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 know-how adoption, in accordance with an Aug. 23 assertion.
The layer-2 community—a results of a collaboration with blockchain infrastructure supplier Startale—seeks to bridge blockchain know-how (Web3) with on a regular basis web companies.
This mission alerts 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 parts from leisure, gaming, finance, and different sectors.
Soneium would leverage the Op Stack and Superchain developed by the Optimism Basis. A testnet can 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 mission as launch companions. Astar mentioned its zkEVM answer would transition into Soneium, and its native ASTR token will play an important function inside the deliberate layer-2 answer.
Jun Watanabe, Chairman of Sony Block Options Labs, highlighted Soneium’s alternative to introduce blockchain know-how to a worldwide viewers by leveraging Sony’s in depth attain throughout leisure, finance, electronics, and gaming. He emphasised that Soneium will finally combine with Sony Group companies 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 not too long ago.
Over the previous yr, the layer-2 panorama has develop into crowded with main crypto companies, together with Coinbase, launching their networks and scoring huge neighborhood adoption.
In consequence, layer-2 networks now deal with most of Ethereum’s exercise. In keeping with accessible knowledge, about 89% of blockchain transactions happen on these platforms.
Nevertheless, 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 tip of ETH’s “ultrasound cash” narrative.