Somnia (SOMI): High-Performance Layer 1 Blockchain for Gaming and Metaverse

Somnia is a high-performance, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed to support massive transaction requirements for gaming, metaverse, and Web3 applications. Founded in 2024 by Paul Thomas and his team, this platform has raised up to $270 million from Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and other leading VCs to deliver over 1 million transactions per second with sub-second finality and sub-cent fees. Somnia (SOMI) is now available on Bitget!

What is Somnia (SOMI)?

Somnia is a cost-effective Layer 1 blockchain capable of processing over 1 million transactions per second with sub-second finality and sub-cent fees. It enables real-time, fully on-chain experiences that go beyond financial applications and serves as the backbone for large-scale games, social platforms, AI-powered apps, and more.

Somnia addresses the scalability challenges faced by traditional blockchains, especially in the context of gaming and metaverse platforms, where millions of users may interact simultaneously. The platform solves Web3 scalability crisis where traditional blockchains struggle with high transaction volumes, causing slow speeds and high fees.

Core Innovation: The technology uses proprietary consensus protocols, innovative database structures, and compression techniques to achieve breakthrough performance. Somnia's architecture allows transaction throughput that supports real-time game economies, NFT minting, and virtual societies at scale, eliminating congestion and delays.

Who Created Somnia (SOMI)?

Somnia was founded in 2024 by Paul Thomas, who also serves as the CEO. The founding team and key members bring deep experience in software engineering, gaming technology, and blockchain.

Paul Thomas (Founder & CEO):

● Computer Science graduate from Imperial College London, ex-Software Engineer and VP Product Management at Improbable, and Technology Analyst at Goldman Sachs

● Over a decade building large-scale distributed systems for MMO games and metaverses at Improbable, focused on scaling online worlds and cloud infrastructure

● Led product, engineering, and commercial divisions as the company grew to 1,000+ employees

Key Team Members:

● Sam Snyder (SVP, R&D): Senior Vice President of Research and Development, focused on advancing novel blockchain and gaming technology at Somnia

● Daigan Reid (Head of Community): Responsible for community engagement and support

Paul Thomas and his team have shaped Somnia into a platform designed to solve core scalability and usability challenges for gaming and metaverse applications, leveraging extensive industry knowledge from their experience in gaming startups and blockchain, combining technical engineering and leadership experience in both finance and massive multiplayer technologies.

What VCs Back Somnia (SOMI)?

Somnia has been backed by a remarkable roster of leading VCs and investors through funding that totals up to $270 million. The capital comes primarily through strategic investment and grant programs, leveraging support from Improbable, MSquared, and the Virtual Society Foundation, along with direct and indirect investments from globally prominent venture capital firms.

Funding Details:

● Total Raised: Up to $270 million (combined capital and ecosystem support)

● Funding Rounds: Strategic partnership and ecosystem grants as part of Somnia's launch and ongoing development (primarily from 2024 through 2025)

Major Investors:

● Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (renowned Silicon Valley venture firm)

● SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (major global technology investor)

● Temasek (Singapore sovereign fund)

● Improbable (British metaverse tech builder, strategic founding supporter)

● MSquared (metaverse infrastructure company, strategic funding and network support)

● Virtual Society Foundation (independent nonprofit focused on open metaverse)

● Mirana Ventures (active Web3 and crypto investor)

● SIG (Susquehanna) (global trading and venture capital firm)

● Digital Currency Group (DCG) (leading blockchain investment group)

● CMT Digital (Web3 and digital asset VC)

● Spartan Capital (crypto and blockchain investor)

The substantial capital, coupled with investment from tier-1 VC firms and technology leaders, ensures a strong runway for Somnia's roadmap and ecosystem growth.

How Somnia (SOMI) Works

Somnia is a blockchain designed for speed and scale, allowing millions of users to interact in games, social apps, and virtual worlds in real time, with transactions completed instantly and for very little cost.

MultiStream Consensus Protocol

A novel consensus model where each validator produces its own independent data chain, enabling parallel block generation and dramatically increasing throughput. A separate consensus chain aggregates these using a modified PBFT algorithm for sub-second finality and high security.

Accelerated Sequential Execution

Instead of traditional parallel execution, Somnia compiles EVM bytecode into hyper-optimized native code, making single-core transaction processing extremely fast (up to millions of transactions per second) while retaining Ethereum compatibility.

IceDB Database

A custom-designed database offering fast, deterministic read/write speeds (as low as 15-100 nanoseconds), which allows efficient block packing and precisely metered gas pricing based on real resource use.

