SOPH: Tokenomics and Airdrop
SOPH is the utility token for the Sophon Network, playing an essential role in its current and future operations. Learn more and check your airdrop eligibility now.
What is SOPH?
SOPH is the utility token for the Sophon Network, playing an essential role in its current and future operations.
- Ticker: SOPH
- Token standard: ERC20
- Total supply: 10 billion (10,000,000,000)
- Allocation to the Sophon community: 57%
At launch SOPH will serve two purposes. It will be used to pay gas fees on the network and it will be used to facilitate the decentralisation of Sophon’s sequencer using a staking mechanism.
We expect the utility to evolve over time as our network and our product offering grows, incorporating new utilities as we do. There is plenty planned on the product front so stay tuned for the evolution of SOPH.
SOPH Utility: Gas Fees & Staking
Gas
All transactions on the Sophon Network will be paid for in SOPH.
This does not necessarily require all users to hold SOPH due to ZKsync’s native paymaster technology. Paymasters are a type of specialised contract designed to subsidise or customise transaction fees for other accounts, providing a seamless user experience and greater flexibility. That means, no more being forced to bridge whenever you run out of the native gas token and depending on what you’re doing, maybe no gas to be paid at all. Check out our Paymaster page for more detail.
With all gas being paid in SOPH, either by the network, the user or the dapp, the token is redistributed to those operating the chain, which brings us to the next utility.
Staking on Sophon
Staking on Sophon secures the network while earning rewards. The ZKsync network will soon enable decentralised sequencing, allowing Sophon Full Nodes (operators with +1500 NFT delegations from Guardians) to operate sequencers.
Staking launches at TGE, with the Sophon Foundation initially operating the only Full Node. Once decentralised sequencing is enabled by the ZKsync network, Full Nodes must stake 100,000 SOPH to operate and will earn a portion of gas fees. Remaining fees are distributed to SOPH stakers.
Any SOPH holder can stake. Initially, staking will be available within the Claim window when you claim your tokens, and soon on Sophon Home’s Earn section by autodelegating or selecting a Full Node. Delegations can be changed anytime. Rewards are distributed after each batch seal and automatically compound.
Our reward model uses an Ethereum-inspired inverse square root function to stabilise yields based on the total amount of circulating supply staked. Unutilised tokens will be burned or distributed periodically, making the total supply of SOPH deflationary since no new tokens can be minted.
Staking occurs instantly, while withdrawals require a 5-day cooldown to ensure the cryptoeconomic security of the network. More details on Full Node decentralisation will follow ZKsync's decentralised sequencer roadmap release.
Read a more detailed overview in our docs.
Distribution
This is what the SOPH token distribution & emission schedule looks like:
Granular Breakdown
Node Rewards (Sophon Guardians): 2,000,000,000 SOPH (20% of total supply)
Node rewards are a mechanism for rewarding early backers of Sophon (participants of the Sophon Node Sale), whilst providing them with a stable stream of tokens to facilitate the technical operations of the Light Node or Full Node they operate. Rewards started accruing on January 1st, 2025 and will be subject to a 3 month cliff at TGE to ensure extended participation in the technical operations of the chain.
For >90% of Sophon Node holders, the number of SOPH they can potentially receive from this unlocked airdrop should exceed the number of SOPH they would have earned from Node rewards over the same period. Read more about the airdrop and check your allocation below.
The airdrop is subject to the Airdrop Terms & Conditions found here.
Ecosystem Reserves: 2,600,000,000 SOPH (26% of total supply)
Ecosystem Reserves are to grow the ecosystem! The use cases can be broad – including helping to attract key partners, future incentive campaigns, liquidity bootstrapping for CEXs and much more.
While governance is not a utility at TGE (we want governance to be more than a glorified polling mechanism and that means launching it when there is sufficient functionality to govern), the plan is that the Ecosystem Reserve will eventually be controlled by governance once it is implemented.
Post-Mainnet Liquidity Mining (Sophon Farm Phase 2): 200,000,000 SOPH (2% of total supply)
A continuation of the pre-mainnet mining campaign (Sophon Farm Phase 1 or the L1 Farm), the post-mainnet liquidity mining campaign (Sophon Farm Phase 2 or the L2 Farm) has retained liquidity on Sophon whilst we continue to grow. Now, with a strong set of builders and applications on Sophon, and with many more coming, the L2 Farm will end shortly after TGE. The SOPH tokens claimable by participants in the L2 Farm will be subject to a 6-month cliff at TGE, followed by a 6-month linear vest. Assets deposited by participants in the L2 Farm can be withdrawn instantly at any point.
