Japanese Corporation Sony announces the launch of Its mainnet Soneium
January 14, 2025
Sony BSL has launched the Soneium mainnet — a general-purpose network for financial and entertainment applications. Built using the OP Stack and Superchain from Optimism, the project is aimed at content creators, providing them with a convenient and secure platform for work and monetization.
Key milestones of the launch
The launch of the Soneium mainnet marks the completion of a successful testing phase. The Soneium Minato testnet, introduced in August 2024, attracted partners such as the Optimism Foundation and Circle. During testing, 17 million accounts were registered, 47 million transactions were made, and 1700 applications were created. All testnet developments are compatible with the mainnet, making the transition easier for developers.
Along with the mainnet, the Soneium Spark incubator program was launched to support blockchain application developers. The cryptocurrency platform S.BLOX has also been updated, and after rebranding from WhaleFin, it has become an important element of the Sony ecosystem.
Promotions and announcements
As part of the mainnet launch, users receive 3000 yen in Bitcoin ($19) for registering a new account. In February 2025, Sony will release an NFT collection based on the Ghost in the Shell franchise, and SNFT Inc. will launch the NFT platform Fan Marketing Platform on the Soneium network.
Market reaction and the future of L2 solutions
Soneium is not the only project utilizing second-layer (L2) solutions based on Ethereum. In December 2024, Deutsche Bank announced its solution based on ZKsync, emphasizing the growing trend among major players to integrate Ethereum second-layer technologies to enhance scalability and reduce costs.