The Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) ecosystem is rapidly evolving into one of the most dynamic frontiers in blockchain innovation. By merging Solana’s high-speed transaction processing with the robustness of Ethereum’s developer and liquidity ecosystems, SVM-based projects are redefining scalability, performance, and user experience across Web3. In this comprehensive analysis, we explore three leading SVM initiatives—Sonic SVM, SOON, and Eclipse—each carving out a unique niche in the race for decentralized dominance.
These platforms share a foundation in SVM technology but diverge significantly in architecture, target use cases, and strategic vision. Whether you're a developer building the next breakthrough dApp or an investor scouting emerging opportunities, understanding their distinctions is key.
Sonic SVM: Powering the Future of On-Chain Gaming
Sonic SVM stands out as the first atomic SVM chain, purpose-built for sovereign game economies on Solana. It leverages HyperGrid, Solana’s inaugural concurrent scaling framework, to deliver ultra-fast, low-cost transactions tailored for gaming workloads.
Developed by the former Mirror World team, Sonic SVM operates as the first Grid instance under the HyperGrid umbrella—effectively combining infrastructure development with real-world application deployment.
Core Advantages of Sonic SVM
- Blazing Speed & Low Cost: Built on SVM, Sonic enables near-instantaneous gameplay with minimal fees—critical for engaging, frictionless user experiences.
- Atomic Interoperability: Seamless integration with Solana’s base layer allows developers to leverage existing programs and liquidity without redeployment.
- EVM-to-SVM Execution: Through HyperGrid’s interpreter, EVM-based dApps can be seamlessly ported to run on Solana, unlocking cross-ecosystem compatibility.
- Composable Game Primitives: With native support for Entity-Component-System (ECS) frameworks and sandboxed game logic environments, Sonic empowers developers to build complex, modular games directly on-chain.
- Built-in Monetization Infrastructure: From in-game payments to traffic monetization, Sonic provides native tools that help developers scale and profit.
👉 Discover how developers are leveraging SVM for next-gen gaming experiences
Addressing Solana’s Performance Bottlenecks
As Solana’s user base grows—from 100K wallets in 2022 to an estimated 50M+ in the coming years—so does its transaction load. Daily TPS has surged from 4M to over 200M, pushing the network toward congestion. At peak loads above 4,000 TPS, success rates drop to 70–85%, creating unacceptable latency for real-time applications like gaming.
Sonic SVM addresses this by offloading game-specific transactions into a dedicated L1 environment while maintaining final settlement on Solana. This approach preserves composability while drastically reducing mainnet pressure during high-concurrency events such as in-game promotions or viral mini-games.
Sonic X: Bridging TikTok and Web3
One of Sonic’s most innovative moves is SonicX, its mini-app platform on TikTok—a social media giant with over 1 billion monthly active users. SonicX allows TikTok users to access Web3 games without prior blockchain knowledge.
Key features include:
- No Wallet Onboarding Required: Users are automatically assigned a blockchain wallet linked to their TikTok account.
- Abstracted Web3 Experience: Transactions, rewards, and NFTs are handled behind the scenes; users only interact through familiar tap-and-play mechanics.
- Real On-Chain Assets: Despite the simplicity, all in-game assets are fully on-chain and transferable.
This model mirrors Telegram’s successful mini-app ecosystem but taps into TikTok’s broader global reach. A recent collaboration with Mahjong Verse—a Web3 gaming veteran backed by Dragonfly and Folius—launched a "Sheep Game" inspired clone where players clear stacked tiles, demonstrating Sonic’s ability to support engaging, viral gameplay mechanics.
With over 2 million active wallets and partnerships with 40+ game studios, Sonic SVM is positioning itself as the go-to infrastructure for mass-market Web3 gaming adoption.
SOON: The High-Performance SVM L2 for Ethereum
While Sonic focuses on Solana-native gaming, SOON takes a different path—building a high-throughput SVM rollup stack designed specifically for Ethereum. Its goal? To become Ethereum’s fastest execution layer, combining SVM’s parallel processing power with Ethereum’s security and liquidity.
SOON consists of two core components:
- SOON Stack: A rollup framework based on OP Stack and a custom Decoupled SVM (dSVM), enabling deployment of SVM-based L2s on any L1.
- SOON Mainnet: The first chain deployed using SOON Stack, settling on Ethereum with Avail as its data availability layer.
Interoperability is ensured via InterSOON, a cross-chain messaging protocol powered by Hyperlane, enabling seamless communication between SOON chains and other Layer 1s.
Why Decoupled SVM Beats Forked SVM
Many SVM projects simply fork Solana’s client with minor tweaks. SOON rejects this approach due to inefficiencies:
- Wasted Resources: Forked clients retain unnecessary components like Proof of History and leader scheduling.
- Inefficient DA Usage: Blobspace is consumed by redundant voting transactions even in centralized sequencer setups.
SOON’s Decoupled SVM removes these overheads:
- Eliminates voting transactions and P2P network bloat
- Enables native Fraud Proofs, enhancing L2 security
- Optimizes transaction throughput and DA efficiency
This results in benchmarked performance of 30,000+ TPS with 50ms block times on its public testnet.
