ICON Network to Permanently Shut Down and Migrate to SODAX by End of 2026
The cross-chain liquidity layer platform SODAX announced that the Layer 1 platform ICON Network, which has been operating for nearly nine years, will officially cease operations on December 31, 2026, completing its migration to SODAX.
The final migration deadline for ICX to SODA is December 31, 2026. As of September 30, bi-directional exchanges will stop, only allowing one-way migration from ICX to SODA, and no further migration will be possible after the deadline.
SODAX will focus its resources on cross-chain liquidity and execution efficiency, currently supporting transaction coordination across 18 blockchain networks, and has launched a new SDK, cross-chain lending market, POL system, and multiple integrations. SODA has entered the listing roadmap on Kraken.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
ICON Network, as an early Layer 1 project, was known for its cross-chain interoperability. This full migration to SODAX continues the trend of older public chains choosing to "retire and upgrade" due to liquidity and efficiency bottlenecks, similar to the merging trend of sub-chains within the Cosmos ecosystem.
On the capital front, SODAX utilizes Protocol Owned Liquidity (POL) and cross-chain lending markets to mobilize funds and liquidity resources, aiming to efficiently convert existing ICON users and TVL into new platform assets, while leveraging Kraken listings to increase exposure and attract new capital.
Similar to the resource integration seen in Polkadot and Kusama, or the migration cases of surviving projects after the Terra collapse, SODAX is currently in a transitional phase from multi-chain coexistence to a concentration of fewer efficient liquidity layers.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industry chain: the closure of older Layer 1s and migration to specialized cross-chain liquidity layers reflects a shift in the industry's focus from underlying settlement to execution efficiency and user experience, concentrating capital and developer resources on platforms that can connect multiple chains and provide deep liquidity, accelerating the evolution of Web3 from fragmentation to a unified execution layer.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
The retirement of old chains is not a failure, but an inevitable concentration of resources towards more efficient layers.
Liquidity will always chase execution efficiency, not the age of the chain.
True upgrades are not about building new chains, but efficiently migrating old assets into new infrastructure.