SOON Layer-2 Solution Garners $22M From NFT Sale, Launches Mainnet

SOON, the Ethereum layer-2 solution, successfully garnered $22 million through a non-fungible token (NFT) sale, marking the launch of its mainnet.

Layer-2 solution SOON has announced raising $22 million through an NFT sale to launch its mainnet.

The initiative, known as SOON, is a general-purpose layer-2 solution that utilizes the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) as its execution layer. This architecture reportedly enables SOON's mainnet to outpace Solana in terms of speed and efficiency, with an average block time of 50 milliseconds compared to Solana's 400 milliseconds.

This NFT sale attracted participation from notable investors such as Hack VC, ABCDE, Anagram, Hypersphere, SNZ Capital, ArkStream Capital, GeekCartel, PAKA, Web3Port, MH Ventures, and IDG Capital. According to Joanna Zeng, SOON's co-founder and CEO, this sale marks a pivotal moment in the project's journey.

In a move that diverges from the typical practice of raising funds exclusively from venture capitalists, SOON opted to extend equal deal terms to both VCs and the community, ensuring a balanced token distribution.

The funds raised from this sale will be channeled towards bolstering the development of the SOON ecosystem and expanding its infrastructure. Zeng elaborated on the project's strengths, explaining how decoupling the transaction processing unit (TPU) resulted in a specialized rollup SVM, enabling horizontal scaling and setting new benchmarks for blockchain network speeds.

A key aspect of SOON's strategy is its community-first tokenomics model, which allocates over 51% of the token supply to the community. Notably, airdrops and liquidity will receive 8% of the tokens, while the team and core builders will hold 10%. The remaining 6% will go to the project treasury.

This approach aligns with the broader trend of decentralized token launches, such as the recent launch of the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token. Such launches, which prioritize decentralized operations and fair token pricing, are reshaping the cryptocurrency landscape, with decentralized distribution models proving attractive to investors seeking equitable launches without preferential allocations to venture capital firms.