Sonic: Airdrop Farming Spotlight
The market’s a mess, and there’s no sugarcoating it.
Trump’s election sparked hopes of a rally, but tariffs on Canada, China, and Europe doused that fire fast.
Time to sell and ghost?
Hold up—not so fast.
We might not be at rock bottom, but we’re close.
The fear/greed index is tanking at 26/100, the lowest since September 2023.
This is partially due to the memecoin hype crashing and burning, echoing the NFT bust of 2021-2022.
What some hyped as crypto’s retail gateway turned into a giant cash grab—another gut punch making folks wonder, “What’s the point of this space?”
Crypto should level the financial playing field, not invent new scams with zero accountability.
It's a brutal reality check.
Could it get uglier?
Yup.
Trading’s a probability game, and a chunk of that fleeing capital isn’t returning soon.
But here’s the play: don’t vanish—pivot.
Test new apps and farm some airdrops.
Airdrops are no joke.
I got a $28,000 airdrop from MagicEden and $11,000 from Jupiter Exchange.
I even got a $200 airdrop for clicking a few buttons and signing up to Kaito.
I was late to that one and joined the day before.
It’s not much, but it’s honest work.
Companies are paying you for your data for the first time rather than extracting it and selling it to the highest bidder.
Sonic’s the next big one to watch, and it’s got legs, judging by its rapidly growing TVL.
Before I explain how to farm its airdrop, let’s unpack what Sonic is and why it’s worth your attention.
What Is It
Sonic is a layer-1 blockchain that evolved from Fantom (FTM), rebranded under Sonic Labs to enhance its predecessor’s vision.
It’s an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible network designed for high-performance decentralized applications (dApps), particularly in DeFi, gaming, and NFTs.
Launched in December 2024, Sonic combines layer-1 scalability with a custom layer-2 bridge to Ethereum, offering a hybrid solution for speed, cost, and interoperability.
What It Does Better Than Other Layer-1s
Speed: Sonic boasts over 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) with sub-second finality (around 400-720 milliseconds), outpacing many competitors. This makes it ideal for high-frequency use cases like trading or gaming.
Cheap Fees: Transaction costs are minimal, thanks to its efficient architecture and a Fee Monetization (FeeM) model that redistributes up to 90% of network fees to developers, reducing the burden on users.
Ethereum Connectivity: Unlike fully isolated layer-1s, Sonic’s native Sonic Gateway bridge provides secure, decentralized access to Ethereum’s liquidity and assets, enhancing interoperability without compromising performance.
Comparison
Sonic sits between Ethereum, Solana, and emerging layer-1s like Hyperliquid.
It’s an EVM-compatible rival to Solana’s high-throughput model and a more scalable alternative to Ethereum’s layer-1, competing with Hyperliquid’s focus on trading efficiency.
Metrics
Ethereum: 15-30 TPS, ~$1-5 fees (pre-L2), 12-15s finality vs. Sonic’s 10,000+ TPS, sub-$0.01 fees, <1s finality.
Solana: ~3,000 TPS (real-world average), ~$0.00025 fees, ~400ms finality vs. Sonic’s higher TPS and comparable speed, with EVM compatibility as a differentiator.
Hyperliquid: Up to 100,000 TPS (theoretical), on-chain order book focus, no EVM vs. Sonic’s broader dApp support and Ethereum bridge.
Data Showing Real Usage (TVL)
Since its mainnet launch in December 2024, Sonic’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has surged from $11 million to over $650 million by mid-February 2025, a 1,415% increase.
Daily volume has jumped from $200K to $77M, and protocol revenue recently hit $890K, signaling strong adoption in DeFi and beyond.
However, revenue fell all the way down to $17,400 due to bearish market conditions.
The Team
Sonic Labs was co-founded by Andre Cronje, a prominent DeFi innovator known for creating Yearn Finance and shaping Fantom’s early success.
After a brief hiatus, Cronje returned as Sonic’s Chief Technology Officer, bringing his expertise in optimizing blockchain execution stacks.
Why It Could Be Successful
Technical Edge: High TPS, low latency, and EVM compatibility make it a developer-friendly powerhouse.
Developer Incentives: The FeeM model rewards builders with up to 90% of fees, fostering a robust ecosystem.
Cronje’s Credibility: His track record adds trust and attracts talent.
Airdrop Boost: A 190.5 million $S token airdrop (6% of supply, ~$232M at $1.22/token) incentivizes early adoption.
Why It Could Fail
Competition: Solana, Ethereum L2s, and Hyperliquid already dominate niches Sonic targets.
Fantom’s Past: Fantom suffered from a $126M Multichain exploit and market downturns—Sonic must rebuild trust.
Ecosystem Maturity: Its app ecosystem is still young compared to established chains, risking slower growth.
How to Get Money on Sonic
Sonic’s airdrop program distributes 190.5 million $S tokens across multiple seasons (the first ends mid-2025).
Coinbase Wallet is the easiest way to interact with the ecosystem, but other options exist.
The quickest way to get money into the Sonic ecosystem is deBridge.
You can bridge almost every crypto asset from deBridge to Sonic.
I started with Ethereum USDC, and the bridge took a few minutes.
How to Farm
There are three main ways you can farm the airdrop:
Passive Liquidity Points: Bridge assets (e.g., via deBridge) and hold them, stake $S, or provide liquidity on approved protocols like Beets. This is the easiest way to farm and requires the least effort.
Activity Points: Trade, transfer, or interact with whitelisted dApps (e.g., Beethoven X). Points accrue based on engagement.
App Points: Earn further airdrop allocation from participating apps. You can use this dashboard to find apps.
Start with $100 so you can get used to everything.
Once you get the hang of onboarding funds, you can scale up capital to maximize the most points possible.
This is my standard process for airdrops.
I like to get a feel for the ecosystem before I commit more money, as not all of these projects will have massive airdrops, and I don’t want to waste my time if I see something I don’t like.
Sonic could be huge, considering a well-respected crypto developer who created it and a growing list of respected investors backing it.
You still have time, as the token won’t go live until mid-2025.
Why This Matters
Sonic isn’t just a rehash of Fantom—it’s a calculated pivot to outpace layer-1 giants.
Its speed, cost efficiency, and developer-first approach could make it a dark horse in 2025, especially with a juicy airdrop to hook early users.
Could it become the next Hyperliquid by minting early adopters with 7 figure airdrops?
Time will tell.
Its TVL is rising rapidly, which is an early indication that it could last in a crypto world where attention dissipates quickly.
If you do happen to join the ecosystem, please use my referral code:
LDKF7Q
Check out my video breakdown here: