ICON Foundation has confirmed that the ICON Network will permanently shut down on Dec. 31, 2026, ending nearly a decade of operations as the ecosystem fully transitions to the SODAX platform.
Under the migration plan, ICX holders have until the end of 2026 to convert their tokens into SODA at a fixed 1:1 ratio. After the final deadline, the original ICON blockchain will remain available only as a read-only archive for historical transaction data, while all live network activity will stop permanently.
The announcement follows a series of updates from the ICON Foundation outlining a phased shutdown process that gradually moves liquidity, staking, governance, and DeFi activity away from the ICON Layer 1 network and onto the SODAX ecosystem built on Sonic.
ICON enters economic shutdown phase
The transition has already begun.
According to the Foundation, the ICON Network officially entered its “economic shutdown” phase on March 26, 2026. Since then, all ICX staking rewards and token emissions have been halted, with the blockchain continuing to operate only to support user migration to SODA.
The Foundation said the network will remain live throughout the transition period to allow users enough time to move assets safely before the final cutoff date.
ICX holders can currently migrate through the official SODAX migration dashboard. However, the process will change later this year.
Starting Sept. 30, 2026, two-way conversions between ICX and SODA will end. After that date, only one-way swaps from ICX to SODA will remain available as the ecosystem consolidates around the new token model.
The SODA token will operate with a fixed maximum supply of 1.5 billion tokens.
Why the ecosystem is moving to SODAX
The shift to SODAX reflects a broader change in how the project wants to structure its economic model.
Rather than continuing with the inflation-based reward system used on ICON, the new SODAX environment will focus on fee-backed staking and liquidity incentives through SODA and xSODA on the Sonic network.
Several new products have already launched as part of the transition. SODAX Stake went live on March 16, while SODAX Pool launched on March 31. Fee-backed rewards for staking and pooling began shortly afterward in early April.
The Foundation believes these incentives will encourage remaining ICX holders to complete their migration before the shutdown deadline.
Exchanges begin supporting ICX migration
Major crypto exchanges are also preparing for the transition.
Kraken has already added SODAX to its listing roadmap, while exchanges including Kraken and Coinone said they plan to support ICX-to-SODA migration for custodial users.
This support could simplify the process for investors who keep their assets on centralized exchanges instead of self-custody wallets.
What happens after Dec. 31, 2026?
Once the shutdown date arrives, the ICON blockchain will stop producing blocks entirely.
The network will continue to exist only as a static archive that allows users, developers, and auditors to access historical transaction records. However, no further transfers, staking, governance actions, or token migrations will be possible.
Any ICX tokens left unmigrated after the deadline could effectively become unusable on the inactive chain.
The Foundation has repeatedly warned users not to wait until the final months of 2026 to migrate, emphasizing that the economic lifecycle of the ICON network is already ending.
By the time the shutdown takes effect, the goal is for nearly all liquidity, governance, and decentralized finance activity to operate exclusively within the SODAX ecosystem.
