SOPH Comprehensive Interpretation: Token Economics, Use Cases, and Airdrop Plan

What is SOPH?

SOPH is the utility token of the Sophon Network, playing a core role in its current and future ecosystem operations.

• Token Symbol: SOPH

• Token Standard: ERC-20

• Total Supply: 10 billion (10,000,000,000)

• Community Allocation Ratio: 57%

During the launch phase, SOPH will primarily be used for the following two functions:

1. Paying Gas Fees: As transaction fees on the Sophon network.

2. Decentralized Sequencer: Promoting the decentralization of network sequencers through a staking mechanism.

As the Sophon network and product ecosystem continue to develop, the utility scenarios of Sophon will keep expanding. We have planned multiple product upgrades and will gradually introduce more features in the future. Please stay tuned for the evolution of SOPH.

Uses of SOPH: Gas Fees and Staking

Gas Fees

All transactions conducted on the Sophon Network require SOPH to pay gas fees.

However, thanks to ZKsync's native Paymaster technology, users do not need to hold SOPH to complete transactions. The Paymaster is a smart contract designed to subsidize or customize transaction fees for other accounts, providing a smoother user experience and greater flexibility. This means: no need to frequently cross-chain due to insufficient gas tokens; in some scenarios, users may even be able to transact without paying gas fees. For more details, please check Paymaster.

Since all gas fees (whether from the network, users, or dApps) are settled in SOPH, these tokens will ultimately flow back to network operators, leading to the next use of SOPH: staking.

Sophon Staking Mechanism

In the Sophon network, staking not only secures the network but also provides rewards for participants. As the ZKsync network is about to initiate the decentralization of sequencers, Sophon's full nodes—operators who have delegated at least 1,500 Guardian NFTs—will be eligible to run sequencers.

The staking feature will officially launch at the Token Generation Event (TGE), initially operated exclusively by the Sophon Foundation. Once the ZKsync network supports decentralized transaction sequencing, full node operators will need to stake 100,000 SOPH tokens to participate in operations, at which point they will receive a share of the gas fees. The remaining gas fees will be distributed to all SOPH stakers.

All SOPH holders can participate in staking. Initially, users can stake directly in the Claim window while receiving their tokens. Later, they can also choose to auto-delegate or manually select full nodes for staking through the Earn page on Sophon Home. Delegation relationships can be changed at any time. Rewards will be distributed after each batch of transactions is sealed and will automatically compound.

Our reward model draws from Ethereum's design, using an inverse square root function to dynamically adjust the yield based on the total amount of circulating tokens staked, ensuring yield stability. Unused reward tokens will be periodically burned or redistributed. Since SOPH cannot be minted beyond its total supply, this also gives it a deflationary characteristic.

Staking operations take effect in real-time, but withdrawals will undergo a 5-day cooling-off period to allow for retrospective penalties in case of violations. More details on the decentralization of full nodes will be disclosed as the ZKsync decentralized sequencer roadmap is released.

For more detailed information, please refer to our documentation.

Token Distribution Plan

Here is the specific distribution and release plan for SOPH tokens:

Detailed Distribution

Node Rewards (Sophon Guardians): 2 billion SOPH (20% of total supply)

Node rewards aim to incentivize early supporters of Sophon (i.e., users who participated in the Sophon node sale) while providing them with a stable source of token income for running light nodes or full nodes to support the network's technical operations. Node rewards will accumulate starting January 1, 2025, and will enter a 3-month lock-up period (cliff) at TGE to ensure the continued participation of node operators in technical maintenance.

To affirm the importance of Guardians, all Sophon node holders will qualify for a SOPH airdrop, which will be unlocked immediately at the Token Generation Event (TGE).

For over 90% of Sophon node holders, the amount of SOPH available in the airdrop will typically exceed the amount obtained through node rewards during the same period. For details on the airdrop and individual allocations, please see the explanation below.

The airdrop activity is governed by the "Airdrop Terms and Conditions," which can be found here.

Ecosystem Reserve: 2.6 billion SOPH (26% of total supply)

The ecosystem reserve aims to promote the development of the Sophon ecosystem! Its uses are very broad, including attracting key partners, future incentive activities, and providing liquidity support for centralized exchanges (CEX).

Although governance functions will not be immediately enabled at TGE (we hope governance is not just a "high-level voting mechanism," but rather a truly functional mechanism), our plan is that once the governance mechanism is implemented, the ecosystem reserve will be controlled by governance.

Liquidity Mining After Mainnet Launch (Sophon Farm Phase 2): 200 million SOPH (2% of total supply)

As a continuation of the pre-mainnet mining activity (Sophon Farm Phase 1 or L1 Farm), the liquidity mining activity after the mainnet launch (Sophon Farm Phase 2 or L2 Farm) will continue to maintain liquidity on the platform as the Sophon ecosystem develops. As more developers and applications join Sophon, L2 Farm will conclude shortly after TGE. The SOPH tokens earned by users participating in L2 Farm will enter a 6-month lock-up period at TGE, followed by a 6-month linear unlock. Assets deposited by participants in L2 Farm can be withdrawn at any time.

