There has been quite a bit of discussion around @SonicSVM recently, especially with topics like airdrops for TikTok users, Solana's 'super' game chain, and Solana L2 all gaining traction. So, how should we understand this new 'layer2' in the Solana ecosystem?
1) Labeling @solana as 'layer2' is actually inappropriate, as it often brings about a sense of the burden associated with the Ethereum layer2 ecosystem, leading to the natural question of why high-performance Solana still needs layer2. The reason is easy to understand: Sonic SVM is specifically an extension solution aimed at games and applications.
Even if defined as layer2, it is very different from the traditional Universal generic layer2. The existence of such extension solutions is more about addressing the special needs of high-frequency interactions and fast-response applications, avoiding stuttering and delays when the Solana main chain handles a large number of high-frequency transactions (for example, exceeding 4,000 TPS load), which affects user experience.
Therefore, I prefer to define Sonic SVM as a specific extension solution aimed at high-frequency applications such as games.
2) This means that Sonic SVM can provide customized functions and performance based on the specific needs of games and applications. For example, it can set up special data structures, caching mechanisms, and parallel processing solutions for game application scenarios. Additionally, Sonic SVM can customize its own governance mechanism and economic model, making decisions and resource allocations independently of the main chain.
Although the TPS of Solana's main chain is actually around 2,500-4000 transactions per second, the current situation filled with various MEME and PumpFun tokens has led to a noticeable failure rate in user transactions, which is unacceptable in some high-frequency interaction game scenarios. Any failure can significantly diminish user experience.
Therefore, attempting this extension solution specifically for high-demand experience games and certain application fields can expand the financial application scenarios of the Solana ecosystem, allowing it to reach a wider variety of applications to attract more developers and users to join the Solana ecosystem.
Coincidentally, the previously hotly debated @EclipseFND modular extension solution uses SVM as an execution layer to provide scalability based on the Ethereum ecosystem. Recently, the similarly discussed SOON attempts to build the OP Stack for Solana's in-depth expansion from a RaaS commercialization perspective; Sonic SVM is undoubtedly one of the core scalable solution routes.
Various signs indicate that the Solana ecosystem is building its own 'Rollup-Centric' ecosystem, making a new push towards its ultimate goal of flipping ETH.
3) However, merely positioning Sonic SVM as a selectable extension solution for Solana is not enough. The recent airdrop event of Sonic to TikTok users shows that Sonic SVM has greater ambitions beyond Solana: to benchmark against TON and become the APP layer for TikTok's expansion onto the blockchain.
As we all know, @ton_blockchain, relying on the vast user base of the Telegram social platform, has become a unique 'application chain' framework. Its seamless compatibility with on-chain wallets, DApps, and DeFi-like 'mini-program' application scenarios places it at the forefront of implementing a new generation blockchain architecture, leading to mass adoption.
The deep binding of Sonic SVM with TikTok is also aimed at this goal. After all, TikTok occupies a larger group of young people from Generation Z and has more prominent commercial value. Constructing a 'touch-chain' environment based on TikTok will offer more commercial prospects for future application implementations, which is much more appealing than simply being positioned as Solana layer2.
