SODAX introduces seamless crosschain swaps, lending, and borrowing across 12+ blockchains

DeFi-native L1 Sonic continues to attract interesting projects with the arrival of SODAX, the successor to ICON, one of the earliest and most recognized blockchains from the 2017 era.

Announced via a validator vote that will decommission the ICON chain and migrate its core infrastructure to Sonic, becoming the first full L1 to fully transition into the Sonic ecosystem.

"Our mission has always been to empower individuals by putting financial products directly in their hands - not just to store digital assets, but to actually use them independently of traditional financial institutions," said Min Kim, founder of ICON and SODAX. "With SODAX, we believe we’ve finally brought together the essential elements: lower fees, an improved user experience, and a platform designed from the ground up for self-custody and genuine financial utility."

Access the Press Kit: sodax.com/press

"ICON/SODAX brings something to Sonic that doesn’t exist today — an intent-based execution layer spanning more than a dozen chains," said Michael Kong, CEO of Sonic Labs. "Done right, this can significantly improve the DeFi user experience. It’s a meaningful addition to the Sonic builder ecosystem."

The move arrives as Sonic's momentum accelerates. Having rebranded from Fantom in late 2024, the network is aiming to become a leading DeFi-native L1, offering sub-second finality, EVM composability, and a Fee Monetization (FeeM) model that redistributes gas fees to builders. SODAX provides a complementary product layer with high-utility applications.

Unlike bridge-based protocols or rent-a-pool aggregators, SODAX routes native assets through Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) — enabling persistent, low-slippage access without relying on mercenary TVL or third-party bridges. Its Solver SDK uses intent-based routing to optimize every transaction across chains, handling any needed gas, wrapping, or slippage in the backend. For users, assets stay native and costs are kept low. For builders, SODAX provides a composable foundation that unlocks protocol fee streams and faster integration across wallets, DEXs, and DeFi apps.

ICON shifts from infrastructure Layer to user-focused DeFi

ICON launched in 2017 with a bold vision for interoperability standards to connect blockchains, introducing Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) and xCall early on. Over time, however, its focus shifted from infra-first development toward delivering products that would be used and enjoyed by a broad audience.

That initiative was spearheaded by projects like Balanced, a lending and borrowing protocol, and Hana Wallet, a non-custodial wallet designed for optimal user experience.

"We built a layer one because we had to. Back then, there wasn’t infrastructure for what we wanted to do. But the industry’s matured, there are now plenty of options available, so we don’t need to build everything ourselves. This allows us to focus on innovating and delivering products that people actually want to use," said Kim.

Enter SODAX: a modular execution that integrates directly with Uniswap, Cetus (Sui), Raydium (Solana), and other key dApps — Its Unified Liquidity Layer routing liquidity from leading DEXes like Uniswap, Cetus (Sui), and Raydium (Solana) for optimal crosschain efficiency.

"The heart and soul of ICON is still very much the same. We’re just focusing all our energy and attention on a goal that’s still aligned with the interoperability infrastructure we’ve always believed in," said Elise Shin, head of growth at SODAX.

ICON (ICX) to migrate token to SODA

As a decentralized network, the validator vote serves to formalize ICON’s evolution into a fully product-driven platform. In addition, ICX token holders will be able to migrate to SODA, a new governance and utility token with a fixed supply cap of 1.5 billion (changed from unlimited supply) and built-in deflationary mechanisms.

"There’s a tremendous sense of excitement from our loyal community members who have supported us throughout our journey, and for good reason," said Kim. "Over the years, we’ve assembled a world-class team of experts across multiple disciplines from over a dozen countries, forged robust partnerships with industry-leading projects and companies, and, most importantly, developed technology and products that truly resonate with our partners and users. On top of that, we’re extremely well-capitalized where we are better positioned than most top projects at a similar stage. All of this gives us every reason to feel confident and optimistic about what lies ahead."

About SODAX: Crosschain DeFi platform on Sonic L1

SODAX is a crosschain DeFi platform on Sonic L1, offering seamless swaps, lending, and borrowing across 12+ blockchains — all powered by the unified liquidity layer and intent-based execution. Built by the makers of the ICON public blockchain