The total amount of SOPH allocated to the L2 Farm has been reduced from 4% to 2% of the total supply. This is due to the reduction in the programme’s duration, as it was originally intended to run until December 2025, but will now conclude in May 2025. Once governance is implemented, future farms may be proposed by SOPH holders, with the funds allocated to such farms coming from Ecosystem Reserves.
Seed Investors: 1,800,000,000 SOPH (18% of total supply)
Sophon would not be here without the valuable set of investors that have backed us from the start and have helped facilitate our growth. These investors are receiving a comparably lower allocation compared to many other networks and will be subject to a 3-year vesting period (1-year cliff followed by a 24-month linear vest) to ensure their continued support.
Core Contributors: 2,500,000,000 SOPH (25% of total supply)
The Sophon team has, and will continue to, work tirelessly to build and grow Sophon into a ubiquitous, consumer-focussed technology. A portion of these tokens have been allocated to the team for their hard work so far, as well as to act as a continuous motivator to take Sophon to the next level. The remainder has been reserved to ensure we are able to attract the best talent in the space. All team allocations are subject to a 4-year vesting period (1-year cliff followed by a 36-month linear vest).
SOPH Airdrop
To kickstart liquidity on Sophon, a pre-mainnet mining campaign (Sophon Farm Phase 1) was launched and continued up until mainnet launch on the 18th December, 2024. All rewards from Sophon Farm Phase 1 will be entirely unlocked at TGE (6% of total supply).
On top of the 6% of the total supply of SOPH tokens being distributed to L1 Farmers, Sophon is also distributing 300,000,000 SOPH (3% of the total supply of SOPH tokens) as an additional airdrop to certain eligible participants. It has been carefully thought through to attract new, value-aligned users to the ecosystem, whilst rewarding early adopters.
Eligible participants can claim their allocation in one of two ways:
- Claim through OKX Exchange (2-day pre-registration window is now open)
- Claim on Sophon mainnet (claim opens at TGE)
Claim via OKX Exchange
OKX Exchange users can now register to receive their SOPH directly to their exchange account with an additional 5% bonus on top of their airdrop allocation. To select this option:
- Visit the OKX claim page: claim.sophon.xyz/okx
- Provide your OKX Exchange UID
- Provide your OKX Exchange SOPH Deposit Address (ERC20)
Important: Once registered for the OKX Exchange claim, your allocation will be delivered directly to your OKX Exchange account at TGE. You'll be removed from the standard claim flow, and no further action will be required on your part.
Claim on Sophon mainnet
Verify your airdrop allocation now at claim.sophon.xyz. The claiming process will open at TGE, with detailed instructions to be provided separately. Eligible wallets will be able to claim their SOPH allocation directly on Sophon mainnet once the SOPH token is live.
Eligibility criteria
The airdrop will be split amongst the following categories: Sophon’s early users and community, Node holders, ZKSync power users, and select NFT communities. For some, it will be a significant airdrop. For those who have engaged less in the ecosystem, it will be gas money and an invite to fully explore what Sophon has to offer.
Sophon Node holders were the first community members to back us. Without their support we would not be where we are today. Despite Node holders already receiving 20% of total token supply, we want to provide an additional bonus for their patience and continued support as we look to build the future of consumer technology.
(1) a flat amount for each Node holder regardless of quantity, and
(2) an amount based on how much each Node holder spent in total to purchase Nodes (unit price * amount of Nodes)
For >90% of Node Sale participants the number of SOPH they can potentially receive from this unlocked airdrop should exceed the number of SOPH they would have earned from Node rewards over the same period. All Node rewards will still be distributed in due course — this is a booster.
The airdrop to Sophon early adopters and ZKSync power users is a token of gratitude for using Sophon after its launch on mainnet, or for playing a key role within the broader ZKSync ecosystem that Sophon falls under.
NFTs are one of the fundamental pillars of consumer culture within crypto. As a consumer-focused chain, we think it is important to provide a reward to holders of key NFT projects for their role in creating and sustaining crypto culture, as well as to incentivize these users to come and explore Sophon. Holders of specified NFT collections that accepted the role of ‘Friend of Sophon’ will receive a larger portion of the airdrop.
Lastly, we have our social community across Discord and Telegram. Your support has been noticed and our most active community members across these channels will be eligible to receive an airdrop. For our public supporters who didn't yet make it to the Inner Circle, our on-going yapper rewards program is for you.
The airdrop is subject to the Airdrop Terms & Conditions found here.
Read more detailed tokenomics in our docs.
Only trust official announcements. Stay vigilant. Always verify you're interacting with an official Sophon account, domain, or team member at verify.sophon.xyz
Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, financial or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any digital assets and the use of finance-related terminology are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute any recommendation for any action or an offer to buy or sell securities or any other financial instruments. This content may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to purchase or sell any digital asset referenced herein. The content speaks only as of the date indicated.