Sony Ventures into Blockchain with New Initiative

Sony Group has unveiled its new blockchain, named ‘Soneium,’ developed in partnership with Singapore’s Startale Labs.

Built on Optimism’s Superchain, Soneium integrates infrastructure from prominent industry players such as Circle, Chainlink, Alchemy, Astar Network, and The Graph.

Soneium, an Ethereum layer-2 network, aims to tackle key challenges in blockchain adoption like scalability and efficiency. Startale Labs CEO Sota Watanabe outlined a three-phase strategy: initially attracting web3 developers, then integrating with Sony’s various services including Sony Bank, Sony Music, and Sony Pictures, and eventually onboarding enterprises and decentralized applications (dApps).

Sony plans to launch a testnet for Soneium in collaboration with Astar Network, which will later integrate its zkEVM technology with Soneium. The testnet will feature a comprehensive framework and developer tools.

Watanabe emphasized that Sony’s extensive distribution channels will help make Soneium widely accessible, aiming to bring blockchain technology into the mainstream beyond the web3 space. Chainlink’s Johan Eid noted that Soneium’s launch underscores ongoing progress in the blockchain sector.

This blockchain initiative follows Sony’s recent acquisition of the crypto exchange Whalefin, which was rebranded to S.BLOX in July 2023. The exact launch date for the exchange remains uncertain. Watanabe mentioned that the Soneium project, first planned around 18 months ago, is now moving into its execution phase.