Sonic Labs said on Friday that three board members are resigning, naming Matt Visser as CEO and Kosta Kourkoumelis as COO. Andre Cronje, Michael Kong and David Richardson are stepping down from the board, with the company stating the three will no longer make business decisions for the organization. The announcement comes as the S token traded at about $0.028, approximately 97% below the $1.03 all-time high it reached in January 2025, and total value locked across Sonic's DeFi protocols stood at about $26 million, down from a peak above $1.1 billion in May 2025.
S Token Trades 97% Below January 2025 Peak
The S token traded at about $0.028 around publication time, down roughly 10% over 24 hours, according to The Block's Sonic Price page. The price sits about 97% below the $1.03 all-time high it reached in January 2025, putting the network's current market cap near $107 million. Total value locked across Sonic's DeFi protocols stood at about $26 million, down from a peak above $1.1 billion in May 2025, per DefiLlama data.
Sonic Labs Underwent Leadership Change in September 2025 and February 2026
The departures follow an earlier reshuffle. Sonic Labs had been pushing into the U.S., including passing a $150 million proposal to enter U.S. capital markets, and appointed Mitchell Demeter CEO in September 2025 to lead that effort. Demeter and business head Evan Owens resigned in February 2026, after which the board ran operations directly. Kong is a former CEO of the Fantom Foundation and a Sonic Labs director, Richardson served as executive chairman, and Cronje was chief technology officer.
Matt Visser States Focus on Operational Discipline
Visser said his initial focus is operational discipline and rebuilding trust rather than a roadmap reveal, and that he is not promising "an instant turnaround." Sonic Labs said it would not characterize the changes as a recovery, stating that the token and community sentiment are both down. The company said it is establishing a risk and compliance committee and committing to more transparent governance.
Andre Cronje Clarifies Technical Role and Future Focus
Cronje published a separate statement on his website addressing his role. He said he led Sonic's technical work, including the design of the Sonic Gateway, but did not design or execute the migration from FTM to S or the Sonic airdrop, was not the "decision owner" for the token's emissions and incentive structure, and did not support winding down the legacy Opera network. He also said he was "not a founder of the company or original token project," recasting his prior use of the term co-founder as a description of his technical role.
Cronje said his focus is now Flying Tulip, his DeFi exchange, which raised $200 million at a $1 billion fully diluted valuation in August 2025 and later added a private token round. In a post accompanying his statement, he said Flying Tulip has reached about $70 million in TVL across three deployments.
Sonic Labs Reports 400 Pull Requests Merged in 2026
Sonic Labs said its engineering work continued through the leadership changes, citing 400 pull requests merged in 2026, two releases shipped, a 2.2.0 release in development with six release candidates, and a private testnet under testing.
Bobby Ong, co-founder of CoinGecko, was among those who commented on the news, noting the token's significant decline over the past year and suggesting the market may not have bottomed.
FAQ
Who are the new executives appointed at Sonic Labs?
Sonic Labs named Matt Visser as chief executive officer and Kosta Kourkoumelis as chief operating officer on Friday.
What is the current price of the S token compared to its all-time high?
The S token traded at about $0.028, approximately 97% below the $1.03 all-time high it reached in January 2025, with a current market cap near $107 million.
What did Andre Cronje say about his role at Sonic Labs?
Cronje published a statement saying he led Sonic's technical work including the design of the Sonic Gateway, but did not design or execute the migration from FTM to S or the Sonic airdrop, was not the decision owner for the token's emissions and incentive structure, and did not support winding down the legacy Opera network.
