Sophon, the entertainment-centric blockchain network built on zkSync's technology, has earmarked 10% of its total $SOPH supply to reward early backers who participate in its liquidity farming initiative.
Users who contribute to Sophon's Total Value Locked (TVL) can partake in these rewards by depositing eligible assets into designated farming pools on the Ethereum Mainnet, followed by a second farming phase on the Sophon Mainnet upon its launch.
Participants in the farming period are rewarded with "Sophon Points (SP)," which accumulate with each block.
The farming period's token distribution is structured as follows:
Ethereum Mainnet Farming: 6% of the total $SOPH token supply
Sophon Mainnet Farming: 4% of the total $SOPH token supply (with rules to be announced prior to launch)
Understanding the farming cycle is crucial for maximising SP earnings and engaging with the broader Sophon ecosystem:
Initial farming period (Ethereum Mainnet): This phase allows users to deposit assets and earn SP, which accrue until assets are bridged to the Sophon Mainnet. The duration of this period will be announced later.
Farming on Sophon Mainnet: Post-launch, all deposited assets will be transferred permissionlessly and made accessible. New deposits and boosts will be available, but assets boosted on Ethereum Mainnet will be locked permanently for liquidity. Accumulated SP will then be used to calculate $SOPH token rewards based on the allocated supply percentage.
A distinctive feature of Sophon's farming pools is its booster programme, an optional mechanism that enables participants to amplify their potential rewards in exchange for permanently allocating some or all of their deposited assets to provide liquidity on the Sophon Mainnet.
Activating a booster by locking assets permanently can multiply deposits by five times, significantly increasing reward potential.
However, assets allocated to boosters are committed indefinitely to Sophon's liquidity and cannot be withdrawn.
The primary assets for deposit are BEAM and BEAM/ETH LP tokens, with more pools to be introduced in the future.
The 10% allocation for the liquidity farming period is expected to attract many users, with an initial set of pools launching and additional ones planned for the upcoming weeks.
SP is awarded to participants in real-time, and users can track their rewards through Sophon's Farming Portal.
Reward rates vary by pool and are influenced by the relative size of a user's deposit within a pool.
Benefits of Participation:
Substantial Rewards: The 10% allocation offers a strong incentive to join and earn $SOPH tokens.
Early Access: Participants gain early entry to the Sophon ecosystem, positioning themselves favourably as it expands.
Real-Time Tracking: The Farming Portal provides transparency and immediate feedback on accumulated rewards and deposit comparisons.
Sophon ensures transparency and real-time tracking of rewards, enabling users to monitor their SP accumulation and performance within the pools.
Sophon has successfully raised approximately $60 million through a node sale that commenced on 30 April and concluded on 13 May.
Preceding this, the project secured a $10 million seed round at a $75 million valuation in March, with support from investors such as Matter Labs, Merit Circle, Spartan, and Maven 11, among others.
Sophon enjoys robust partnerships with Merit Circle and Beam, both of which have provided incubation support.
This collaboration grants Sophon access to high-throughput games within the Merit Circle and Beam ecosystems, substantially broadening its gaming portfolio and enriching the user experience.
The node sale offered 200,000 nodes for purchase, employing a tiered pricing structure that varied from 0.0813 ETH to 2.0556 ETH per node.
Investors opted to purchase 121,000 nodes, generating around $60 million in wrapped ether (wETH) for Sophon, as reported on 8 May.
In terms of wETH, Sophon amassed 20,800 wETH, according to Sebastien ("Seb"), Sophon's semi-anonymous co-founder and former head of DeFi at zkSync.
The sale attracted a variety of investors, including those who had backed Sophon's $10 million seed round earlier in the year, such as Maven 11, Paper Ventures, Spartan Group, and SevenX Ventures.
Seb also mentioned that launchpads and syndicates like Impossible Finance, ICO Drops, and Holdstation facilitated the node sale with public participation.
Of the $60 million investment, roughly $45 million originated from private investors, and about $15 million came from retail investors, Seb stated.
Node sales, a relatively novel method of fundraising, empower communities by offering early-stage exposure to project tokens at a discounted rate and token airdrops.
Sophon has allocated 20% of its token's (SOPH) total supply for node license holders to distribute over the initial 36 months post-mainnet launch.
Prior to Sophon's mainnet and token launch, node purchases have been represented by ERC-721 NFTs signifying their node licenses, Seb explained.
The primary assets sold were node keys, granting exclusive access to become a Sophon node operator.
Node operators will receive 20% of the total token supply distributed quarterly over three years, commencing after the Token Generation Event (TGE) in the third quarter of 2024.
The sale was structured into 40 tiers, with fully diluted valuations (FDV) spanning from $130 million to $3 billion.
Sophon is poised to launch its network in the coming months.
