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 an Aug. 23 release, stating that the Soneium testnet will go live in the coming days. It will allow developers to experiment and build applications, paving the way for a future public release.

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

However, according to Startale chief executive Sota Watanabe, Soneium’s first year will be spent onboarding web3 core users since the technology and the community are not yet ready for general users. In year two, the plan is to integrate several Sony products onto the platform, including Sony Music, Sony Pictures, and Sony Bank. Finally, in the third year, the team will allow other enterprises and general decentralized applications to build on Soneium.

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

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

Web3 is a catchall phrase that refers to the next iteration of the internet, focusing on decentralization and user empowerment. However, its development is facing several challenges, including scalability and interoperability.

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

The first product of the collaboration was a mixed reality headset built specifically for web3 designers and engineers. In addition, Sony recently acquired Japanese crypto exchange Amber, which then rebranded to S.BLOX. The company runs the WhaleFin exchange and is also led by Startale CEO Watanabe.