SORA v3 Guide: From Fujiwara Testnet to Nexus

SORA v3 represents the most significant architectural shift in the project’s history—a migration from the Substrate/Polkadot ecosystem to Hyperledger Iroha. This isn’t a simple upgrade; it’s a reimagining of how decentralized economic infrastructure should work. This guide explains what’s changing, what’s already live for testing, and what’s coming next.

Understanding SORA’s Version History

SORA’s evolution reflects a deliberate progression toward more sophisticated economic infrastructure. The original SORA v1 served as an experimental foundation, proving the viability of a decentralized economic system with programmatic token issuance.

SORA v2 marked a major leap forward with integration into the Polkadot ecosystem. This version introduced Polkaswap as a fully decentralized exchange, established bridges to Ethereum and other networks, and leveraged Substrate’s modular framework for governance and runtime upgrades. SORA v2 remains the operational mainnet today, processing real transactions and supporting XOR, VAL, PSWAP, TBCD, and other ecosystem tokens.

SORA v3 represents a strategic pivot toward institutional-grade infrastructure. Rather than continuing within Polkadot’s ecosystem, the project is building on Hyperledger Iroha—a framework originally designed for enterprise and government deployments, now open-source and battle-tested through central bank digital currency (CBDC) implementations worldwide.

For a comprehensive overview of how these pieces fit together, see the SORA Ecosystem Explained guide.

SORA v3 Hub Chain: What’s Live Now

The Fujiwara testnet is the first public implementation of SORA v3 concepts. Named after the historical Japanese clan, Fujiwara runs on Hyperledger Iroha 2 and serves as a proving ground for the hub chain architecture that will inform the final design.

Community validators can already participate in the network, running nodes and helping stress-test validator operations, transaction flows, and hub-chain economics. The block explorer at explorer.fujiwara.sora.org provides real-time visibility into network activity, block production, and peer connectivity.

What makes Fujiwara significant isn’t just that it works—it’s that it validates the transition from Substrate’s pallet-based architecture to Iroha’s instruction-based model. Transactions on Fujiwara use Iroha Special Instructions (ISI) rather than Substrate extrinsics, demonstrating that the migration path is viable.

For a deep dive into the Fujiwara testnet, including validator setup and technical architecture, read The Fujiwara Testnet: Pioneering SORA v3’s Decentralized Future.

SORA Nexus: The Next Generation

While Fujiwara validates v3 concepts on Iroha 2, SORA Nexus represents the long-term vision built on Hyperledger Iroha 3. Nexus introduces architectural innovations designed to solve fundamental blockchain limitations.

The Iroha Virtual Machine (IVM) provides deterministic execution with predictable gas costs—critical for institutional users who need cost certainty. Data Spaces enable sovereign privacy zones where entities can control their own data while still participating in the broader network. The parallel Lanes architecture, combined with a Merge Ledger, enables horizontal scalability without sacrificing consistency.

Performance targets for Nexus include approximately one-second finality (a design target), making it suitable for retail payment applications where users expect near-instant confirmation. This positions SORA to serve CBDCs, enterprise treasury operations, and consumer DeFi on a single unified network—use cases that typically require separate infrastructures.

Nexus is not a product launch with a countdown timer. The team has consistently prioritized security and correctness over arbitrary deadlines. For the complete technical breakdown, see SORA Nexus: Complete Guide to Blockchain’s End of History.

XOR in SORA v3

XOR remains the native fee and utility token across all SORA versions. The token’s role is actually expanding in v3, where XOR serves as the default fee and governance token. Nexus’s data-space architecture allows policy-driven fee abstractions in private domains, but XOR remains the settlement standard for public operations.

The 100:1 repackaging completed in May 2025 addressed a long-standing usability issue: token amounts that required scientific notation to read. This redenomination grouped 100 old XOR into 1 new XOR on-chain, while bridges automatically handle compression and decompression for external networks. Total supply remains mathematically unchanged; only the unit of account shifted.

A key user experience improvement planned for v3 is XORless transfers. Users bridging assets into SORA won’t need to acquire XOR beforehand—the bridge performs a behind-the-scenes swap to cover gas fees. This removes a major friction point for new users entering the ecosystem from TON, Ethereum, or other networks.

For a detailed explanation of XOR tokenomics and supply mechanics, see SORA’s XOR Token Supply Explained.

Bridges and Interoperability

SORA’s bridge infrastructure continues expanding to match the multi-chain reality of modern crypto. The TON Bridge currently supports inbound transfers (TON to SORA), with outbound SORA-to-TON functionality under active development. This connection is strategically important given Telegram’s user base and the growing TON ecosystem.

The Ethereum Bridge (Hashi) remains operational for bidirectional transfers between SORA and Ethereum. Similarly, Polkadot/Substrate bridges continue functioning, maintaining connectivity with SORA’s original ecosystem even as v3 moves to Iroha.

Looking ahead, SORA Nexus envisions governed connectors to external networks—bridge infrastructure that operates under network-level governance rather than centralized multisig control. This aligns with the project’s broader philosophy of removing trusted intermediaries.

For more on the TON integration and its implications, read Introducing TONSWAP: The DEX for Mass Adoption on TON.

Real-World Adoption

SORA v3’s design priorities aren’t academic—they’re directly informed by Soramitsu’s real-world deployments. The company behind SORA has implemented CBDCs for Cambodia (Bakong), the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. The Palau savings bonds pilot demonstrated blockchain-based government securities with retail accessibility.

These implementations matter for SORA because they validate the Iroha framework at production scale with institutional users. Features like Data Spaces for regulatory privacy, ISO 20022 alignment for bank interoperability, and deterministic execution for auditability emerged from these deployments rather than theoretical exercises. While these deployments do not run on SORA Nexus itself, they directly inform its architecture and validate the Iroha framework at production scale.

The overlap between CBDC infrastructure and decentralized finance infrastructure is where SORA sees its unique value proposition. Most blockchain projects target either institutions or retail users; SORA is building rails that accommodate both.

For context on how these CBDC deployments inform SORA’s strategy, see SORA’s Leap: Transforming APAC with CBDCs and Savings Bonds.

Comparing SORA Versions

How to Get Involved

The SORA ecosystem offers multiple entry points depending on your interests and technical capabilities.

For validators interested in running infrastructure, the testnet node guide walks through Fujiwara setup. This is an opportunity to gain experience with Iroha-based consensus before mainnet migration.

To explore the testnet without running a node, the block explorer provides a window into network activity. Watch blocks finalize, examine transaction structures, and observe validator participation.

Community discussion happens primarily in the SORA Telegram group, where developers and community members discuss roadmap progress and technical questions.

For those wanting to use SORA today rather than wait for v3, Polkaswap remains fully operational on SORA v2, offering swaps, liquidity provision, and bridge access.

To understand the broader Iroha framework underlying v3, the Iroha documentation provides technical context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

SORA v3 is best understood as a multi-phase evolution rather than a single release event. The Fujiwara testnet validates hub chain concepts today, providing early access for validators and a preview of Iroha-based SORA. Nexus represents the long-term vision—a unified platform serving CBDCs, enterprises, and DeFi on shared infrastructure with unprecedented performance and privacy capabilities.

The strategic bet is significant: leaving the Polkadot ecosystem for Hyperledger Iroha trades established network effects for architectural capabilities that Substrate cannot provide. Whether this trade-off proves worthwhile depends on execution and adoption—both of which require time to evaluate.

For the latest developments, follow official SORA channels and the Soranauts coverage of ecosystem updates. For a deeper understanding of how governance is evolving through this transition, see Polkadot to Iroha: How SORA’s Governance Is Evolving.