# SOON: A Community-Driven Blockchain Revolution
The blockchain project “SOON” has adopted a pioneering community-centric approach, distributing 51% of its tokens to the community and providing similar NFT sales opportunities to general participants. This initiative has garnered robust support from industry leaders, including Solana Labs and the Solana Foundation.
# High-Performance and Decoupled Execution Environment
SOON has successfully separated the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) from Solana’s consensus layer, establishing an independent execution environment usable across all Layer-1 (L1) blockchains, including Ethereum. This architecture achieves high-performance with a 50-millisecond block time and the capability to process over 30,000 transactions per second.
Through the SOON Stack, other L1 blockchains can build their own SVM Layer-2. Additionally, InterSOON facilitates cross-chain interoperability while the integration of AI technology and partnerships with major projects like Aethir and Bonk expands its ecosystem.
# Redefining Community-Driven Growth: SOON’s Innovative Approach
The core value of decentralization within blockchain technology has proven challenging to fully realize in the industry. Consequently, many projects have opted for a pragmatic approach, incorporating partial centralization systems.
The background for this shift lies in the blockchain ecosystem’s characteristic “attention economy.” Strong support from industry leaders is essential for a project’s success, as their influence drives the interest of general investors. Early-stage projects often pre-allocate tokens at discounted rates to venture capitals (VCs) or key opinion leaders (KoLs).
Although touted as fair launch platforms, projects utilizing these platforms still employ whitelist functions, providing initial sales or distributions at prices that general investors cannot access. This practice has led to criticism regarding the actual fairness of such launches.
Despite criticism, demanding projects to forego ‘attention,’ bolstered by industry leaders, is seen as an irresponsible critique. There exist instances where a select group, often associated with the project’s foundation, acquires tokens at discounted rates and later offloads them without substantial contribution, warranting further discussion.
Amid these industry practices, the “SOON” project introduces a notable new approach. While conducting pre-sales for research and content production, it offers ‘COMMing SOON NFTs’ under nearly identical conditions to general participants. This model is a contemporary reinterpretation of the fair distribution philosophies seen in successful projects like Solana, Polkadot, and Avalanche, adapted to the 2024 market landscape.
SOON takes it a step further with a groundbreaking tokenomics model, distributing 51% of all tokens to the community. This move transcends mere marketing strategy, highlighting a genuine commitment to decentralization.
This innovative approach stems from the high trust in the founder, industry leaders’ alignment with SOON’s community-centric philosophy, and robust technological underpinnings. This report will delve into how SOON has effectively implemented this community-focused strategy.
# Trusted Leaders and Executive Backbone
SOON’s co-founder and CEO, Joanna Zeng, has been a stalwart in the blockchain industry since 2017. With experience at industry leaders like Aleo, Optimism Foundation, and Coinbase, coupled with a 13-year tenure at Citibank, Zeng brings invaluable expertise and network connections.
SOON is also intricately connected to the Solana ecosystem, drawing substantial backing from Solana Labs’ Yakovenko (Toly), Solana Foundation’s Lily Liu, Coinbase’s Jonathan King, and Celestia’s Mustafa Al-Bassam. Their support likely stems from the potential contributions SOON can make to the Solana ecosystem, alongside the founder’s credentials.
Their endorsement serves as more than mere promotional support, signifying deeper encouragement. Given Solana’s collective resilience through past hardships, support from Solana ecosystem leaders is transformative. Consequently, SOON’s ability to raise community-based funding without relying on token allocations to VCs or KoLs at discounted rates can be attributed to this robust support.
# Expanding Blockchain Boundaries: SOON’s Technological Vision
While numerous projects have gained fleeting prominence before fading into obscurity, it’s imperative to examine the underpinning technologies and their potential applications before assessing the backing.
SOON aims to democratize blockchain technology through its high-performance SVM rollup platform, the Super Adoption Stack (SAS). SAS envisions a seamlessly interactive environment for all networks.
