- Sonic creates US arm with $47.7M in $S to launch ETF and Nasdaq PIPE products.
- Chainlink-powered US economic data goes onchain as Sonic joins Commerce Department’s blockchain program.
Sonic Labs has passed a governance proposal to enter the US traditional finance sector, following a vote involving over 860 million $S tokens. The decision clears the way for the creation of a US-based entity, a new exchange-traded product, and a Nasdaq-listed investment vehicle.
Meanwhile, the proposal needed at least 700 million tokens to reach quorum. More than 55% of the network’s staked tokens were used in favor of the move, resulting in approval with near-unanimous support from 105 participating wallets.
Creation of Sonic USA and Token Allocation
An organization called Sonic USA LLC is to be established in New York. Sonic Inc. shall look for a United States CEO and establish a working group to run the operations in the US. The company will spearhead the policy relations and collaborate with the regulators in Washington, D.C.
To pay for this expansion, it has been estimated that $47.7 million will be raised from selling 150 million $S tokens, which will then be used to bootstrap Sonic USA. Another 100 million tokens will be earmarked for the Nasdaq PIPE investment vehicle. Additionally, $50 million in tokens will be used to support an exchange-traded product.
S🇺🇸nic is coming.
Governance passed. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/3t3cRFze1u
— Sonic (@SonicLabs) August 31, 2025
Furthermore, a regulated asset manager with assets under management exceeding $10 billion will issue this ETP. BitGo has been appointed the custodian for the product.
The Sonic team noted that its current token setup limits flexibility. After rebranding from the Fantom Opera network, the foundation held less than 3% of the token supply. This structure, it said, made it harder to act on investment and listing opportunities.
“We have 2018 tokenomics. We need 2025 tokenomics,” the proposal stated.
To support its next phase, Sonic will update its gas fee model. A larger share of fees will be burned to reduce token supply over time. This change aims to balance the new issuance required for the ETF and PIPE without adding long-term pressure on token holders.
Linking Onchain to US Economic Data
Sonic has also joined a US Department of Commerce program that brings official economic data to the blockchain. Through integration with Chainlink and Pyth, developers on Sonic can now access live figures such as GDP and inflation directly onchain.
📌 Bottom Line
Developers on Sonic can now integrate U.S. economic data, such as GDP, inflation, and consumption into their contracts.
This will help fuel next-gen lending, derivatives, and risk products.
— Sonic (@SonicLabs) August 28, 2025
This move may allow teams building on Sonic to develop tools based on real-world metrics, including lending protocols and trading models that respond to macroeconomic trends.
However, the $S token is currently priced at $0.3144, down slightly over the past day and week. Since launching in January, it has seen a decline of nearly 69%.
Still, activity on the chain has picked up. Sonic recently reached the top spot for stablecoin yield on Curve Finance. With a reported 400,000 transactions per second and increased focus on infrastructure, the network continues to build momentum.
