Sonic Gems
This page is specific to season 2 of the airdrop.
The second season of the airdrop and Kaito program are ending on November 1, 2025. Future incentive programs will be announced at a later stage.
Sonic Gems are developer-focused airdrop points designed to reward apps for driving user engagement and innovation. These Gems can be redeemed for S tokens, which apps can then distribute as rewards to their users.
This system helps apps grow by driving consistent user activity and maintaining long-term engagement.
— What are Sonic Gems? — Distribution of Gems — Gems Revocation Policy
What are Sonic Gems?
Sonic Gems are airdrop points exclusively designed for apps. Each season, a fixed supply of Gems is allocated to apps based on performance metrics. Apps can track their progress through the points dashboard.
To distribute the S tokens earned through Gems to their users, apps must manage the process independently. For example, an app could:
Run their own internal points programs
Claim Gems and distribute S to users in season 3
Join Sonic Builders on Telegram for further support
While there’s no strict requirement for apps to share a specific percentage of their claimed S tokens with their users, the design of Gems incentivizes generosity. Apps that share a larger portion of their claimed S with their communities are rewarded more favorably compared to those that do not.
Tokenizing Gems is strictly prohibited. Any app that does so will be instantly disqualified from the entire season.
Distribution of Gems
Sonic Gems are distributed by considering factors such as category type, Sonic exclusivity, revenue generation, and effective reward distribution, promoting fairness and incentivizing active participation.
The competitive PvP nature and fixed supply of Gems mean that an app's Gem balance may fluctuate daily, influenced by the performance of other apps on the platform.
Below are the key criteria that will determine an app's share of Gems in season 1.
Apps are assessed across several weighted categories, with each app assigned a weight based on its primary category. For season 1, the specific weights are detailed below. If an app falls into multiple categories, the weight of its dominant category will be applied.
Yield Tokenization
4
Isolated / Modular Lending
4
Spot / CLOB DEX
3
Pooled Lending / CDPs
3
Perps
3
Options / Derivatives
2
Yield Aggregators
2
GambleFi
2
Bridges
2
Apps are assigned different weights depending on their level of exclusivity to Sonic:
Weight 2: Exclusively available on Sonic
Weight 1: Primarily on Sonic but accessible elsewhere
Weight 0.5: Available across multiple chains
Note: An app's Sonic-native weight cannot be upgraded during a season. However, if an app takes actions that reduce its Sonic nativeness, its weight will be reduced immediately and remain in effect for the following season as well.
This assesses how effectively an app distributes its claimed S to its users. An app's incentive weight is determined by the percentage of its claimed S that was distributed to its users during the previous season.
For example, if an app distributed 100% of its claimed S from season 1 to its users, it’ll receive a weight of 1 in season 2, while distributing only 80% would give it a weight of 0.8.
While there’s no requirement for apps to distribute a specific amount of their claimed S to users, it’s mandatory for all apps to publicly disclose the percentage they intend to share with their communities.
This transparency allows users to make informed decisions about allocating their capital. Any instances of false communication or misuse of claimed S will result in blacklisting for subsequent seasons.
Point score is determined by calculating the total amount of Sonic Points that an app has generated for its users. This score is then divided by the total points generated across all eligible apps.
Revenue score rewards apps that drive real, sustainable usage.
Only fees from whitelisted assets count toward the revenue score. Revenue-generating apps are beneficial to the network as they:
Contribute directly to network fees and long-term value for S holders
Signal stronger product-market fit and user demand
Encourage more efficient use of incentives across the ecosystem
If your app creates real volume and generates real fees, you’ll earn more Gems.
Final Gems Calculation
Apps will receive a pro-rata share of Sonic Gems based on their final weights, determined by the calculations below.
Gems Revocation Policy
The following actions by the app can cause their Sonic Gems to be revoked.
Incentivizing Project Tokens or NFTs with Gems Allocating Gems as rewards for activities like holding, staking, or providing liquidity (LPing) for a project’s token or NFT. For apps that have a voting mechanism to direct emissions, Gems can be used as vote incentives for any pool other than those that contain the project's token.
Suspicious Distribution Practices Distributing large quantities of Gems non-transparently, such as allocating them disproportionately to insiders or KOLs without clear disclosure.
Misrepresenting Gem Redistribution Providing false information about the amount of claimed S being distributed to users during any season.
Failure to Integrate OpenBlock Failing to integrate with OpenBlock or adhere to its guidelines.
Tokenization Tokenizing Gems in any way.
Users are encouraged to report any suspicious activity or malpractice to Sonic Labs.
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