Sony's Soneium Ethereum Layer-2 Launch 

• Sony announced Soneium, its Ethereum L2 blockchain
• It aims at scalability and security in the Sony ecosystem and entertainment industry
• The project is developed in collaboration with Web3 infrastructure company Startale 

Sony Group has long been working on the crypto sector and developing ways to incorporate NFT into its products and services and has now announced the launch of the Ethereum L2 blockchain Soneium.

It is co-developed with Web 3 infrastructure company Startale and is based on the Superchain ecosystem.

Details of the Sony and Startale Collaboration

Collaboration between Sony and Startale takes place within Sony's Block Solutions Labs division, which was created to develop and deploy blockchain technology into their services and products in the entertainment departments.

Sony will launch the Soneium blockchain on a test net integrating with Astar Network's zkEVM assets and infrastructure, which should provide initial liquidity and guarantee security. Sony will do the launch within the next few weeks and will also provide documentation for developers.

Soneium's Perspectives and Competitors

Soneium will allow Sony to utilize interchangeable and non-interchangeable crypto assets and scale their in-game economy as well as other entertainment sectors.

Some expect potential competition with one of the leading Ethereum-based Tier 2 blockchain tier 2 blockchain from Coinbase, namely Base which is also highly profitable and growing in overall TVL.

Yet Astar Network founder and Startale CEO, Sota Watanabe said:

“I deeply respect Base and their significant contribution to this industry, and I believe our user category won't overlap. We are targeting more general people. Web3 is still very early and too small a market to compete.”

Even more, Sony network’s technical infrastructure is expected to be based on the Superchain, which uses Optimism's OP Stack making it efficient, secure, and compatible with OP Mainnet, Base, Mode, Cyber, Redstone, Fraxtal, Metal, Polynomial, Xterio, Lisk, Kroma, Swan, Race, Orderly Chain, and Zora.

And while Sony is committed to developing its blockchain for widespread use, all users of Sony's products and services - millions if you count all their gaming, multimedia, and other businesses - should automatically become major participants in the network.

Conclusion

We've seen the NFT market show a record drop in its flagships recently, but like we said, blockchain technology in general and NFT in particular shows its practical value beyond finance.

Sony has long realized this and has been building and implementing its blockchain network and crypto assets into its ecosystem, making it more efficient and providing new opportunities for the company and users.

We'll continue to watch developments closely and how, amidst all the noise, the right technologies are finding the right place, showing their true potential.