The Solana Optimistic Network, a Layer 2 solution on Ethereum driven by the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), has announced an impending airdrop for its community members and early backers. This initiative, named SOON, is set to commence shortly and is already being featured on Binance Alpha, a platform that promotes emerging projects.
A January blog post disclosed that airdrop recipients are set to receive 8% of the total SOON supply, which equates to 80 million coins. This portion also includes exchange liquidity as per the previous update. Additionally, the one billion total supply of SOON is divided among the Community (51% or 510 million), Ecosystem (25% or 250 million), Team/Co-builders (10% or 100 million), and Foundation/Treasury (6% or 60 million).
The Community share will be distributed through a fair launch, as affirmed by the team’s official Medium page. The SOON token serves dual roles as both the native ecosystem asset and the governance coin.
The SOON protocol’s SVM Ethereum L2 deviates from the conventional scaling solution. Unlike other Layer 2 networks like Base that operate on the Ethereum Virtual Machine Standard, SOON has chosen the Solana Virtual Machine to enhance blockchain speeds. It has also separated its execution and settlement layer with a “decoupled SVM architecture”.
Joanna Zeng, SOON’s CEO and co-founder, admitted to initial internal disputes over prioritizing security against launching community-focused products. However, the team managed to strike a harmonious balance. The Decoupled SVM, although launched three months later than a Fork SVM, delivers superior performance, robust security, improved L2 derivation mechanisms, supports horizontal scaling, and incorporates Firedancer.
SOON raised $22 million in its “COMMing SOON” NFT mint to fund the mainnet launch earlier this year. Notable participants in the sale included Hack VC, ABCDE, Hypersphere, and SNZ Capital. Since then, the team has extended its network beyond Ethereum to incorporate Base and BNB Chain. As per the protocol’s website, it now boasts $14.6 million in total value locked from 1.4 million active addresses, processing over 28 million transactions.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. It does not provide legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Always seek professional advice before making any decisions.
