Fantom: Blockchain and Genome Project

The term "Fantom" refers to two distinct entities: a long-running scientific research initiative focused on mammalian genomics and a decentralized blockchain platform designed for high-speed transactions [2]. While the genomics project began in 2000 to map gene expression, the cryptocurrency Fantom launched in 2018 to offer scalable solutions for decentralized finance [2].

Key takeaways

• The FANTOM genomics project was established in 2000 at Japan's RIKEN institute to annotate the mammalian genome [2].
• Fantom is a layer-1 blockchain founded in 2018 that uses a DAG consensus mechanism called Lachesis to achieve fast transaction finality [2].
• The blockchain's user base grew significantly in 2021, with unique wallet addresses rising from 5,000 to approximately 1.5 million by the end of the year [1].
• The Fantom Foundation rebranded to Sonic Labs in 2024, launching a new mainnet with an S token that replaced FTM on a 1:1 basis [2].

Mapping the mammalian transcriptome

The FANTOM (Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome) project was initiated by Yoshihide Hayashizaki at the RIKEN institute in Japan as an extension of the RIKEN Mouse Encyclopedia Project [2]. Established in 2000, the consortium brought together researchers from institutions like the European Molecular Biology Laboratory to systematically identify and annotate transcribed elements within human and mouse genomes [2]. Funding primarily came from Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, allowing the team to develop technologies like Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) in 2003 to map transcription start sites [2]. The project aimed to move beyond structural sequencing to provide a comprehensive catalog of transcripts, offering insights into regulatory mechanisms and cellular differentiation [2].

Scalable blockchain and rebranding

In the technology sector, Fantom was founded in 2018 by South Korean software developer Ahn Byung Ik as a layer-1 blockchain platform [2]. It utilizes a directed acyclic graph (DAG) consensus mechanism known as Lachesis to support high throughput of up to 10,000 transactions per second with finality under two seconds [2]. The blockchain ecosystem saw rapid expansion in 2021, attracting decentralized applications such as SpookySwap and Tomb.finance, which helped drive Total Value Locked (TVL) to $10 billion by early 2022 [1]. However, the network faced challenges including outages in early 2022 and criticisms regarding centralization risks due to a low number of validators [2]. In a major strategic shift, the Fantom Foundation rebranded to Sonic Labs in August 2024 and launched the Sonic mainnet in December, introducing the S token as the new native asset to replace FTM on a 1:1 basis [2].

Why it matters

The dual identity of Fantom highlights the term's usage across disparate fields of innovation. In biology, the project provided foundational resources for understanding gene regulation through transcriptome analysis, while in the digital asset space, the platform aimed to solve scalability issues faced by earlier blockchains [2]. The transition to Sonic Labs in 2024 indicates the project's continued effort to evolve its