Sonic Labs has received near‑unanimous approval from its community to overhaul the tokenomics of its S token and pursue an institutional expansion into the U.S. market.
It's official.@Nasdaq filed with @SECGov to enable tokenized securities trading, a historic move by a U.S. traditional exchange.
— Sonic (@SonicLabs) September 8, 2025
Tokenization is now becoming Wall Street policy, and Sonic is the fast, global chain built to scale it. pic.twitter.com/4rI8WNy7bz
Supply changes and token distribution
According to analyst account Tokenomist on X (Sept. 7 post), Sonic will issue 633.9 million new S tokens valued at roughly $196.5 million.
The new tokens are divided across three categories:
- 150 million tokens to fund U.S. operations.
- 322.6 million tokens reserved for a Nasdaq private investment vehicle (PIPE), locked for at least three years.
- 161.3 million tokens earmarked for a future ETF partnership with BitGo custody.
These changes increase total available supply from 4.12 billion to 4.75 billion S, with circulating supply up 14% to 3.79 billion, and released supply rising 5.4% to 3.14 billion.
Additional details tied to the governance proposal noted that total supply would expand from 3.41 billion to 3.89 billion tokens, with circulating supply up by 472 million (14.2%).
Adjusted fee and burn model
The updates also introduce stronger burn mechanics to counterbalance inflation:
- For builder‑focused transactions: 90% of fees return to builders, 5% to validators, 5% burned.
- For non‑builder transactions: 50% of all fees permanently removed from circulation.
Sonic Labs described this as a means to support issuance, offset dilution, and impose long‑term scarcity mechanics into the S token economy.
U.S. expansion strategy
The tokenomics overhaul is designed to give Sonic Labs greater flexibility as it launches Sonic USA, a Delaware‑based entity in New York. New issuance will fund operations, establish liquidity, and create investment products with a regulatory focus.
Planned initiatives include:
- A U.S.‑listed exchange‑traded fund (ETF) tracking the S token (approx. $50M allocation).
- A Nasdaq‑listed PIPE investment vehicle.
- Direct market purchases of S tokens to manage liquidity.
Sonic Labs framed these changes as part of a transition from a “community‑driven chain” to a “blockchain enterprise” model built to integrate more deeply with U.S. financial markets and attract institutional capital.
Governance vote outcome
The overhaul passed with overwhelming community support: nearly 860 million votes cast, 99.98% in favor.
The outcome reflects what project supporters argue is strong consensus for Sonic’s shift to a structure designed to merge modern tokenomics with institutional finance‑friendly frameworks.
While Sonic’s move into U.S. markets and financial product design looks ambitious, the real test will be execution. In my opinion, the success of this plan rests less on token issuance and more on delivering credible, regulated structures that institutions actually adopt.
Gunel Ismayilova
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