Sony Block Options Labs, a subsidiary of Sony Group, has unveiled plans to develop Soneium, an Ethereum Layer-2 community designed to speed up blockchain expertise adoption, based on an Aug. 23 assertion.
The layer-2 community—a results of a collaboration with blockchain infrastructure supplier Startale—seeks to bridge blockchain expertise (Web3) with on a regular basis web providers.
This challenge indicators Sony’s ongoing enlargement into the digital asset house. Sony Group hinted at launching a crypto change in July after buying Amber Japan’s WhaleFin change. The tech large plans to rename and relaunch the change, though the timeline stays unclear.
Soneium
The community could be designed as a flexible, general-purpose blockchain with aggressive options, mixing components from leisure, gaming, finance, and different sectors.
Soneium would leverage the Op Stack and Superchain developed by the Optimism Basis. A testnet will probably be launched within the coming weeks to offer builders with hands-on expertise.
A number of crypto protocols, together with Chainlink and the Astar community, are already becoming a member of the challenge as launch companions. Astar stated its zkEVM resolution would transition into Soneium, and its native ASTR token will play a significant function inside the deliberate layer-2 resolution.
Jun Watanabe, Chairman of Sony Block Options Labs, highlighted Soneium’s alternative to introduce blockchain expertise to a worldwide viewers by leveraging Sony’s intensive attain throughout leisure, finance, electronics, and gaming. He emphasised that Soneium will ultimately combine with Sony Group providers to draw customers unfamiliar with Web3.
Layer-2 networks
Ethereum layer-2 networks are designed to boost mainnet scalability and velocity and have seen sustained success just lately.
Over the previous yr, the layer-2 panorama has grow to be crowded with main crypto corporations, together with Coinbase, launching their networks and scoring large group adoption.
Consequently, layer-2 networks now deal with most of Ethereum’s exercise. In line with out there information, about 89% of blockchain transactions happen on these platforms.
Nonetheless, some critics argue that this enlargement may hurt Ethereum in the long term. These networks have already pushed the blockchain community’s charges to three-year lows and will additionally doubtlessly sign the top of ETH’s “ultrasound cash” narrative.