SOON focuses on two primary tasks: enabling SVM’s high-performance execution layer across all Layer-1 (L1) blockchains and fostering an environment where all L1 and SVM-based chains can interact freely.
This means that tools exclusive to Solana’s ecosystem, such as its execution environment, can be utilized on Ethereum. This structure is termed ‘Decoupled SVM’ by SOON, enabling the use of the SVM execution layer atop any consensus layer by decoupling it.
Proven performance of the SVM execution layer does invite alternative perspectives; however, the fact remains that various initiatives are already emerging within the Solana ecosystem based on the SVM. With the execution layer replicable across other L1s, projects can rapidly develop and establish ecosystems based on security and funding availability aligned with their preferences.
Projects won’t be restricted to specific silos but could develop flexibly, potentially promoting blockchain mainstream adoption by simplifying development across ecosystems.
To this end, the SOON ecosystem is advancing toward completing SAS through 1) SOON Stack, 2) SOON Mainnet, and 3) InterSOON. Their ecosystem is developing rapidly, having released SOON Devnet, launched the Testnet, and completed Mainnet Alpha since the project’s inception in June 2024. This pace far outstrips many projects, which typically enter the mainnet alpha stage belatedly.
## SOON Mainnet
### Decoupled SVM
The SOON mainnet introduces the industry-first ‘Decoupled SVM’ architecture, an Ethereum-based Layer-2 solution. Previously, Solana’s high-performance SVM was tightly coupled with its consensus mechanism, akin to a high-performance engine built into a specific car model, unusable in other vehicles.
Solana’s SVM initially required the combination of Proof of History (PoH) and Tower BFT consensus processes to sort and verify transaction records. PoH ordered all blockchain transactions chronologically, similar to archived news articles by date, addressing previous blockchains’ need to rearrange transaction order during block creation. Tower BFT then validated these ordered transactions, allowing quick consensus through incremental voting reinforcement.
The stringent coupling with Solana’s consensus layer meant SVM couldn’t operate independently or pair with other blockchains.
Additionally, transaction-induced state changes were tightly linked to the consensus layer. State changes (e.g., account balance updates or NFT minting on condition satisfaction) required validation through PoH and Tower BFT within Solana’s setup to be considered valid records.
SOON decoupled SVM from Solana’s consensus layer, constructing an independent execution environment. New methodologies ensured data integrity and verifiability, storing SVM-executed transaction data in a separate data availability (DA) layer and linking execution results to Ethereum-based verification mechanisms. Mirroring Optimism’s fraud-proof techniques, verifiers independently review SVM execution results, raising disputes if discrepancies arise.
SOON’s approach allows SVM’s versatile application across varied environments, not limiting it to any specific blockchain. By redesigning verification and data availability, it expands scalability and flexibility. Consequently, SOON enhances Solana’s robust execution environment for usage on Ethereum and beyond, surpassing previous blockchain limitations by decoupling consensus from execution.
### Merklization
SOON’s adoption of Merklization addresses Solana’s limitations, boosting blockchain reliability and scalability. Merklization organizes blockchain data into a single structure for easy verification, akin to a library index system.
Initially designed for speed, Solana lacked a global state root, complicating the validation of specific transactions without recalculating copious data. This complexity also hindered rollup technology application for blockchain interoperability.
SOON optimized the Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) state management system from Ethereum, organizing transactions and account states into a singular Merkle Root within Solana. This streamlines transaction validation and enables lightweight client construction, akin to verifying account balances via mobile banking without downloading entire network data.
By incorporating Merklization, SOON implements safer, efficient L2 solutions on Solana, facilitating faster, reliable transaction verification and smoother blockchain interconnectivity.
### Horizontal Scaling
To enhance processing capacity, SOON adopts horizontal scaling, distributing transactions across multiple nodes for overall system performance enhancement. This method involves adding common-spec nodes, each capable of handling substantial transaction volumes, ensuring cost-efficiency and potential unlimited scalability. It also maintains system stability amid individual node failures.
