Sonic Labs Expands to the US with $150M Funding

Sonic Labs, a UK-based blockchain firm, has secured a monumental $150 million funding approval for its expansion into the United States. This development comes following the approval of a governance proposal called “U.S. Expansion and TradFi Adoption.”

US Capital Markets Expansion

In a surprising development, blockchain giant Sonic Labs has announced its expansion into the US capital markets, securing a massive $150 million funding. On Sunday, the platform passed a governance proposal, the US Expansion and TradFi adoption, with a near-unanimous support of 99.98%.

Notably, the move empowers the firm to issue $150 million in its native ‘S’ tokens to fuel its expansion. The allocation also includes $50 million to support the launch of a US-listed exchange-traded product (ETP), $100 million for a NASDAQ private investment in public equity vehicle, and 150 million tokens specifically reserved for the USA firm.

Significantly, the company will use these reserved coins to buy S tokens through open market purchases and over-the-counter trades. It will bolster the institution’s and the S cryptocurrency's visibility and credibility within TradFi. The tokens will be locked for a minimum of three years, which underscores the platform’s long-term commitment to stability and growth.

Key Goals

Interestingly, this development marks a pivotal step for the blockchain institution, as the platform has been making efforts to tackle its historical challenges stemming from its origin as Fantom.

After a community-driven overhaul, the platform inherited a unique tokenomics structure, retaining only 3% of its token supply. This is a stark contrast to many rival blockchains that retained up to 80%. This limited treasury flexibility had hindered Sonic's ability to pursue strategic opportunities, including capital market initiatives, partnerships, and listings. The current proposal aims to address these constraints and unlock new opportunities.

Via its US initiative, Sonic Labs envisions bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). The platform will partner with custody partner BitGo to establish a regulated investment vehicle.

As part of its US expansion, Sonic Labs is establishing a dedicated US entity, Sonic USA. It will also recruit regional executives to focus on regulatory compliance and strategic partnerships. In a separate initiative, the team will allocate another 150M S tokens to support the USA operations, underscoring its commitment to building a strong presence in the US market. The proposal read,

"The focus is to drive adoption and growth and lead engagement in Washington D.C. The Sonic Labs team has already structured a Delaware entity which is ready to leverage and act as a home base for this new entity."

Additionally, the private investment in public equity (PIPE) allocation will foster strategic alignments with NASDAQ-listed companies that share Sonic's long-term growth vision, further solidifying its position in the market.