SOON raises $22M through NFT sale for mainnet launch

SOON, the Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) layer-2 project known as the Solana Optimistic Network, has successfully raised $22 million through a non-fungible token (NFT) sale.

This funding is intended to support the launch of its mainnet and enhance blockchain infrastructure.

The announcement was made during the unveiling of SOON’s general-purpose layer-2 solution, which utilises the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) as its execution layer.

According to the company, SOON claims to offer superior speed and efficiency compared to Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), achieving average block times of just 50 milliseconds, whereas Solana averages 400 milliseconds.

The NFT sale was led by Hack VC with contributions from several firms including ABCDE, Anagram, and Hypersphere.

Joanna Zeng, co-founder and CEO of SOON, described the NFT minting event as a “pivotal moment” for the project.

“While many founders chose a traditional route and raised exclusively from VC, we chose to offer equal deal terms for VCs and our community, ensuring a fair launch token distribution and allowing both to participate on an equal footing,” she stated.

A significant portion of the funds raised will be allocated to fostering the growth of the SOON ecosystem and developing its infrastructure.

SOON's architecture allows it to outperform other blockchains by decoupling its transaction processing unit (TPU), enabling horizontal scaling and achieving faster transaction times.

The project adopts a community-driven approach in its tokenomics, allocating over 51% of its token supply to community members.

Additionally, 25% has been reserved for an ecosystem fund, while 8% is earmarked for airdrops and liquidity provision.

Zeng emphasised that this fair-launch model is gaining traction among investors looking for equitable distribution methods in cryptocurrency projects.

As SOON continues to develop its platform, it aims to enhance cross-chain interoperability and broaden access across various blockchain networks.