Sony launches Soneium blockchain as it pushes for mainstream web3 adoption

Japanese electronics company Sony is developing its own blockchain, Soneium, in collaboration with Singapore-based web3 infrastructure provider Startale.

The company announced the development in a release on August 23, stating that the Soneium testnet will go live in the coming days. It will allow developers to try out and build applications, paving the way for a public release in the future.

Promotion #Soneyum with #Sony Block Solutions Labs is building a public Ethereum layer 2 next-generation blockchain ecosystem designed to inspire emotion and empower creativity.

Soneium aims to connect Web3 with everyday internet services and take blockchain technology even further. pic.twitter.com/I7zAIbB5Td

— Sonium 📀 (@soneium) August 23, 2024

Sony has positioned its new blockchain as a public network that will make web3 technology accessible and mainstream. The company has condemned the centralization of the current internet, where information and economic power are concentrated in the hands of a few organizations. As such, it believes Soneium can help decentralize the internet while overcoming two of the biggest challenges facing web3: limited adoption and a lack of meaningful use cases.

However, according to Startale CEO Sota Watanabe, Soneium’s first year will be spent on the involvement of web3 core users, as the technology and community are not yet ready for mainstream users. In the second year, various Sony products, including Sony Music, Sony Pictures, and Sony Bank, are planned to be integrated into the platform. Finally, in the third year, the team will allow other organizations and general decentralized applications to develop Soneium.

The Soneium testnet will run on Optimism (OP) optimistic aggregation technology built using the OP Stack. It will also integrate Startale’s Astar zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine to provide liquidity and fungible and non-fungible tokens.

The electronics manufacturer said in a press release that it plans to explore how to integrate Soneium with its other businesses, creating a range of decentralized applications and services for new and existing web3 users. Sony claims that the new blockchain infrastructure will help protect content rights and create new profit-sharing models for creators.

Web3 is a general term that refers to the next iteration of the internet, focused on decentralization and user empowerment. However, its development faces several challenges, including scalability and interoperability.

Sony said the goal of its new blockchain project is to achieve “internet-level scalability,” a feat that could make it more adaptable for everyday users. The company announced earlier in the year that it was partnering with Siemens to build industrial applications for the metaverse.

The first product of the collaboration was a mixed reality headset designed specifically for web3 designers and engineers. Sony also recently acquired Japanese crypto exchange Amber, which was later rebranded as S.BLOX. The company operates the WhaleFin exchange and is also led by Startale CEO Watanabe.