- Fantom has announced the testnet launch of its next major upgrade.
- FTM is up double digits this past week.
In a recent one blog postthe developer team behind the leading Layer 1 (L1) blockchain network Fantom [FTM] announced the launch of Fantom Sonic.
Today, #Phantom is pleased to announce the launch of the #FantomSonic testnet environment!
Sonic’s three major upgrades include:
• Fantom Virtual Machine, which offers dramatically faster smart contract execution compared to the old EVM.
• Carmen database storage, which uses a… pic.twitter.com/shovQtzMkd
— Fantom Foundation (@FantomFDN) October 24, 2023
According to the announcement, Fantom Sonic represents a major upgrade to the Fantom blockchain. It’s an umbrella name for the network’s new technology stack, which is designed to replace Fantom Opera.
Phantom opera launched in 2019 as the first extra layer within Fantom. It is an EVM-compatible smart contract platform and a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network where validators use Lachesis to validate transactions and produce new blocks.
Read Fantom’s [FTM] Price forecast 2023-24
Here comes Fantom Sonic
According to the Fantom Foundation,
“Sonic is the next iteration of the Fantom network, without the need for a hard fork for the upgrade.”
The upgrade is expected to include three major features. They include the Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM), a Carmen database store, and another consensus mechanism known as the Optimized Lachesis consensus mechanism.
The FVM is a new virtual machine designed to be faster and more efficient than the current EVM running on Opera. This allows Fantom to process transactions faster and reduce costs for users.
Furthermore, Sonic introduces a new database storage engine known as the Carmen Database Storage. This is expected to reduce node storage requirements on Fantom and improve the overall performance of the network.
As for the consensus mechanism on the upgraded network, Sonic will introduce the optimized Lachesis consensus mechanism.
As noted above, Fantom Opera adopts the Lachesis consensus, where validators on the network can process transactions independently and asynchronously. Validators no longer have to wait for others to finish processing a block before starting the next block.
With an “optimized” version of this mechanism, validating transactions on Sonic is designed to be more efficient, faster and more reliable.
Fantom has launched a testnet where network users can test out some of the new upgrades. According to the announcement, the mainnet will launch in spring 2024.
New demand for FTM rises to multi-month high
A review of the daily number of new addresses created to trade FTM revealed an 86% spike between days between October 22 and 23.
Realistic or not, here is FTM’s market cap in BTC terms
According to data from SantimentOn October 23, the number of new addresses completing FTM transactions for the first time was 371. This was the highest number of addresses since July.
Source: Santiment
This increase was due to continued bullish momentum in the overall crypto market and showed that demand for FTM was starting to rise. Trading hands at $0.2293 at the time of writing, FTM’s price is up more than 25% in the past week.
Source: CoinMarketCap