Upon launch, a centralised sequencer will be in place, and node license holders will have the opportunity to delegate their licenses to Sophon, enabling them to earn a share of the network fees.
The project said:
"These holders will also be able to participate in the functioning of Sophon, for instance by indexing the chain or by running a light node with the DA [data availability] layer Sophon elects to use. In the future, if and when the Matter Labs team will decentralize their consensus, node licenses will be required to operate the network — whether in a PoA [proof of authority] or PoS [proof of stake] setup."
The current blockchain landscape is marred by high transaction fees, limited cross-chain interoperability, and a fragmented user experience, exacerbated by scalability issues.
Moreover, there is a dearth of developer incentives in existing blockchains, often leading developers to seek grants, which stifles growth and innovation within these ecosystems.
Sophon, a community-driven and entertainment-centric ecosystem constructed on a modular rollup architecture that utilises zkSync's Hyperchain technology, aims to address these challenges by ensuring that every participant, from developers to users, is incentivised to engage with the network and is appropriately rewarded for their contributions.
The ecosystem fosters a connection between developers and users, supported by strategic partnerships with ecosystems like zkSync, Beam, Zentry, and Aethir.
As a Zero-Knowledge (ZK) chain built on the ZK Stack, Sophon is designed to cater to high-throughput applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and gaming.
To promote fair and incentivised participation, Sophon plans to enable node holders to operate the Sophon sequencer, earning sequencer fees in the process.
Additionally, node operators are set to be compensated in the Sophon network's native token, $SOPH, for their role in sustaining and ensuring the integrity of Sophon's decentralised infrastructure.
Sophon's integration with zkSync Hyperchain technology and hyperbridges—the native and trustless communication protocol of the ZK stack—facilitates cross-chain interoperability.
This allows Sophon to effortlessly communicate and exchange value with any other chain within the ecosystem, leveraging the rich liquidity and user base available.
The $SOPH token is anticipated to be the native currency for the Sophon network, expected to launch in Q3 2024.
The preliminary token allocation for $SOPH is as follows, though final tokenomics, allocation, and vesting schedules may be adjusted before the official launch:
Node Rewards: 20% of the total supply, emitted over 36 months with an additional 3-month lock-up period after claim
Sophon Foundation: 25% of the total supply, subject to a 12-month cliff and 36-month vesting period
Seed Contributors: 20% of the total supply, with a 12-month cliff and 24-month vesting period
Advisors: 5% of the total supply, subject to a 12-month cliff and 36-month vesting period
Ecosystem Reserve: 30% of the total supply dedicated to grants and broader ecosystem initiatives to foster growth within the Sophon ecosystem.
Little is known about the team behind Sophon, except for its semi-anonymous co-founder, Sebastien ("Seb"), who previously led DeFi at zkSync.
The other two co-founders are Pentoshi, a prominent crypto Twitter personality with over 800,000 followers, and a trader who is also a team member at Merit Circle, a gaming-focused decentralised autonomous organisation.
Sebastien, Co-Founder
Sebastien is a co-founder of Sophon and was previously Head of DeFi at ZKsync.
On 15 April, he posted on X about his departure from ZKsync during the end of April.
He went on to elaborate that Sophon is co-founded by Pentoshi, an unrevealed person, as well as himself:
“Sophon is the brainchild of @Pentosh1, ██████ and myself. We envisioned a place where communities could symbiotically co-exist, leveraging the best user experiences and partnerships.”
His socials: X
Pentoshi, Co-Founder
Other than mentions by Seb or the crypto community, there were no other mentions of Pentoshi.
On top of the mystery, he never posted anything related to Sophon on his X account based on a quick search, but a lot on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and so on.
His socials: X
Ramon, Lead Product
The most recent employee to onboard Sophon is Ramon, as the Lead product.
It would seem like both used to work together as Ramon stated that it was his last day at Matter Labs and it was an incredible journey building ZKsync.
His socials: X
Sophon's Socials
Leveraging the ZK Stack, Sophon aims to become a leading provider in the entertainment and blockchain space, utilising a future-proof Ethereum Layer 2 solution.
Node operators can engage with a blockchain network designed to revolutionise entertainment and blockchain technology, fostering a decentralised, efficient, and user-centric environment.
However, some users on X express scepticism, labelling it a rug pull or a complete scam.
Sophon is still in its early stages, with its first post dating back to 2 March, and a mysterious team to boot.
Coinlive advises waiting for more information, such as details on the Sophon Mainnet farming and the TGE expected this quarter, before making any judgments.
A total of 30 projects successfully raised funds this week, with the largest round being Sophon, which raised $60 million. 14 projects received pre-seed and seed round investments, and 16 projects received other rounds of financing. The total amount of funds raised in the crypto industry this week reached $197.8 million.
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