Sophon Mainnet Goes Live with $500M TVL and Strategic Industry Collaborations

Sophon has launched its mainnet, introducing the first-ever Validium on ZKsync powered by Avail DA. With over $500M in Total Value Locked (TVL) through the Sophon farming program.

Sophon Mainnet Launches with $500M+ TVL, Strategic Industry Collaborations

Dubai, India, December 18th, 2024, Chainwire

Sophon, the next-generation entertainment blockchain, has announced the launch of its mainnet, becoming the first-ever Validium on ZKsync to leverage an external data availability layer powered by Avail. With over $500M in Total Value Locked (TVL) through the Sophon farming program and a rapidly growing ecosystem of established partners, Sophon is paving the way for scalable, consumer-focused blockchain applications.

The launch comes with significant community support: over 120,000 node licenses purchased by more than 5,800 unique participants are now open for claiming. The SOPH token deploys today in a non-transferable state, with all transactions free for users during this initial phase. Node holders will begin getting rewards from January 1st, with full token transferability and trading expected in Q1 2025.

Launch Partners Drive Adoption

Sophon’s consumer-first approach focuses on delivering user experiences that encourage mainstream crypto engagement. Debuting with industry leaders selected for their ability to bring blockchain benefits to everyday users:

Pioneering Consumer-First Crypto

Sophon understands that mainstream users prioritize experiences and value over the underlying blockchain technology. By focusing on entertainment applications that naturally benefit from blockchain’s capabilities, Sophon is creating an ecosystem where the technology enhances rather than complicates the user experience.

This vision is reinforced through strategic collaborations with industry pioneers, like Beam, which is launching the first gaming-focused fund and accelerator in Abu Dhabi with a target size of $150M. Sophon is a strategic partner in this accelerator, supporting the advancement of blockchain-based gaming. Additionally, Sophon has seeded the $40M Tactical Compute initiative, targeting projects building at the intersection of crypto and AI. These partnerships ensure Sophon is not just building infrastructure – it’s contributing to the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Making History in Web3

Sophon’s mainnet launch marks the first-ever Validium on ZKsync to integrate an external data availability layer powered by Avail, bringing unmatched scalability, security, and savings. By using Avail’s modular application development stack to create its own Light Nodes, Sophon ensures high performance, maintaining full decentralization and data availability, working to set a new standard for modular blockchain designs.  

“Sophon embraces the full potential of the Avail Network, illustrating how blockchains can maintain provable decentralization even in high-volume use cases like entertainment” states Anurag Arjun, Co-founder of Avail.

ZKsync is a protocol to deploy L2 blockchains designed to scale Ethereum while maintaining data privacy through a Validium implementation utilizing Avail DA. The zero-knowledge protocol is leveraged to effectively scale the network while also enhancing interoperability

.Alex Gluchowski, co-inventor of ZKsync, commented, “Sophon’s mainnet launch on ZKsync marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of blockchain technology. As a ZKsync Validium leveraging Avail, Sophon is poised to transform the industry by offering enhanced scalability, security, and cost-efficiency. With a strong focus on user experience and a growing ecosystem of innovative partners, Sophon is well-positioned to unlock the full potential of blockchain for consumers around the world.”

This modular architecture establishes a new benchmark in blockchain design, making Sophon well-suited for high-throughput applications aiming for mainstream adoption.

“The internet didn’t need to explain how it worked to change the world. Crypto shouldn’t either.” said Sebastien, Co-Founder & CEO of Sophon. “Sophon is building the destination where digital culture, entertainment, and value seamlessly flow together – making crypto a natural part of everyday lifestyle applications. Today is day 0 of that journey.”

About Sophon

Sophon is the ultimate platform for next-gen entertainment applications, spanning everything from gaming to AI-powered experiences. It’s primed to be the go-to destination for entrepreneurs and major players in the entertainment industry looking to build their products onchain, offering users novel ways to earn, engage, and enjoy themselves.

To learn more about Sophon, users can visit sophon.xyz

Media Contact: Oskari Tempakka (oskari@sophon.xyz)

About Avail

The Avail Network is a modular application development stack designed to establish blockchains as the verification system for the Internet. By addressing key challenges in rollup scalability, interoperability, and usability, Avail provides a foundational Data Availability (DA) layer built on the same technology planned for Ethereum’s danksharding roadmap, including KZG Commitments and Data Availability Sampling (DAS). Avail is led by Polygon’s former co-founder Anurag Arjun and research lead Prabal