The total allocation for L2 Farm has been reduced from the originally planned 4% to 2%, due to a shortening of the plan's duration—from originally planned to last until December 2025, now concluding in May 2025. Once governance functions are online, future mining plans can be proposed by SOPH holders, with the required funds coming from the ecosystem reserve.

Seed Round Investors: 1.8 billion SOPH (18% of total supply)

Sophon has come this far thanks to the investors who supported us from the beginning. They not only provided critical resources but also paved the way for our development. Compared to many other networks, the allocation ratio for these investors is relatively low and will follow a 3-year lock-up mechanism (the first year is fully locked, followed by 24 months of linear unlocking) to ensure their continued support for Sophon in the future.

Core Contributors: 2.5 billion SOPH (25% of total supply)

The Sophon team has been tirelessly working to build Sophon into a ubiquitous, consumer-facing technology platform. Some tokens will serve as a reward for the team's hard work so far, while others will be reserved to attract the best talent in the industry. All team token allocations will follow a 4-year lock-up mechanism (the first year is fully locked, followed by 36 months of linear unlocking).

SOPH Airdrop

To kickstart liquidity on Sophon, the official team launched a pre-mainnet mining activity (Sophon Farm Phase 1), which will last until the mainnet launch on December 18, 2024. All rewards from Sophon Farm Phase 1 will be fully unlocked at TGE, accounting for 6% of the total SOPH supply.

In addition to the 6% of the total SOPH supply distributed to L1 Farmers, Sophon will also airdrop an additional 300 million SOPH (3% of the total SOPH supply) to certain eligible participants. This airdrop is carefully designed to attract more like-minded new users to join the ecosystem while rewarding early participants.

💡To check if you are eligible for the airdrop and the amount of SOPH allocated to you, you can query the airdrop allocation through the following link: claim.sophon.xyz

Eligible users can claim their airdrop quota through one of the following two methods:

1. Claim through OKX exchange (a 2-day pre-registration window is now open)

2. Claim on the Sophon mainnet (available on TGE day)

Claim through OKX Exchange

OKX exchange users can now register to claim the SOPH airdrop directly to their exchange accounts and receive an additional 5% SOPH reward. If you choose this method, please follow these steps:

1. Visit the OKX claim page: claim.sophon.xyz/okx

2. Provide your OKX User UID

• Click here for instructions.

1. Provide your OKX SOPH deposit address (ERC20)

• Click here for instructions.

Registration Time: May 23 (12:00 PM UTC) to May 25 (12:00 PM UTC)

Important Note: Once you register for the OKX exchange claim channel, your airdrop eligibility will be directly credited to your OKX exchange account at TGE. You will no longer participate in the standard claim process and will not need to take any further action.

Claim on the Sophon Mainnet

Visit claim.sophon.xyz now to verify your airdrop eligibility. The claim process will open at TGE, and specific operational guidelines will be announced separately. Once SOPH tokens are live, eligible wallets will be able to claim their allocated SOPH tokens directly on the Sophon mainnet.

Airdrop Eligibility Criteria

This airdrop will be distributed to the following categories of users: early users and community members of Sophon, node holders, deep users of ZKSync, and select members of NFT communities. For some users, this will be a substantial airdrop; for those with less participation in the ecosystem, they will still receive some gas fee support and be invited to explore everything Sophon has to offer.

Sophon Node Holders are the earliest supporters of our community. It is thanks to their support that Sophon has come this far. Although node holders have already received 20% of the total supply in tokens, we still hope to provide additional rewards for their patience and continued support, working together to build the next generation of consumer technology ecosystems.

The airdrop allocation for node holders consists of two parts:

(1) Each node holder will receive a fixed amount of SOPH, regardless of the number of nodes they hold;

(2) The other part will be allocated based on the total amount spent by each node holder to purchase nodes (unit price × number of nodes).

For over 90% of node sale participants, the amount of SOPH they can claim immediately in this airdrop will exceed the amount obtained through node rewards during the same period. Node rewards will still be distributed as planned—this airdrop is an additional bonus reward.

The airdrop for early users of Sophon and deep users of ZKSync expresses gratitude for their critical roles in using Sophon after the mainnet launch or within the broader ZKSync ecosystem.

NFTs are one of the core pillars of crypto consumer culture. As a consumer-facing chain, we believe it is necessary to reward those who play important roles in key NFT projects, thanking them for shaping and continuing crypto culture while encouraging these users to explore Sophon.

Holders of designated NFT projects recognized as "Friends of Sophon" will receive a larger proportion of the airdrop.

Finally, we also recognize our community members on Discord and Telegram. Your support has not gone unnoticed, and the most active community members on these platforms will also be eligible for airdrop rewards.

Visit the official website now to check your airdrop allocation and category.

The airdrop activity is subject to the terms.

For more detailed information on the tokenomics model, please read our documentation.

Please be sure to only trust official announcements and remain vigilant.

Always verify whether what you encounter is an official Sophon account, domain, or team member through verify.sophon.xyz.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational reference only and should not be considered legal, business, investment, financial, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisors regarding related matters. Any digital assets mentioned and the financial terms used are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute any behavioral advice, nor do they constitute an offer to buy or sell securities or any other financial instruments. In making any decision to purchase or sell the digital assets mentioned in this content, you should not rely on this content under any circumstances. This content only represents the situation as of the date of publication.