What Sophon does

Sophon is a tech studio building onchain consumer finance experiences, pivoted in 2024 from operating a modular entertainment-focused blockchain (the Sophon Chain, built on ZK Stack) to building consumer applications on Base, an Ethereum L2. The company targets everyday crypto consumers with a product suite that includes Pyre (a gamified neobank and payment card where transactions become a game with "flip or settle" mechanics), Soph Play (a plug-and-play API for gamification of financial transactions), Soph Earn (one-click yield across risk appetites), Soph Vaults (yield-generating vault products), and $SOPHUSD (a custom stablecoin serving as primary settlement currency).

Sophon's underlying technology centres on zkTLS, a protocol-level capability that enables users to verify web2 activity (reputation, achievements, spending, creator audiences) without exposing sensitive data. Cross-chain bridging is supported through Jumper (asset bridging aggregator) and LayerZero (SOPH token cross-chain via NativeOFT protocol). The Sophon Chain is being decommissioned through end-2026, with Guardian NFTs migrated to Ethereum mainnet and over 46.5M SOPH tokens being burned on June 28 as the inaugural event of a new token utility model.

Revenue is generated transactionally through four streams: interchange fees on Pyre card transactions, vault performance fees, stablecoin reserve yield on PYRUSD, and a buyback-and-burn programme that uses a portion of product profits to permanently retire SOPH tokens from circulation. Distribution is product-led and self-serve: Pyre operates via waitlist (getpyre.com), Soph Play is delivered as an API for developer integration, and marketing runs primarily through X/Twitter and Discord. The company is venture-backed, having raised approximately $60M in 2024 from Paper Ventures, Maven 11, The Spartan Group, SevenX Ventures, OKX Ventures, HTX Ventures, and YZi Labs, and is domiciled in Tortola, BVI with 11-50 employees.

Name

Sophon

Legal name

Sophon

Website

https://sophon.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sophon is a crypto tech studio building onchain consumer finance applications on Base, including a gamified neobank (Pyre), yield products, a stablecoin, and a developer gamification API, targeting everyday crypto consumers after pivoting from its own blockchain infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Crypto Applications

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs (FSADAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Super-App Wallets & Mini-Program Payments (FSAMAEAE)

Keywords

• Consumer crypto apps
• Neobanking payments
• Gamification API
• Stablecoin infrastructure
• Yield generation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Buyback-and-Burn Programme: A portion of profits from product revenues is used to purchase SOPH from the open market on an ongoing basis. Purchased tokens are permanently burnt rather than redistributed, causing circulating supply to contract continuously. The mechanism creates a direct link between product performance and token value.
2. Pyre - Interchange Fees: Revenue generated from interchange fees on card transactions processed through the Pyre neobanking application. This is a recurring, volume-driven revenue stream that scales with Pyre's user adoption and transaction volume.
3. Pyre - Vault Performance Fees: Fees collected on all vault usage within the Pyre neobanking platform. Revenue scales with total value locked in vaults and user engagement with yield products.
4. PYRUSD Reserve Yield: Yield earned on the reserves underlying the PYRUSD stablecoin, which serves as the primary settlement currency across Pyre's neobanking products. This is a recurring revenue stream tied to stablecoin adoption and reserve management.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sophon is a tech studio building on-chain consumer crypto applications, anchored by Pyre, a gamified neobank payments app where every card transaction becomes a game via flip-or-settle bill mechanics. The product suite also includes Soph Play (a developer API for gamifying financial transactions), Soph Earn (one-click yield), $SOPHUSD (a stablecoin), and Soph Vaults (yield-bearing vaults). Revenue from interchange fees, vault performance fees, and stablecoin reserve yield funds a buyback-and-burn program for the SOPH token.

