Sonic Raises Institutional Capital and Unveils ACM Protocol Upgrade to Power the Attention Economy
Seoul, South Korea, September 16th, 2025, Chainwire
Sonic has unveiled its ACM protocol upgrade to redefine attention as a programmable and tradable asset class. Backed with a raise in fresh institutional capital, Sonic will establish Attention Capital Markets (ACM) as a new layer of economic infrastructure, solidifying its position as the attention layer of Solana.
From its early roots in gaming, where attention is most concentrated, Sonic is evolving into a foundational network that makes attention programmable. By providing a verifiable data layer that captures both off-chain signals, such as impressions and clicks, with onchain metrics such as transactions and volume, Sonic enables attention to flow into a new class of applications where attention, yield, and assets converge.
The ACM upgrade is being launched with strong momentum across capital, research, product, and ecosystem fronts. DWF Labs and Awaken Finance are among the investors who’ve joined as strategic investors through a recent fundraising round, demonstrating institutional confidence in Sonic’s mission to make attention a fully liquid asset.
Intellectual depth has been added by Professor Xi Chen of NYU, a recognized leader in computational economics, who has co-authored the ACM Whitepaper with the Sonic team, laying out the theoretical foundations of programmable attention as a capital market. Its release builds upon Sonic’s research into rewarding user attention, inspired by the success of its tap-to-earn game SonicX built directly into TikTok, which attracted over two million users.
In early 2025, Sonic began researching how to systematically measure and reward this attention, culminating in the ACM framework: a system of standardized metrics, epochs, and reward distribution that transforms raw engagement into tradable capital.
“The ACM protocol upgrade marks the beginning of a new age where attention itself becomes capital,” said Sonic CEO Chris Zhu. “Backed by leading investors, groundbreaking research, and real consumer applications, Sonic is architecting the Attention Economy for builders, institutions, and communities worldwide.”
The ACM launch is amplified by a growing ecosystem of partners, from infrastructure providers to consumer applications, that are integrating ACM into their own products. Together, they extend Sonic’s reach, transforming ACM from a concept into a market reality. With the ACM upgrade, Sonic signals the start of The Sonic Shift: from gaming origins to programmable attention, from signals to capital, and from isolated apps to infinite markets of attention.
About Sonic
Sonic SVM is the foundational Attention Network that makes attention programmable.
We provide the verifiable data layer for attention—capturing both off-chain signals (impressions, clicks) and on-chain metrics (transactions, volume).
This unlocks a new class of composable applications where attention, yield, and assets converge—from programmable attention vaults to next-gen consumer products—paving the way for transparent, verifiable, and liquid Attention Capital Markets (ACM).