Sonic Labs Secures Approval for $200M Expansion into US Traditional Finance

TLDR

• Sonic Labs will issue $200M in tokens for US TradFi expansion and ETF plans.

• 99.99% of votes supported the governance proposal, meeting quorum of 700M tokens.

• $100M will fund a Nasdaq PIPE reserve, $50M for an S token-tracking ETP.

• Sonic USA LLC will be formed in New York with a new CEO and local team.

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Sonic Labs, the developer of the Sonic blockchain, has secured community approval for a $200 million initiative aimed at expanding into the U.S. financial markets. The plan includes forming a U.S. company, launching an exchange-traded product, and establishing a Nasdaq-listed investment vehicle.

Community backs expansion proposal

The governance proposal passed on Sunday with 99.99% approval from participating wallets, easily surpassing the required quorum of 700 million S tokens. In total, 105 wallets took part in the vote, approving the issuance of new tokens to fund the expansion.

According to Sonic Labs, $100 million worth of S tokens will be allocated to create a strategic reserve for a Nasdaq private investment in public equity (PIPE) structure.

A further $50 million will be designated for a token-tracking exchange-traded product, to be issued by a regulated ETF provider managing more than $10 billion in assets. BitGo will act as custodian for the product.

Establishing Sonic USA for market entry

As part of the proposal, Sonic will establish a new U.S. entity named Sonic USA LLC. The company plans to hire a CEO and build a New York-based team to oversee its American operations. Around 150 million S tokens, valued at $47.7 million at the time of the vote, will support the development of this unit.

The initiative is also designed to strengthen Sonic Labs’ engagement with U.S. policymakers in Washington, D.C. The team noted that creating a dedicated U.S. presence will allow it to pursue more partnerships and capital market activities.

Sonic Labs explained that the expansion plan also responds to limitations inherited from its previous token model. Following its rebrand from Fantom Opera in December 2024, the Sonic chain launched with less than 3% of supply held by the foundation, restricting the ability to fund partnerships or acquisitions.

“[The] tokens weren’t available when needed,” the company said in its proposal. It added, “We have 2018 tokenomics. We need 2025 tokenomics.” To offset the issuance of new tokens, Sonic will update its gas fee system and increase the proportion of transaction fees that are burned, aiming to create deflationary pressure on supply.

Expanding role in U.S. blockchain ecosystem

The initiative comes as Sonic expands its role in broader blockchain infrastructure. The company was recently listed as a participant in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s program to publish economic data onchain.

Through this effort, developers can now access U.S. statistics like inflation and GDP directly on Sonic, supported by Chainlink and Pyth oracles.

Despite its growing presence, the S token has struggled in the market. Since launching in January 2025, the token has fallen nearly 69% according to CoinGecko data. Its current market price stands at about $0.31, with a market capitalization near $892 million.

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