Interview Summary with Andre Cronje, Founder of Sonic: "The Birth of the Fastest Blockchain in History"
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Interview Summary with Andre Cronje, Founder of Sonic: "The Birth of the Fastest Blockchain in History"
The team is currently conducting super optimization for DeFi, including more prototyping, more new features, and greater composability, aiming to ensure no blockchain can compete with SONIC in DeFi.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: DaPangDun (@DaPangDunCrypto)
Recently, @kyle_chasse and @AndreCronjeTech had an interview. I carefully watched the video and found it packed with valuable insights, so I've summarized the key points below.
1. Evolution in Views on Blockchain
During the ICO era, everyone was excited about decentralization—developers were building fully decentralized systems, emphasizing immutability and strong altruistic ideals. Over time, however, his perspective has shifted. He now sees development teams and their products more like traditional companies. Instead of pursuing extreme decentralization or immutability, he believes there should be upgradable mechanisms for security practices to prevent potential issues.
2. Positioning of Sonic Labs
Sonic Labs currently focuses on maintaining and operating validator software. The SONIC network itself is standardized, and they actively collaborate with other validators. However, next-generation blockchains—especially in early stages—require leadership and technical expertise, which is where Labs play a critical role. Currently, the SONIC team is optimizing the network at a pace that other teams cannot match.
3. View on L1s
In AC's view, an L1 is akin to a digital nation. It must provide sound monetary policy, robust and user-friendly infrastructure, and create an environment where businesses (dApps) within the ecosystem can thrive.
Kyle’s summary is particularly insightful: “a world where governments compete for citizens.” Given the current landscape of numerous L1s, this is indeed a sharp and accurate characterization.
4. Significance of the FeeM Model
The FeeM model is SONIC’s incentive mechanism designed for dApps on its network. Unlike most blockchains that allocate the majority of gas fees to validators, SONIC redirects most of these fees back to application developers. This provides crucial initial incentives for builders and helps bootstrap the economic model in the early stages. In AC’s opinion, the old ICO model—where projects raised large sums before delivering anything—was absurd.
Kyle brought up funding models: yes, many blockchains offer grants, but such approaches are inefficient and not unique.
5. Phantom
AC shared the backstory behind Phantom. I won’t go into detail here, but he explained how this journey began.
6. Expectations for ETH and Views on EVM
AC has long hoped that Ethereum would adopt some of his team’s technologies—for instance, their database solution alone could reduce storage pressure by 98%. It’s compatible with the EVM compiler, free, open-source, and highly valuable—so why hasn't it been adopted? He wanted to give back to EVM, but realized doing so required constant fighting, and he no longer has the will to fight.
SONIC’s VM and consensus mechanism are decoupled. In principle, it supports multiple execution environments, including EVM, SVM, MOVE, and others.
Regarding EVM, he acknowledges that SVM is technically superior. Its ability to pre-allocate memory addresses enables excellent parallelization—a sign of more forward-thinking design.
7. TPS and User Experience on SONIC
An obvious truth: when discussing TPS, we must define the benchmark. A simple low-gas transfer versus a complex smart contract transaction will yield vastly different performance metrics.
Under SONIC’s own testing tools, simple transfers can reach up to 600,000 transactions per second, while maximally complex transactions still achieve 8,000–10,000 TPS, peaking at 16,000.
In terms of user experience, most blockchain frontends rely on asynchronous programming, constantly polling RPC endpoints to confirm transaction status. On SONIC, the frontend and RPC are nearly synchronous—an extremely smooth experience.
8. SONIC’s Deep Plans
SONIC is about to launch a “fee subsidy” feature: anyone (initially via whitelist) can pay gas fees for others. This allows apps to bring users onto the network without requiring them to hold gas tokens upfront. Combine this with FeeM’s 90% fee rebates, and user acquisition costs become extremely low.
AC believes wallet gas is a major barrier. If you force new users to deposit gas before using your app, many will drop off immediately—this mindset clearly targets Web2-style user expectations.
Another upcoming feature is the “Smart Wallet,” a significant evolution from “account abstraction,” offering:
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Use any token as gas
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Log in through various account types
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One-time login persists across sessions (until logout), eliminating repeated authentication
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Streamlined approval processes during usage
This is designed entirely around maximizing user experience—users shouldn’t need to understand blockchain mechanics. They should just focus on using great, cool products.
Kyle raised concerns about security for high-value accounts. AC responded: most blockchains don’t segment users. Large holders are either experts themselves or hire experts—security scales accordingly.
9. On SONIC’s Development
First, AC stated he refuses to talk to any VC investors or funds. He believes large market makers, funds, or VCs have no loyalty!
He also pointed out a common trend: most projects start with high TVL, which gets locked up temporarily. After unlocking, TVL gradually drains to zero—likely the fate of most projects.
Therefore, at SONIC’s launch, he and the team decided to start TVL from zero and grow organically—that’s healthier.
He mentioned a potential challenge: a 200 million token airdrop, involving many strategic considerations. The purpose of the airdrop design was:
To reward early believers and supporters, make them wealthy, and ensure they stay with SONIC long-term.
Post-airdrop, TVL may decline. To retain users, he hopes to leverage the following:
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SONIC’s speed
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User experience on SONIC
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Dedicated developers building top-tier applications
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Cool, fun things to explore and interact with on SONIC
One quote deeply resonated with me:
"The SONIC token isn’t important. What matters is using those cool applications. What matters are the people using SONIC."
10. On the Ecosystem
AC mentioned many projects in the ecosystem, such as @ShadowOnSonic, @MetropolisDEX, @SiloFinance, @vertex_protocol, @BoomDEX, @magpieprotocol, @eggsonsonic, @SnakeOnSonic, @hubble_sonic, @HandofGodSonic... and games too. His deep familiarity proves he’s a genuine, hands-on user.
This makes me want to ask many L1 founding teams: Do you actually know the projects in your ecosystem? Have you used them yourself?
11. On Risk
AC said many existing systems are stable and solid, but he only feels truly excited by new innovations—even if they carry risk. He added: people often avoid trying anything due to fear of bugs, but if we let bugs paralyze us, we can never advance the industry.
12. Views on Memes
AC views memes as attention economics, and holds a dual perspective:
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Community coins have value—they reward loyal communities who’ve endured hardship over years. This aligns with his philosophy behind the airdrop and explains why SONIC hosted a meme contest early on.
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Meme coins that appear and vanish in weeks are “asshole moves”—toxic and undesirable.
13. Outlook for SONIC
The team is currently super-optimizing for DeFi—with more prototyping, novel features, and enhanced composability—aiming to ensure no other chain can compete with SONIC in the DeFi space.
14. AC’s New Project
At the end, Kyle asked a question on everyone’s mind: Any secret alpha?
AC revealed he plans to launch an exchange within the year—one capable of competing directly with @coinbase and @binance, but with these distinctions:
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Fully decentralized
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Offering maximum possible leverage
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Providing advanced trading account features once licensed
However, this product will not issue a token at launch. Based on my research into the SONIC ecosystem, this project is likely @flyingtulip_.
Video link:
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@DaPangDunCrypto
