Solana Layer-2 Sonic SVM Launching Token Tuesday With Airdrop for TikTok Gamers

Sonic SVM, a layer-2 gaming chain built on top of Solana, has confirmed that its token generation event will take place on Tuesday. Alongside this, players of its TikTok-based tap-to-earn game will receive airdropped tokens for their in-app progress.

Tap-to-earn games rose to popularity in 2024, mostly built on messaging app Telegram with related tokens primarily launching on The Open Network (TON). A huge driver of this attention came from games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat promising that in-game progress would contribute to a future token airdrop for players.

In October, Sonic SVM launched its own tap-to-earn game, SonicX, but on social video app TikTok and with a planned token on Solana—rather than Telegram and TON.

Now three months later, TikTok gamers will receive their token allocation granted for tapping away at the SonicX app. Alongside the SONIC token generation event—which creates the token on-chain, enabling it for trading—on January 6 at 12pm UTC, the airdrop will be sent out.

“The SONIC token will serve as the backbone for our expanding tap-to-earn ecosystem, powering everything from game integrations to AI agent interactions,” Chris Zhu, CEO and co-founder of Sonic SVM, told Decrypt. 

According to a Sonic SVM thread on X (formerly Twitter), 7% of the total SONIC supply will be allocated for the initial airdrop claim. Alongside Sonic X gamers, other groups will receive token allocations, including node operators and specific NFT holders.

Anyone eligible for the airdrop will have two claiming options. Option 1 allows users to claim 60% of the allocation right off the bat, and then vest the remaining amount over a 6-month period to gain a 140% bonus on the remaining tokens. The second option simply allows eligible users to claim everything at once, with no future bonus offered.

In fact, this claim process has been available for TikTok gamers since January 3, although since the token generation event has not taken place yet, they aren’t tradable. There is also an airdrop eligibility tracker available. Zhu said that the TikTok tap-to-earn model can help other crypto projects reach players, as well.

“We’re particularly excited about opening our TikTok distribution infrastructure to other Web3 projects,” Zhu added. “Our token allocation reflects our community-first approach, with a substantial portion reserved for our active TikTok players and ecosystem participants.”

According to its tokenomics page, a total of 30% of the total supply is allocated to “Ecosystem & Community,” which will fund game studios building on the Solana layer-2 network, with an additional 20% for network validator and node rewards. 

In November, Sonic X topped one million players on its TikTok tap-to-earn game, with the developer now claiming over two million users for the game. With this, Sonic SVM believes it has proven TikTok as an effective acquisition funnel, and hopes to open business to third-party developers with funding offered through SONIC grants.

Edited by Andrew Hayward