00003549
8.36%$266.29
10.56%$21.53
10.50%$1.51
9.89%$0.00682803
15.53%$0.325424
12.81%$0.18294
10.16%$0.763066
12.41%$96,657.00
3.77%$0.00793008
7.27%$0.00650713
9.24%$0.660408
14.52%$0.658816
9.49%$2,628.74
0.89%$0.995754
0.17%$5.77
11.79%$3,605.38
5.76%$0.00011325
15.49%$0.00
24.56%$0.01143856
15.67%$3,692.94
5.48%$2.47
15.16%$0.00857545
16.00%$1.26
-6.60%$18.93
15.05%$1.11
16.33%$27.05
10.48%$3,411.90
5.41%$0.084386
8.99%$0.0063651
13.94%$0.269695
8.94%$11.00
10.66%$0.39739
10.69%$1.32
20.27%$0.077455
1.86%$1.022
0.32%$1.001
0.05%$1.28
14.99%$97,167.00
3.54%$2,629.37
1.04%$0.517827
25.55%$0.00000052
4.08%$9.13
-7.17%$14.10
20.57%$96,625.00
4.43%$0.053188
26.90%$0.0111362
14.27%$1.52
6.61%$31.76
16.81%$1.002
0.23%$3,331.86
1.10%$3,415.36
5.56%$4.85
7.87%$0.445149
13.00%$0.00627082
19.74%$0.061534
9.83%$0.296858
59.36%$37.73
11.15%$97,094.00
3.35%$3,674.18
5.66%$0.00570944
17.63%$0.065725
9.33%$3,545.59
4.93%$0.00639471
11.07%$1.053
-2.83%$2.09
11.19%$0.00246582
11.15%$0.00100879
13.33%$0.02171613
12.48%$26.15
46.22%$3.20
9.12%$0.072453
4.82%$5.23
5.18%$0.227595
13.25%$0.00000326
10.49%$0.99871
0.94%$1.071
-0.98%$0.469808
9.19%$88.37
3.11%$0.211499
8.50%$1.00
0.20%$2.50
9.08%$3,767.19
5.42%$0.00000018
8.56%$0.677992
11.91%$0.0380918
7.03%$3.45
12.38%$0.896093
7.09%$1.003
0.48%$0.366788
58.92%$0.140798
5.84%$2.93
2.52%$0.03629177
11.53%$46.26
10.21%$0.01079815
12.16%$0.742946
18.42%$0.36074
8.37%$3,413.87
5.53%$3,608.47
5.79%
Fantom co-founder Andre Cronje is hoping to give blockchain technology as we know it a facelift.
"Blockchain technology is stuck in the eighties," he told Decrypt. "The internet and tech back then were predominantly used for financial applications simply because financial transactions were the only thing that made economic sense to digitize."
Cronje added that today's standards mean those kinds of transactions now cost a fraction of a penny, something that "would cost you much more" on networks like Ethereum. Bitcoin is slower and can be more expensive, too, as the market has already seen during the rise of Ordinals.
His fix? A key upgrade to Fantom's tech stack called Sonic—optimized, as the name suggests, for speed.
Fantom, in its current form, is one of several layer-1 blockchain networks like Avalanche and Solana aimed at improving speeds and reducing costs when spending internet coins. Launched in 2019 after raising $40 million, Fantom operates using a variation of the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism called Lachesis, and is also compatible with Ethereum.
Today, #Fantom is thrilled to announce the launch of the #FantomSonic testnet environment!
Sonic’s three main upgrades include:
• Fantom Virtual Machine, which offers drastically faster smart contract execution compared to the old EVM.
• Carmen database storage, which uses a… pic.twitter.com/shovQtzMkd
— Fantom Foundation (@FantomFDN) October 24, 2023
In terms of purported stats, Sonic will apparently speed up Fantom by another 65x, make it easier to launch a node, as well as slashing the storage costs for network nodes. The idea here is to lower the barrier for everyday users to securing the network. "We believe it will be top tier in every metric," said Cronje.
To do that, though they'll still need to stake a hefty 50,000 native FTM tokens, which, at today's prices, comes out to $11,222, per CoinGecko data.
In terms of Sonic's ideal clientele, Cronje is hoping to lure in credit card companies and international banks. He was light on names but told Decrypt that he and his team are "having multiple conversations" with such firms.
"The problem with current blockchain technology is that it is slow, unscalable, and far too expensive. Institutions don’t build on 56k dialup and 486 processors for the same reason," he said. "The tech needs to catch up and we’re confident Sonic is a step towards developing what institutions need when leveraging blockchain."
Fantom has only just rolled out the Sonic testnet yesterday—a sort of sandbox for developers and users to kick a network's tires—but a full launch is expected next Spring.
More updates are for the testnet planned for later this year too, and developers are invited to get started experimenting with the network.
Edited by Stephen Graves