Advanced Compression and BLS Aggregation

Implements real-time, streaming compression paired with BLS signature aggregation, greatly reducing bandwidth overhead and allowing all network data to be processed efficiently, even at massive scale.

EVM Compatibility

Somnia works with Ethereum smart contracts and tools, so developers can use familiar programming languages and wallets, making it easy to build or connect apps. Users experience instant actions where transactions are finished so quickly that it feels nearly instant without waiting for confirmations or expensive gas fees.

You can access the platform at https://somnia.network.

Somnia Token (SOMI) and Economics

The Somnia token (SOMI) is the native utility token of the Somnia blockchain, used for staking, governance, transaction fees, and powering applications across the network.

Token Details

● Token Name: Somnia

● Token Symbol: SOMI

● Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 SOMI (one billion)

● Blockchain Deployment: Somnia Layer 1 (native chain), with versions on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Base for compatibility

● Contract Addresses:

○ Ethereum: 0x1B0F6590d21dc02B92ad3A7D00F8884dC4f1aed9

○ BNB Smart Chain: 0xa9616e5e23EC1582c2828B025bEcf3Ef610e266F

○ Base: 0x47636b3188774a3E7273D85A537b9bA4Ee7b2535

Token Distribution

Source: X

● Community Incentives: 27.925% (quests, airdrops, validator/liquidity rewards; 10.945% unlocked at launch, linear vest over 36 months)

● Ecosystem Development: 27.345% (grants, partnerships, growth; 5.075% unlocked at launch, linear vest over 48 months)

● Investors (Seed, Private): 15.15% (seed investors; 12-month cliff, linear vest over 36 months)

● Launch Partners: 15% (early contributors; 12-month cliff, linear vest over 48 months)

● Team: 11% (main team and founders; 12-month cliff, linear vest over 48 months)

● Advisors: 3.58% (strategic advisors; 12-month cliff, linear vest over 36 months)

Token Utilities

● Transaction Fees: Every transaction, NFT mint, or game action on Somnia incurs a small fee paid in SOMI

● Staking: Users can stake SOMI to help secure the network and earn rewards. Validators are selected based on staked tokens

● Governance: SOMI is used for voting on ecosystem proposals, upgrades, treasury spending, and community decisions

● Gaming & Metaverse: Buy assets (NFTs, skins, items) and participate in in-game economies in fully on-chain games

● DeFi & Trading: SOMI can be used as collateral, for swaps, liquidity provision, and on-chain trading protocols

● Quest Rewards: Participate in ecosystem campaigns, quests, and pre-launch activities to earn SOMI through airdrops

Why Somnia?

Traditional blockchains struggle with the scalability and performance requirements needed for mass consumer applications like gaming and metaverse platforms. Somnia addresses these challenges with technical innovations:

Proven Leadership: Founded by Paul Thomas with deep experience in gaming technology and blockchain, combining technical expertise from Improbable's large-scale distributed systems with financial sector knowledge from Goldman Sachs.

Strong Investor Validation: Up to $270 million raised from tier-1 investors including Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Temasek, and other leading VCs demonstrates institutional confidence in the technology and vision.

Technical Innovation: Novel MultiStream consensus protocol and IceDB database enable over 1 million TPS with sub-second finality, while maintaining EVM compatibility for easy developer adoption.

Strategic Partnerships: Collaborations with Google Cloud for AI tools and security, Fireblocks for enterprise custody, Ankr for RPC infrastructure, and partnerships with gaming companies like EMERGE Group.

Developer Support: Dream Catalyst Accelerator with $10 million grant pool and comprehensive developer tools, documentation, and tutorials make building on Somnia accessible.

Real-World Applications: Active ecosystem with Somnia Playground for virtual world creation, testnet with working applications, and partnerships enabling practical use cases in gaming and metaverse.

The platform successfully enables real-time, fully on-chain experiences for gaming, metaverse, and mass consumer applications while maintaining the security and decentralization of blockchain technology.

Somnia (SOMI) Goes Live on Bitget

We are thrilled to announce that Somnia (SOMI) will be listed in the Innovation and Public Chain Zone. Check out the details below:

Trading Available: 2 September 2025, 14:30 (UTC)

Withdrawal Available: 3 September 2025, 15:30 (UTC)

Trade SOMI/USDT on Bitget!

Community Links: Website |Twitter | Discord | Telegram | Documentation

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. This article does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. Qualified professionals should be consulted prior to making financial decisions.