Solving Ethereum’s Scaling Challenges
SOON targets fundamental limitations in the Ethereum ecosystem:
| Challenge | SOON’s Solution |
|---|---|
| Single-threaded execution bottlenecks | Parallel processing via SVM |
| High gas fees during peak usage | Localized fee markets reduce cross-application cost spikes |
| EVM developer gap | Attracts top-tier Rust/SVM engineers |
| Liquidity fragmentation across chains | Unified execution environment |
| zkVM complexity | Simpler fraud-proof model lowers entry barrier |
By offering a 10x reduction in transaction costs and superior developer tooling, SOON aims to unlock new categories of scalable DeFi, AI agents, and consumer applications.
Notable Projects in the SOON Ecosystem
- EnzoFi: Cross-chain liquidity hub with presence across Solana, Sui, Eclipse, and SOON (163K+ X followers)
- Blendy: Meme coin-focused money market using AI-related assets as collateral
- Aeronyx: DePIN protocol tokenizing distributed computing resources
- Gigentic: AI agent collaboration platform with on-chain revenue sharing
- Polyquest: Decentralized prediction market
Crucially, SOON raised funds exclusively from individual builders and ecosystem contributors—no VC involvement. This fair-launch ethos aligns with community-driven growth principles.
In January 2025, SOON launched its Alpha Mainnet with a total supply of 1 billion $SOON tokens. Community allocation accounts for 51%, distributed through fair launch mechanics reminiscent of early-era projects like Solana and Polkadot.
Eclipse: Pure Speed on Ethereum Without a Native Token
Eclipse differentiates itself as the first SVM-based L2 on Ethereum—and notably, it does not issue a native token. Instead, it uses ETH as gas and integrates deeply with Ethereum’s economic layer through re-staking.
Hosted on Celestia for data availability, Eclipse delivers “Solana-like speed” while settling securely on Ethereum. Its design philosophy emphasizes simplicity, security, and maximum alignment with Ethereum’s roadmap.
Turbo ETH (tETH): The Unified Re-Staking Token
In partnership with Nucleus, Eclipse launched tETH, a Unified Re-Staking Token (URT) that aggregates yield from multiple liquid restaking tokens (LRTs), including:
- wETH
- weETH
- ezETH
- rswETH
- apxETH
- pufETH
tETH functions similarly to wstETH or cTokens—its exchange rate appreciates over time based on accrued yield. This reduces fragmentation and simplifies yield optimization for users.
As of early 2025, Eclipse reports a TVL of $19.33 million, led by DeFi protocols like:
- Orca ($9.2M TVL)
- Save (lending market)
- Invariant (AMM DEX)
Consumer-Facing Applications
Eclipse fosters a diverse app ecosystem:
- SEND Arcade: Play-to-earn platform rewarding users in ETH
- Dscvr.one: Social discovery protocol (80K+ followers)
- After School Club: Genesis NFT collection
- Moonlaunch.fun: Meme launchpad à la Pump.fun
- Blobscriptions: On-chain inscriptions
Despite leadership changes—including CEO transition following Neel Somani’s departure in mid-2024—Eclipse continues strong technical momentum. Ben Livshits, former CTO at Brave and Matter Labs, joined as Chief Technology Officer in late 2024.
Mainnet launched in November 2024 after successful testnet phases and $65 million in total funding from Placeholder, Hack VC, OKX Ventures, and other top-tier investors.
👉 Explore how SVM is transforming Ethereum's execution layer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM)?
A: SVM is the runtime environment powering Solana’s high-performance blockchain. It enables parallel transaction processing using Sealevel (Solana’s parallel smart contract engine), allowing thousands of transactions per second with low latency.
Q: How do Sonic SVM, SOON, and Eclipse differ?
A:
- Sonic SVM is a Solana-native L1 for gaming, using HyperGrid for scalability.
- SOON is an Ethereum L2 using Decoupled SVM for maximum performance and fraud proofs.
- Eclipse is also an Ethereum L2 but uses ETH as gas and focuses on re-staking integration via tETH.
Q: Can EVM dApps run on SVM chains?
A: Yes—through translation layers like HyperGrid (in Sonic) or middleware solutions. Some platforms allow developers to write in Solidity-like syntax while compiling to SVM bytecode.
Q: Do all SVM projects have their own tokens?
A: No. While Sonic ($SONIC) and SOON ($SOON) have issued tokens, Eclipse currently operates without one, relying solely on ETH for gas and tETH for yield aggregation.
Q: Which project offers the highest TPS?
A: SOON leads with benchmarked performance exceeding 30,000 TPS, followed by Sonic’s optimized gaming chains and Eclipse’s efficient execution environment.
Q: Are these projects competitors?
A: Only indirectly. They target different ecosystems—Sonic enhances Solana for gaming; SOON and Eclipse boost Ethereum’s scalability using SVM—but all contribute to expanding SVM adoption.
Final Thoughts: The Rise of Specialized SVM Chains
The emergence of Sonic SVM, SOON, and Eclipse signals a maturing phase in blockchain scalability. Rather than one-size-fits-all solutions, we’re seeing purpose-built architectures emerge:
- Gaming-first infrastructure (Sonic)
- High-performance EVM-compatible L2s (SOON)
- Lean, ETH-aligned rollups (Eclipse)
Together, they demonstrate that SVM is not just a technical upgrade—but a paradigm shift enabling diverse execution environments across chains.
As adoption grows and developer tooling improves, expect more hybrid models blending speed, security, and accessibility. For now, these three pioneers are setting the pace.