Every creator knows the dreadful feeling. You build an audience of millions, pour years into content, cultivate a community that trusts you, only to watch platforms change their algorithms overnight, slash your revenue share, or worse, de-platform you without recourse. You never owned anything. You were just renting space in someone else's kingdom.
The numbers tell a story of extraction: platforms like the Apple App Store took 30% of subscription revenue (until recently), YouTube still takes 45% of ad revenue, and platforms like TikTok have a 50% platform fee on fan donations. Creators get what's left, if they're lucky. Meanwhile, a single algorithm tweak can destroy years of work. One policy change can eliminate entire revenue streams. One moderation decision can erase everything.
This is unsustainable and creators are done pretending otherwise.
Today, that model is being rebuilt from the ground up. We are thrilled to announce the launch of SANDchain, a creator-first blockchain built by The SANDchain Foundation to serve as the financial backbone of the creator economy. Building on the foundation of The Sandbox, with its 8 million users, 1,500+ creator-built games, 25,000+ LAND owners, and 700,000+ created experiences, SANDchain introduces a powerful new economic engine designed to turn creativity into a sustainable, scalable business.
As Sébastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox, describes it, "SANDchain builds on that foundation—creating a dedicated economic and engagement layer for Creators across any platform. By rewarding loyalty, we're transforming fans into active participants in culture and paving the way towards a Creator Nation that is built, owned, grown, and funded by its creators and supporters".
SANDchain, A New Economic Engine for Creators
SANDchain introduces a sophisticated, onchain financial system designed to provide creators with the "funding rails, automated revenue management, and ways to turn audience support into tangible growth" that they have been waiting for. This is enabled by a suite of new, interconnected primitives:
Three Integrated Value Layers: The economy is powered by SANDpoints for network-wide reputation, Creator Points that track fan support for individual creators, and Creator Tokens, which are tradeable assets tied to a creator’s brand.
Programmable Capital Vaults: At the core of the product suite are Creator Vaults, which aggregate receivables from Web2 platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and Patron Vaults, which allow investors to fund creator loans while earning yield and loyalty points.
This system provides a transparent, programmable alternative to traditional financing, allowing creators to leverage their existing Web2 success to fund their future growth onchain. Every interaction, from launching a Creator Token to funding a vault, is designed to increase the utility of the SAND token, expanding its role into a universal currency for the entire creator economy.
Why a Custom L2 Was Essential
To build this new financial foundation for creators, a general-purpose L2 was not enough. A dedicated, application-specific chain was essential to integrate these novel economic models at the protocol level.
Deep Protocol Customization: Implementing unique, chain-native features like programmable vaults that can manage and collateralize revenue from external Web2 platforms requires deep control over the execution environment that only an appchain can provide.
Dedicated Performance: A thriving creator economy will generate a high volume of unique transactions. By operating on its own dedicated blockspace, SANDchain ensures these interactions are fast and low-cost, without competing for resources with unrelated network activity.
Economic Sovereignty: A custom L2 gives The SANDchain Foundation full control over the network's economic model, allowing it to capture and reinvest value directly into the ecosystem to fund grants, reward participation, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Caldera and ZKsync as The Technical Foundation
To bring this ambitious vision to life, The SANDchain Foundation partnered with Caldera. Our Rollup Engine provided the fully managed, production-ready infrastructure needed to launch their specialized ZK-powered blockchain, freeing the SANDchain team to focus on building their revolutionary creator finance protocol.
SANDchain is built with ZKsync, leveraging zk-rollup technology for limitless scalability, ironclad security, and transaction fees low enough to support a new wave of creative micro-economies. As a rollup, SANDchain inherits the full security guarantees of Ethereum while operating as a high-performance execution layer.
Furthermore, every chain launched with Caldera is automatically connected to the Metalayer, our universal interoperability protocol. The Metalayer is more than just a bridge. It’s an intent-based network designed to solve the critical "cold-start" problem of liquidity and user onboarding that new chains often face. For SANDchain, this means fans and patrons can seamlessly move capital from major ecosystems like Ethereum or Base to fund Creator Vaults or purchase new Creator Tokens in a single, simplified transaction.
A Movement Begins
The SANDchain rollout begins today, October 1st, with the launch of the Creator Manifesto and early access sign-ups, followed by the Testnet debut on October 14th. The first wave of creator partners, including Web3 Honey, Pandapops, French DJ Agoria, and Let It Fly podcast host Jared Dilinger, are already committed to building the future of the Creator Nation.
We invite creators to claim their sovereignty, fans to fuel the new economy, and builders to provide the tools that will power the Creator Nation. Join the movement by signing the Manifesto to be first in line for the Testnet launch.
About SANDchain
SANDchain is a zk-powered blockchain built by The SANDchain Foundation with ZKsync and Caldera, serving as the financial backbone of the global creator economy. SANDchain delivers transparent, programmable infrastructure where creators, fans, and brands can build and participate in thriving onchain economies, unlocking creator tokens, loyalty programs, programmable vaults, and DeFi integrations.
About Caldera
Caldera is powering the next internet. Its architecture consists of two core components: the Rollup Engine and the Metalayer. The Rollup Engine is a modular operating system used to launch high-performance, custom chains on leading chains and frameworks like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and ZKsync. The Metalayer then automatically connects every chain into one network. Through this interoperability protocol, all chains access shared liquidity and secure, intent-based bridging that transforms fragmented networks into a unified Internet of Chains. And now with the launch of the Caldera Bridge Preview, Metatoken, and Stablecoin Module, this expands the product suite and market size that Caldera is tackling.
