Sophon Avail launched its main network by introducing the first Validium in the network. It has more than $500 million in total value locked (TVL) through its Sophon agriculture program and a growing ecosystem of established partners.

Sophon said this paves the way for large-scale, consumer-oriented blockchain applications. The launch comes with significant community support: over 120,000 node licenses purchased by over 5,800 unique participants are now open for claim.

The SOPH token will be placed in a non-transferable state today, meaning that all transactions are free for users at this initial stage. Node holders will start receiving rewards from January 1st, with full transfer and trading of tokens in Q1 2025.

What does this mean?

Asked for more details and some jargon translation, the company said Sophon is a platform for developers to build next-generation consumer applications. Technically, it's a blockchain that uses Validium technology, which means that transaction data is processed from the underlying Ethereum blockchain, keeping it secure.

This helps achieve higher speeds and lower costs compared to traditional blockchains. Sophon is the first project we've implemented using Avail's data availability network. Simply put, this technology stack makes Sophon an optimized platform for high-performance consumer applications. This is important because it means that Sophon can handle many more transactions (game moves, social media interactions, ticket purchases, etc.) at a much lower cost than traditional blockchain platforms.

The $500 million Total Value Locked represents the digital assets that users invested in Sophon's initial rewards program. Participants can earn Sophon points by providing liquidity, which will be converted into SOPH tokens upon launch in Q1 2025. These large deposits show significant confidence in the platform, as seen in how the new bank attracted $500 million in deposits. a strong sign of customer trust.

In April 2024, Sophon sold parts of its network "licensees to operate" - similar to how taxi medals give drivers the right to operate a taxi. 5,800 different buyers purchased 120,000 of these licenses (called nodes) for a total of $60 million. These network operators help operate Sophon's digital infrastructure. As compensation for their services, they receive two types of rewards: a share of the network's transaction fees (like how credit card companies earn a small commission on purchases), plus 20% of all SOPH tokens (Sophon's native token) when generated.

Sophon has created its own token (SOPH), but it is currently in a controlled launch phase, meaning users cannot transfer or trade it. Full supply controlled by Sophon. At this stage, Sophon covers all transaction costs for users. From Q1 2025, SOPH tokens (like other digital currencies) will become freely transferable and tradable, and network operators will start receiving their rewards. This gradual approach helps to ensure a stable launch of the platform.

Introduce adoption management partners

Sophone's consumer-first approach aims to deliver a user experience that encourages mainstream crypto engagement.

The company's launch partners include industry leaders chosen for their ability to bring blockchain benefits to everyday users. They include:

Mirai: a mobile game studio whose game Petopia introduces crypto to casual mobile gamers through familiar gameplay. With 100,000+ players in the Alpha phase and a 4.8/5 rating, Petopia, #1 in casual games on the iOS and Android stores, shows how blockchain games can engage traditional gamers. When these players make in-game purchases or trade items, each transaction generates network payments that flow to network owners and stakeholders. Mirai Labs has a track record of introducing 27 million new wallets for crypto through its Pegaxy game (on the Polygon network).

OPEN: Attract key event attendees to crypto through digital tickets. Having processed more than 7 million NFT tickets for concerts and sporting events, OPEN is introducing blockchain technology to people who have never used crypto before. Every ticket sold and resold creates a transaction volume at Sophon, the US ticketing market represents more than $12 billion in potential annual activity – all of which generates rewarding payouts to industry participants.

Competition: on board sports fans for crypto through betting. With more than $1 billion in wagers annually, their two million active users seamlessly interact with blockchain technology through Sophon to place bets and collect winnings. Each stake and payment represents an economic activity that benefits network owners and stakeholders through network payments.

NooN: Making crypto accessible to traditional savers by offering the familiar features of a savings account powered by blockchain technology. Working with institutions that manage $500 million in assets, NooN helps bring traditional financial users into crypto. User deposits, withdrawals, and revenue sharing all generate network activity that rewards Sophon's infrastructure providers.

Aethir: Introducing cloud computing users to decentralized alternatives through the GPU marketplace. Running 100,000+ GPU hours on the testnet, they are bringing Web2 developers and AI researchers to crypto. Each calculation check constitutes an activity that generates a payment flow to the participants of the Sophon network.

Together, these partners are the gateway for millions of traditional Internet users to access crypto through familiar applications, while generating billions of potential transaction volumes on Sophon (the platform on which these applications run). This economic activity directly rewards network owners and stakeholders through network fees and increased platform usage. Rather than requiring users to understand blockchain technology, these applications make using crypto as simple as playing games, buying concert tickets, or betting on sports, giving them a share of the network's success.

Additional gaming partners include Brutal Knights (50,000 pre-registered users) and Gamp ($3 million in funding), both of which aim to attract mainstream players to crypto through engaging gameplay. Many more will come

Pioneering consumer crypto

Sophon understands that mainstream users don't care about blockchain technology — they care about experience and value. By focusing on entertainment applications that naturally benefit from the capabilities of blockchain, Sophon is creating an ecosystem where technology enhances, rather than complicates, the user experience.

This vision is reinforced through strategic collaborations with industry pioneers such as Beam, which launched the first game-focused fund and accelerator in Abu Dhabi with a target size of $150 million.

Sophon is a strategic partner of this accelerator, supporting blockchain-based game development. Additionally, Sophon co-founded the $40 million Tactical Compute initiative (with Aetir) to build projects at the intersection of crypto and AI. This partnership ensures that Sophon is not only building the infrastructure but contributing to the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Making big moves

Sophon's core network launch is the first Validium to use Avail's external data availability layer, bringing unmatched scalability, security and cost savings. Using Avail's modular application development stack to create its own Light Nodes, Sophon maintains full decentralization and data availability, setting a new standard for modular blockchain design and delivering high performance.

"Sophon embraces the full capabilities of the Avail network, demonstrating how blockchains can maintain proven decentralization even in high-volume use cases like entertainment," Avail co-founder Anurag Arjun said in a statement.

This modular architecture not only sets a new standard in blockchain design, but also makes Sophon ideal for high-throughput applications seeking mainstream adoption.

"We are building the future of entertainment," said Sebastien, CEO of Sophon. "Our integration with Avail allows us to deliver the scalability and performance that mainstream applications demand, while maintaining the security and decentralization that blockchain technology promises."

Sophon wants to be the ultimate platform for next-generation entertainment apps, covering everything from gaming to AI-powered experiences.

The Available network It is a modular application development stack designed to create blockchains as a verification system for the Internet.