After Sonic Chain Launch: Where Did Fantom's Old Users Go?
After Sonic went live, Fantom's old users roughly split into three groups: some actively mined on the new chain during the 2025 airdrop reward peak, some left after the high point, and some are still waiting or haven't completed migration because "both chains still coexist." Real data points to a more complex picture—users came, but didn't stay.
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1. Migration Itself: Fantom "Rebrands" to Sonic
Fantom officially upgraded to the Sonic chain on December 18, 2024, with the token swapping from FTM to S at a 1:1 ratio. This is a brand-new Layer 1 chain that retains EVM compatibility, but essentially it's not a continuation of Fantom Opera—transaction history won't migrate, and all users need to rebuild assets and positions on the new chain.
Migration Window:
Two-way swap period (Dec 2024 - Mar 2025): FTM and S can be exchanged both ways.
One-way swap period (after Mar 2025): Only FTM → S is supported, no conversion back.
Opera officially shuts down: After 5 PM GMT on June 30, 2026, the FTM → S bridge on Fantom Opera mainnet will close. Users holding FTM on the old chain will no longer be able to migrate through official channels.
This means: If you still hold FTM on Fantom Opera now, your assets are still there, but the official pathway to the new chain is closing.
2. Where Did Users Go? The Data Answers
Phase 1: Early 2025 - Mid 2025, users flooded into Sonic.
During the Sonic airdrop campaign, users earned Sonic Points and Gems by holding whitelisted assets and interacting with dApps. The effect was direct:
Within two months of mainnet launch, 1.61 million wallets were activated, and registered users approached 2 million.
DEX activity peaked at $262 million in a single day, and the new chain once broke into the top five in DEX activity, behind Arbitrum but ahead of Sui and Berachain.
Phase 2: Mid 2026, users left.
Core data comes from KuCoin's July 2026 on-chain analysis report: Sonic's daily active users once surged to 62,200 in early June, but now it's only 6,400–7,600, a drop of nearly 90%.
Meanwhile:
On-chain transaction volume dropped 65% in the past 30 days
On-chain spot trading volume fell 31.6%
Monthly active user numbers shrank severely, showing most participants left after the airdrop ended.
Where did users go?
There is no single destination. Some former Fantom users tried liquidity mining on Shadow DEX on the new chain and then retreated; some users still holding FTM on Fantom Opera chose to wait and see; others moved to other L1s and L2s where on-chain activity was more vibrant at the time.
The key point: Users brought by the Sonic airdrop are "profit-driven"—they will flow towards higher yields and won't necessarily stay long-term on the new chain.
3. Retention Dilemma for Old Users: User Activity Far From Recovery
The collapse of daily active users (DAU) is the most immediate problem.
A deeper worry: Sonic recently experienced a leadership change (long-term board member departed, new CEO appointed) and tokenomic adjustments (suspending the planned 1.5% annual inflation). These governance-level changes, coupled with user loss, make restoring market confidence more complicated.
If after Opera's shutdown, Sonic still cannot find real demand to keep users beyond airdrop incentives (such as a sizable gaming and DeFi application ecosystem), then the exodus of old users may continue.
4. What Should You Do If You Still Hold FTM?
If you hold FTM on Fantom Opera and plan to migrate to Sonic, act now. June 30, 2026 is the final deadline for the FTM → S bridge on the Opera chain.
Migration steps:
Send FTM to a wallet that supports the Sonic network (e.g., MetaMask, need to add Fantom Opera network)
Visit the official Sonic upgrade portal, connect wallet, and swap at 1:1 to S
Add Sonic network (Chain ID: 146) in your wallet to view S tokens.
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Next Steps
If you were once a Fantom user, log into your wallet to check whether FTM is still on Opera. The June 30, 2026 bridge closure is very close; if you intend to migrate to Sonic, completing the swap now is critical. If you don't plan to migrate, you need to confirm how much time you have to manage other assets after Fantom Opera shuts down.
