Sophon is shutting down its Layer 2 blockchain and moving to Base as the project shifts its focus from maintaining crypto infrastructure to building consumer-facing applications.
The move marks a major strategic pivot for Sophon, which has raised $70 million in funding. Instead of continuing to operate its own Layer 2 blockchain, the project now plans to build applications on Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase.
According to Sophon’s semi-anonymous co-founder Sebastien, also known as Seb, the project no longer sees value in spending millions of dollars each year to maintain its own blockchain infrastructure. The team now believes the future of crypto value will come less from running the rails and more from building useful products on top of them.
Sophon Ends Its Layer 2 Blockchain Strategy
Sophon’s decision to sunset its Layer 2 blockchain reflects a broader shift in the crypto market. Many projects previously focused on launching their own chains, rollups or infrastructure layers. However, the cost of maintaining those systems has become difficult to justify, especially as competition among Layer 2 networks increases.
Sophon reportedly spent around $3.4 million per year maintaining its blockchain. These costs covered chain infrastructure, rollup services, analytics, data tools and other technical vendors. By shutting down the chain, Sophon expects to reduce annual spending by about $3 million.
The project said this cost reduction will extend its runway and allow more capital to go directly into consumer app development.
Why Sophon Is Moving to Base
Sophon moves to Base because the team wants to prioritize products instead of infrastructure. Base gives Sophon access to an established Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem without requiring the project to maintain its own blockchain.
This approach may allow Sophon to build faster, reduce operational costs and focus on user experience. For consumer crypto apps, this could be especially important because mainstream users often care less about the underlying blockchain and more about whether the product is simple, useful and engaging.
Sophon’s new strategy suggests that crypto projects may increasingly choose to build on existing networks rather than operate separate chains.
Pyre Will Lead Sophon’s Consumer App Push
Sophon’s first major consumer app under the new strategy is Pyre, a gamified neofinance application expected to launch next month.
Pyre is designed to make financial activity feel more interactive. Every payment above $1 gives users a game entry inside the app. At launch, Pyre will feature games such as Inferno and Splash, with another game called Scalp It expected to follow.
The app will keep much of the crypto infrastructure in the background. Users will interact mainly in dollars, making the experience more familiar for people who may not be deeply involved in crypto.
Beyond gamification, Pyre is expected to include DeFi yield vaults, fractional tokenized equities trading, leveraged perpetual futures and prediction market access for users outside the United States. Sophon is also developing an AI-powered quant signal system for paying subscribers.
Sophon Plans More Apps on Base
Sophon’s move to Base is not limited to Pyre. The project is also planning a broader portfolio of consumer apps.
SophEarn will serve as a standalone version of the vault infrastructure used inside Pyre. SophPlay is expected to launch in the third quarter and will allow other developers to use Pyre’s gamification technology through an API.
XP.app is planned for the third or fourth quarter and will focus on payments for high-net-worth users, including custom payment hardware. SophAI, an AI-focused product, is also under development and may enter alpha later this year.
Together, these products show Sophon’s new direction: a shift away from infrastructure and toward revenue-generating consumer applications.
SOPH Token Utility Will Change
The shutdown of Sophon’s Layer 2 blockchain will also change the role of the SOPH token.
Previously, SOPH served as the gas token for the Sophon blockchain. With the chain being phased out, the token will no longer serve that same infrastructure role.
Under the new strategy, Sophon plans to connect token value to product revenue. The project said significant portions of revenue from apps such as Pyre, XP, SophEarn, SophPlay and SophAI will be used to buy back SOPH tokens on the open market and burn them.
This buyback-and-burn model is intended to link SOPH more directly to the commercial success of Sophon’s app ecosystem.
A Sign of Crypto’s Consumer App Shift
Sophon’s decision to shut down its Layer 2 blockchain highlights an important trend in the blockchain industry. After years of heavy investment in infrastructure, more crypto projects are now turning their attention to consumer products, real usage and revenue.
The move also shows how established networks such as Base may benefit from this shift. Rather than competing to launch separate blockchains, projects may increasingly choose to build on existing ecosystems where users, liquidity and developer tools are already available.
For Sophon, the next challenge will be execution. Cutting infrastructure costs may improve efficiency, but the success of its pivot will depend on whether apps like Pyre can attract and retain mainstream users.
Conclusion
Sophon moves to Base as it shuts down its Layer 2 blockchain and redirects its resources toward consumer applications. The project’s new strategy focuses on lower infrastructure costs, stronger product development and revenue-linked token utility.
With Pyre launching first and several other apps planned, Sophon is betting that the next phase of crypto growth will come from applications that people actually use, not from maintaining another blockchain network.
