Sony L2 Network Soneium is about to launch its testnet. What are the highlights?

Author: Luccy

In September last year, Sota Watanabe, CEO of Web3 company Startale Labs, announced on his social media platform that Startale Labs has established a joint venture with Sony called Sony Block Solutions Labs to jointly develop Sony's blockchain, Sony Chain, with Sota Watanabe serving as the head of the joint venture.

In an interview with BlockBeats, Sota Watanabe revealed that he has maintained a close collaborative relationship with Sony's subsidiary, Sony Network Communications, and that an external board member of Startale Labs previously worked at this subsidiary and has been directly leading the Sony Chain project at Sony's headquarters since April this year.

Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Labs (Startale Labs), image source: coindesk

Today, Sony Block Solutions Labs officially announced the details of Sony Chain------Soneium, which will be launched as an Ethereum L2 utilizing Optimism Rollup technology and built using the OP Stack of the Optimism blockchain ecosystem. Soneium is expected to go live on the test network in the coming days and will subsequently join Optimism's superchain to expand the ecosystem.

According to the official introduction, Soneium's partners include Astar Network, Optimism, Chainlink, Alchemy, Circle, and Circle.

Embracing OP Stack

Sota Watanabe is also the founder of Astar Network, one of the first parachains launched in the Polkadot ecosystem, which officially announced a partnership with Polygon Labs in September last year to create Astar zkEVM, developed using the second-layer protocol of the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK). The mainnet was launched this year.

Here is a brief explanation of the relationship between Astar Network, Sony Chain, and Startale Labs. In general, these three products or companies are all associated with Sota. Sota is the founder of both Startale Labs and Astar Network. Startale Labs inherits the technical and knowledge foundation Sota gained from operating Astar Network. Startale Labs also collaborates with Sony, receiving funding from Sony, establishing a joint venture, and closely working on the Sony Chain project.

Astar Network's progress in ZK has become a focal point of market attention, with investor DFG expressing to BlockBeats that they value Astar Network's capability as one of the two Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains soon to be launched on Polkadot, appreciating the Polkadot architecture and EVM compatibility, as well as Sota's personal and team capabilities.

As the founder of Astar Network, Sota Watanabe has been involved in the development of public blockchains since 2019. However, as Polkadot has faded, Astar Network has gradually lost attention in the domestic market. Now that Soneium has officially launched, Astar has also announced the transition of Astar Layer 2 and the community to Soneium.

This move aims to integrate Astar Network more closely with Soneium, leveraging the strengths of both ecosystems to drive the realization of Soneium's vision. This is reflected in:

· Enhancing the utility of ASTR: Integrating ASTR as a key asset into the Soneium L2 ecosystem. Maintaining its role in ecosystem projects and expanding its utility.

· Utilizing the Soneium ecosystem: Placing Soneium L2 at the core of innovative applications to drive adoption and participation.

· Empowering the community: Creating more opportunities for existing users to be early adopters of new projects and dApps. Making the community a major participant in emerging initiatives within Soneium L2.

· Future outlook: Positioning the potential advantages of ASTR within the expanding Soneium ecosystem. Preparing for the second phase of Astar Evolution, making future opportunities clearer.

"GM with Soneium"

Sony's exploration in the Web3 industry is multifaceted, focusing on the metaverse and NFT sectors. However, Sota Watanabe has stated that Sony Chain is not just focused on games or NFTs, but will serve all fields, becoming a universal blockchain.

Soneium will be built on existing Ethereum infrastructure, responsible for data processing to address the slow processing speeds and high costs typically associated with L1 solutions. The Soneium Op Stack and Superchain create a scalable, EVM-compatible, developer-friendly blockchain.

As an Ethereum L2, Soneium leverages Sony Group's vast global distribution network in entertainment, finance, electronics, and gaming, aiming to bridge the gap between Web3 innovation and everyday consumer applications, truly bringing blockchain technology into the mainstream, i.e., Go Mainstream with Soneium. Soneium aims to provide a comprehensive Web3 solution from infrastructure to application layer by developing the underlying infrastructure blockchain for Web3.

To this end, Soneium is planning to be a comprehensive development ecosystem that supports advanced smart contract functionalities, with scalable infrastructure designed to handle high-capacity applications, ensuring projects can grow without restrictions. Additionally, Soneium will provide extensive documentation for developers and creators, equipped with a suite of third-party development tools necessary for developing and launching applications, allowing developers of various skill levels to easily get started and advance their projects.

Under the "GM with Soneium" concept, in addition to existing Web3 service applications, Sony Block Solutions Labs will also consider new services associated with businesses within the Sony Group to create use cases that can spark interest among those who have never used Web3 services.

For example, supporting creators to expand their creativity and strengthen their interaction with fan communities. Specifically, Sony Block Solutions Labs will explore the protection of creators' rights, support new mechanisms for profit-sharing between creators and fans, and opportunities for creators to be active in both the digital and real worlds.

In an interview with BlockBeats, Sota Watanabe stated that Astar, to some extent, represents Japan, and if Astar fails, it would have a significant impact on Japan's Web3. The ability to engage in dialogue with large companies and regulators is also an advantage of Astar. With the collaboration between Sony and Astar, Soneium may truly realize its vision of a universal blockchain platform.