Soon: How a unified blockchain ecosystem can break down network fragmentation and foster a more interconnected, efficient, and secure digital environment for all users.

The current blockchain ecosystem faces a fundamental challenge: different L1 chains are isolated from each other, with funds, applications, and users segmented into separate, siloed ecosystems. Achieving security provided by Ethereum and performance offered by Solana simultaneously is difficult; cross-chain interactions are costly, and liquidity is severely fragmented. To address this dilemma, a project called SOON has emerged, aiming to redefine blockchain interoperability through modular architecture and cross-chain protocols.

The Root Causes of Blockchain Fragmentation

Today’s blockchain networks operate independently. Ethereum prioritizes security and decentralization, but transaction speeds are limited; Solana adopts high-performance solutions, but its security model is incompatible with Ethereum’s. Many emerging L1s attempt to strike a balance between speed and security, yet this exacerbates ecosystem fragmentation. DeFi protocols need to deploy across multiple chains, forcing users to switch between various wallets for liquidity. This fragmentation directly leads to:

• Dispersed liquidity, reducing trading depth
• High cross-chain costs, hindering application innovation
• Repetitive work for developers, wasting resources
• Fragmented user experience, increasing adoption costs

SOON’s Unified Architecture Solution

The core idea of the SOON project is to use a standardized technology stack that allows different L1 chains to share the same high-performance execution environment while maintaining their own security features. This solution consists of three interconnected components:

Separation and Optimization of the Execution Layer

SOON adopts an innovative architecture: separating the execution layer (responsible for transaction computation) from the consensus layer (responsible for security verification). In this model, the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), as an efficient execution engine, is deployed on Ethereum’s L2. The benefits of this separation are clear:

• SVM execution layer can be independently optimized for higher throughput
• The consensus layer maintains Ethereum-level security guarantees
• Overall system performance is no longer constrained by a single consensus mechanism

Modular Infrastructure: SOON Stack

SOON is not just a new chain but a complete technology stack. This stack allows any L1 to deploy an SVM environment on its L2, creating a flexible “L2 of L2” structure. Additionally, SOON integrates multiple data availability (DA) solutions, such as Avail and EigenDA, ensuring data is available and verifiable on-chain. This means:

• Different L1s can share the same efficient execution environment
• Developers experience consistent performance across ecosystems
• Data availability is no longer a bottleneck for performance

Cross-Chain Communication Protocol: InterSOON

To enable these dispersed SVM networks to communicate, SOON has designed the InterSOON protocol. This is a standardized cross-chain messaging system that allows seamless interaction between the SOON mainnet, various SOON Stack L2s, and other L1s. Users and applications no longer need to rely on third-party bridging services, reducing cross-chain risks and costs.

Three Pillars of Technical Innovation

Standardized Merkle Tree Structure

SOON adopts a Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) data structure compatible with Ethereum. While this may seem like a technical detail, it has profound significance: it improves the efficiency and security of transaction proofs and ensures maximum compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem. Developers do not need to relearn new data models, and nodes can efficiently verify on-chain states.

Horizontal Scaling, Not Vertical Stacking

SOON achieves true horizontal scaling by distributing computational loads across multiple nodes. This is not simply increasing the performance of a single machine (which quickly hits physical limits), but enabling the system to dynamically add nodes to meet growing demand. This design ensures:

• System redundancy and fault tolerance
• Costs grow linearly with usage, not exponentially
• Long-term sustainable scalability

Founders and Team Background

SOON was founded by Joanna Zeng in 2024. Zeng has extensive experience in both crypto and traditional finance: over 7 years in the crypto industry, with leadership roles in business development and product at top projects like Coinbase, Optimism Foundation, and Aleo. Before entering crypto, she worked as a foreign exchange trader on Wall Street, accumulating 13 years of traditional financial experience. This background enables her to understand both the technical potential of blockchain and the practical needs of financial systems, a perspective reflected in SOON’s design philosophy. Zeng holds a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Columbia University, providing a solid foundation for the project’s technical rigor and business strategy.

Funding Model: Community-Driven Innovation

SOON’s funding approach breaks away from traditional VC-dominated models. The project raised $22 million through NFT sales, creating an environment of equality between VC investors and community users. This means:

• Early participants and institutional investors have equal rights
• Token distribution is more democratic and fair
• The project has built a strong community foundation from the start

This funding strategy demonstrates SOON’s commitment to community-driven development, addressing information asymmetry and利益分配 in traditional financing.

The Ecosystem Significance and Future of SOON

SOON is not just another blockchain project but a deep reflection on blockchain interoperability issues. By combining Solana-level execution performance with Ethereum-level security, and through modular architecture enabling resource and liquidity sharing across different L1s, SOON aims to build a truly unified ecosystem.

The core asset of this ecosystem is the SOON token, which not only provides governance functions but also incentivizes application developers to deploy on the network and rewards community contributions to ecosystem innovation. Token holders can participate in long-term development decisions, ensuring alignment between project direction and community interests.

As SOON’s technology continues to evolve, more applications and L1s may join this ecosystem. Currently, some trading platforms are beginning to support SOON-related trading activities, allowing community members to participate in building a unified blockchain infrastructure. For developers and investors focused on blockchain interoperability and performance breakthroughs, SOON represents the next generation of blockchain infrastructure—moving beyond blindly pursuing maximum single-chain performance, and instead achieving true ecosystem integration through architectural innovation.