Combining these technological innovations, the SOON mainnet achieves 50-millisecond block times and handles over 30,000 transactions per second. Supporting diverse data availability solutions like eigenDA, it expands integration possibilities with multiple L1 ecosystems.
## SOON Stack
SOON Stack offers a technological framework enabling L1 blockchains to build their SVM Layer-2. Comparable to Arbitrum Nitro or Optimism Bedrock, it operates based on the SOON mainnet’s technologies and Decoupled SVM, ensuring Solana-grade performance for Layer-2 implementation on any blockchain.
SOON Stack’s practicality is evidenced by various implementations like CARV SVM for AI applications, Cytonic SVM for multi-VM ecosystem interoperability, and svmBNB for Binance Smart Chain’s high-performance processing, each with tailored gas fee structures for stable real-time service operation.
Collaborations with RaaS providers like AltLayer and Caldera further reinforce reliability and efficiency, with plans to expand support across multiple L1 blockchains and DA solutions.
This comprehensive approach equips developers to effectively utilize SVM’s advantages, fostering innovative application building within an expanded blockchain ecosystem. SOON Stack is poised as a critical driver enhancing blockchain scalability and practical utility.
## InterSOON
InterSOON is a messaging protocol enabling efficient blockchain network communication. Noteworthy is the TON and Solana native bridge, which recorded $150 million in transactions within two months of launch.
Traditional cross-chain asset transfers were inefficient, involving wrapping processes that dispersed liquidity and increased complexity. InterSOON addresses this via Hyperlane-based direct messaging, bypassing intermediaries for point-to-point communication, verified in real-time by validators.
This includes SOON mainnet, SOON Stack chains, and major blockchains operating as a cohesive network.
InterSOON’s standout features include standardized communication protocols, eliminating the need for new bridge constructions per chain. Assets move directly without wrapping, enhancing efficiency and leveraging Decoupled SVM for speed and fee optimization.
Through technical innovation, InterSOON achieves genuine cross-chain interoperability, laying the groundwork for developing intricate cross-chain services.
# SOON’s Ecosystem Strategy: Adaptability and Technological Innovation
Within a constantly evolving blockchain industry, SOON demonstrates high adaptability to shifting narratives. For a project’s longevity, it must evolve with market trends beyond merely possessing technological prowess. SOON exemplifies this by readily integrating the latest technologies and partnerships, expanding its ecosystem.
Notable is SOON’s response to AI technology’s rising prominence, aligning AI-based applications’ needs for speed, cost-efficiency, and data reliability. Such adaptability sees AI-specialized chains like CARV SVM built atop SOON. Additionally, SOON launches its own AI agent, SOON Girl, marking tangible technological implementation.
SOON’s adaptability is also clear in ecosystem expansion through partnerships with significant projects like DePIN’s Aethir, Bonk, EigenLayer, AltLayer, and more, perpetuating ecosystem value creation.
SOON consistently integrates new technologies and partnerships, securing its position within the mainstream market. Its flexibility and execution proficiency underscore its blockchain industry value.
# Growth with Community
This report reveals that SOON champions organic growth alongside its community, rather than relying on rapid leader-driven expansion. Development pace, respecting community trust, augments SOON’s prospective growth. Especially, the February mainnet launch and subsequent Big Bang ecosystem campaign will offer additional $SOON tokens to NFT holders and general users interacting with SOON ecosystem projects.
However, monitoring the increase in projects utilizing SOON Stack is crucial for true blockchain mainstreaming. Although SOON has successfully initiated its venture, sustained ecosystem growth necessitates influential flagship projects. Given the swiftly evolving blockchain participant interest, maintaining long-term ‘trust’ with the community will be pivotal.
*This article, “SOON: For the Community, By the Community, Of the Community,” from global Web3 research firm Tiger Research, a partner of Blockmedia, can be found on the