Product overview

Sophon is a tech studio that has pivoted from infrastructure to consumer applications. The company initially raised $60M in 2024 to build a modular blockchain (Sophon Chain), but has since shifted focus to building onchain consumer experiences. The current product portfolio centers on Pyre, a gamified neobank payments app, supported by Soph Play (gamification API), Soph Earn (yield product), $SOPHUSD (stablecoin), and Soph Vaults. The company is transitioning from operating its own chain to building on Base, with a buyback-and-burn token model funded by real product revenues replacing the previous gas-token mechanism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pyre: A payments app where every transaction is a game. A neobank that generates revenue through interchange fees on card transactions, vault performance fees, and PYRUSD reserve yield.
• Soph Play
• Soph Earn
• Soph USD
• Soph Vaults

Products and services

• Pyre Pyre is a neobank payments app that gamifies every card transaction, allowing users to flip or settle bills. It generates revenue through interchange fees on card transactions, vault performance fees, and PYRUSD reserve yield from the stablecoin reserves. Pyre is currently accessible via waitlist.
• Soph Play Soph Play is a plug-and-play API that enables developers to integrate gamification features into payment and financial applications. It targets fintech and crypto builders wanting to add game-like mechanics to their products.
• Soph Earn Soph Earn is a one-click yield product that provides returns across various risk appetites, integrated within the broader Sophon financial suite.
• $SOPHUSD (Soph USD) $SOPHUSD is a custom stablecoin that serves as the primary settlement currency across Pyre's neobanking products, with reserve yield earned on the underlying reserves.
• Soph Vaults Soph Vaults are yield-generating vault products that allow users to earn yield on their crypto holdings with risk-adjusted options. Performance fees are charged on all vault usage.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46.5 million SOPH will be burnt on June 28 as the initial act of the burn strategy

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BasecoreTechnology or IntegrationSophon has migrated from operating its own blockchain to building consumer applications on Base, an Ethereum L2. This is a fundamental platform partnership for the company's new strategy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Step Finance / Step Card: Step is a Solana-native consumer crypto card and financial app combining spending, rewards, and DeFi yield in a single mobile experience — directly analogous to Pyre's bundled neobank + vaults + yield proposition.
• Holyheld: Holyheld is a self-custodial crypto card and account product targeting crypto-native users in Europe. It is comparable to Pyre as a smaller, emerging entrant in the same crypto card/neobank category.

Broad incumbents

• Coinbase: Coinbase is the largest US crypto exchange, offering consumer wallets, cards, stablecoin (USDC), and now Base (the L2 Sophon is migrating to). It is both a competitor and a strategic dependency for Sophon's distribution.
• MetaMask: MetaMask is the largest consumer crypto wallet, owned by Consensys, with a card program (MetaMask Card) and broad on-chain feature set. It competes broadly with Sophon's consumer crypto stack but at vastly greater scale and with an established user base.

Direct peers

• Phantom Wallet: Phantom is a leading consumer crypto wallet that has expanded into swaps, staking, and increasingly card/payments features. It competes with Sophon for the same crypto-native consumer wallet slot and represents a direct distribution threat to Pyre.
• Wirex: Wirex is a crypto payments platform offering a multi-currency card with crypto-to-fiat interchange, in-app token rewards (WXT), and a neobank experience — directly analogous to Sophon's Pyre value proposition of gamified crypto card spending and token-linked rewards.
• Rain (Raincards): Rain is a licensed crypto card issuer offering debit cards funded by on-chain balances, targeting a similar crypto-native consumer base as Pyre and competing for interchange revenue from the same user segment.
• Gnosis Pay: Gnosis Pay is a self-custodial crypto debit card that settles in real-time from on-chain balances, pairing a payments card with stablecoin settlement. This matches Pyre's combination of card-based interchange and stablecoin (SOPHUSD) infrastructure.

Others

• Polymarket: Polymarket is a gamified prediction market that, while not a payments product, exemplifies the 'entertainment finance' category Sophon is targeting and validates the consumer appetite for game-like financial primitives.
• Bridge (bridge.xyz): Bridge is a stablecoin issuance and orchestration API acquired by Stripe. It is adjacent to Sophon's SOPHUSD stablecoin ambitions and represents both an infrastructure dependency and a competitive threat in the stablecoin-as-a-service space.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sophon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sophon