Blockchain entertainment specialist Sophon has raised $60 million in a node sale organized by the zkSync Hyperchain platform, less than a week after the auction began.
The sale included 200,000 nodes and accumulated more than 60 million dollars involved (wETH). This was preceded by a $10 million funding round led by Paper Ventures and Maven 11, with additional investments from Spartan, SevenX, and OKX Ventures.
Sophon uses the modular blockchain architecture designed by Matter Labs, which develops zk-rollup solutions for the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem.
Despite selling 121,000 nodes, Sophon clarifies that not all buyers will act as validators. Instead, they will receive ERC-721 tokens, which offer several benefits. These include the acquisition of Sophon tokens, with 20% of the total supply to be distributed to node licensees within the first 36 months of launch.
Additionally, buyers can participate in network validation and earn a share of network fees upon Sophon's planned launch in Q3 2024 as a Layer 2 validation rollup.
“I know the product inside out compared to other batteries on the market. It's about building for tomorrow and not yesterday, and I'm convinced that in a few years, looking back at the design and infrastructure decisions Matter Labs made will seem obvious. “I will continue to work closely with the incredible team at Matter Labs,” said Sophon.
Node license holders will also play a role in indexing the chain or operating light nodes, with future plans for a decentralized consensus model requiring these licenses for network operation. Licenses not purchased or unused at the end of the sale will be destroyed to ensure they do not enter circulation.
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Additionally, Sophon is planning a unique airdrop campaign to widely distribute its $SOPH token. Participants can stake assets such as $BEAM from the Beam network and $ZENT from Zentry, with more assets to be announced.
Co-founded by Sebastien, former Head of DeFi at zkSync, and cryptocurrency trader Pentoshi, Sophon is an entertainment-focused ecosystem using zkSync's hyperchain technology. The platform leverages zkSync's native account abstraction and other features to improve user experience and attract talent in artificial intelligence, gaming and entertainment.
