Somnia is a new EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed for consumer apps like games, social worlds, and entertainment. It promises extremely high speed, low fees, and large-scale online experiences that live entirely on-chain. The project launched its mainnet in early September 2025, alongside its SOMI token.
This guide covers what Somnia is, how it works, its token and staking, performance, ecosystem, team, risks, and how to get started.
1) Somnia’s Mission
Somnia is a general-purpose Layer-1 blockchain, but its main focus is real-time consumer apps: games, metaverses, social platforms, and entertainment. The chain targets more than 1 million transactions per second (TPS), sub-second finality, and fees under a cent.
Being fully EVM-compatible, Somnia lets developers use Solidity smart contracts and familiar Ethereum tools with minimal adjustments.
The goal is to make large, complex multiplayer and AI-driven virtual worlds practical on-chain by boosting throughput and reducing computation costs.
2) What’s Already Live
Mainnet: Somnia’s mainnet is fully live.
Validators: Dozens of validators are active at launch, including Google Cloud. Third-party staking providers like Kiln and InfStones also support the network.
Ecosystem Partners: At launch, over 60 projects and integrations were announced, including LayerZero, Sequence, Ankr, DIA, and Thirdweb.
3) How Somnia Works
Somnia splits its work between processing transactions and agreeing on the network state.
Data Chains: Each validator maintains its own data chain to batch transactions. Many chains run in parallel, which spreads the load.
Consensus Chain: A separate chain collects the heads of all data chains and finalizes them using a modified PBFT proof-of-stake system. This ensures a single shared history and prevents forks.
MultiStream Consensus: The combination of data chains and consensus is called MultiStream. Imagine many lanes of traffic merging through a fast toll gate. This design allows high throughput with low latency.
Fast EVM Execution: Somnia compiles EVM bytecode to optimized native code, approaching the speed of hand-written C++.
Security: Standard proof-of-stake with slashing for bad behavior; validators stake SOMI.
The design is tailored to games and social apps, where many small actions happen simultaneously. Parallel data chains with fast consensus aim to keep performance smooth even at scale.
4) Performance Targets
Somnia claims over 1,000,000 TPS and sub-second finality, though these numbers are aspirational and not yet independently verified.
The testnet reportedly processed over 10 billion transactions before launch. MultiStream allows validators to independently publish batches, then finalize them quickly.
The bottom line: the architecture could support huge throughput, but independent benchmarks are still limited. Treat the claims as goals rather than guaranteed results.
5) SOMI Token
Purpose: SOMI is used for gas fees, staking, and network incentives.
Supply: Maximum supply of 1 billion SOMI.
Allocation:
Team: 11%
Launch Partners: 15%
Investors: 15.15%
Advisors: 3.58%
Ecosystem: 27.345%
Community: 27.925%
Cliffs and vesting schedules exist for team, investors, and advisors, typically with a 12-month cliff and multi-year vesting.
Market Snapshot (Sep 18, 2025): SOMI trades around $1.28–$1.29 with roughly 160 million circulating supply.
6) Staking and Validators
Becoming a Validator: Requires staking SOMI and meeting hardware requirements. Current requirement is 5 million SOMI per node. Rewards come from fees and treasury incentives.
Delegation: Users can delegate SOMI through Somnia’s staking dashboard or providers like Kiln and InfStones.
Security: PoS with slashing for misbehavior.
Staking terms may change as the network evolves, so check current dashboards before participating.
7) Ecosystem and Funding
Somnia is backed by the Virtual Society Foundation (VSF) and connected to Improbable and M². Combined funding could reach $270 million, with investors like a16z, SoftBank, Mirana, SIG, and DCG linked to related entities.
Infrastructure partners include Ankr, LayerZero, Thirdweb, Sequence, DIA, and others.
The validator set includes ~60 entities at launch, with major infrastructure names present.
Community updates and ecosystem news are shared through .
8) Developer Experience
EVM Compatibility: Deploy Solidity contracts with familiar tools.
Documentation: Comprehensive docs cover network info, tokenomics, consensus, execution, and security.
RPC Access: Provided via Ankr.
Test Tokens: Developers can request Somnia test tokens through Discord.
9) How Somnia Stands Out
Versus Typical Chains: Most chains finalize one block at a time. Somnia finalizes multiple parallel data chains through MultiStream consensus.
Versus L2s and Appchains: Somnia is a dedicated high-performance L1. Speed and finality are native to the chain, reducing fragmentation for consumer apps.
10) Practical Opportunities
Gaming & Metaverses: Real-time updates for large player counts and marketplaces.
Social Apps & Virtual Identity: Avatars and items can move across worlds.
AI Agents & Live Media: Low latency could enable on-chain AI NPCs and synchronized events if performance holds.
11) Risks and Considerations
Performance vs Reality: TPS and finality claims are not yet independently verified.
Validator Distribution: Decentralization depends on a diverse, active validator set.
Token Unlocks: Large vested allocations may affect circulating supply over time.
New Chain Risks: Tooling, wallets, bridges, and security processes are still maturing.
12) Getting Started
Read the introduction and network info in the docs.
For building: confirm RPC endpoints and start with a simple demo contract.
For staking: review guides and start with small delegations to understand slashing risk.
Monitor tokenomics, unlock schedules, and ecosystem updates.
13) Token Snapshot
Current Price: Around $1.28–$1.29
Circulating Supply: ~160 million SOMI (~16% of max supply)
Vesting: Team, investors, and ecosystem have 36–48 month vesting schedules.
14) Team and Backers
Somnia is linked to VSF and ecosystem work from Improbable and M². Funding of up to $270 million is mentioned, with backing from well-known investors.
15) let see
Somnia aims to make on-chain consumer apps instant and scalable. Its architecture of parallel data chains, a PoS consensus chain, and compiled EVM execution targets high throughput with low latency.
Key things to watch: adoption by game studios and social apps, independent performance benchmarks, validator distribution, and token unlock impact. If it delivers on its promises, Somnia could become a major option for gaming and entertainment builders.