Fantom (FTM) has turned out to be one of the biggest gainers over the past few weeks riding on the bullish momentum. Data suggests that investors are increasingly betting on the Fantom blockchain. This is linked to the upgrade named Sonic. The update promises enhanced performance and a series of airdrops.
Fantom price zooms
Data shows that, since validators began updating their software on Tuesday, Fantom price has surged by 25%. According to data provided by DefiLlama, the total value of crypto deposited in its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has also climbed by 20% to hit $147 million.
The Sonic upgrade looks to boost Fantom’s transaction capacity to 2,000 transactions per second. This will be up from its current limit of 200. However, it will enhance security, liquid staking, and throughput via zero-knowledge technology.
Fantom price has jumped by around 110% in the last 90 days. FTM jumped by another 8% in the last 24 hours. It is trading at an average price of $0.865, at the press time. It is still down by 75% from its all time high (ATH) of $3.48 recorded on October 28, 2021. Its 24 hour trading volume stands at around $475 million. Fantom is holding a market cap of over $2.42 billion.
Fantom Foundation CEO Michael Kong emphasized that the more users interact with the network, the higher their potential airdrop rewards. However, specific details about the airdrops remain undisclosed to prevent opportunistic users from exploiting the system.
What’s the update about?
For Sonic to be implemented network-wide, two-thirds of Fantom’s 60 validators need to complete the software upgrade. As of Friday, 25 validators had done so. This upgrade is seen as a crucial test for Fantom’s recovery following a severe hack in 2023 that undermined a related protocol.
Fantom, founded by notable DeFi figure Andre Cronje, was once a leading blockchain with nearly $8 billion locked in its DeFi ecosystem. It was touted as an “Ethereum killer” alongside other low-cost, high-speed networks like Avalanche, Solana, Terra, and Tron.
However, it suffered a significant setback after the Terra collapse in 2022 and further damage when the Multichain protocol experienced a hack, losing $125 million in cryptocurrencies. This hack particularly affected Fantom users who used Multichain to transfer assets between different blockchains.