If you don’t know Sony yet, here are some numbers to help you understand its global influence:
1. More than 900 million Sony devices are in use (TVs, cameras, audio equipment, PlayStation game consoles, mobile phones, etc.)
2. A digital media empire spanning movies, music and games, with 116 million active users and over 150 million PS2 video game consoles sold worldwide
Sony is the world's 131st most valuable company with a market capitalization of $117.45 billion, with revenues of $87.483 billion for the June 2023-June 2024 period.
Sony has just established a blockchain department and launched the Ethereum Layer-2 network Soneium. Some domestic users call it the "Sony Chain", which is committed to providing an open Internet for creators.
Quick understanding of Sony Chain
Soneium is an Ethereum Layer-2 co-founded by Sony and Startale Labs, the latter of which is famous for building Astar Network, Japan's largest public chain.
Soneium is a universal blockchain platform for creators and developers, and Startale provides its professional blockchain development knowledge to build it, leveraging Sony's global influence to expand.
Soneium is built on OP Stack and integrated with Optimism Superchain.
Going mainstream is the purpose of Sony Chain. Soneium’s official Twitter account has mentioned “Go Mainstream” more than ten times, and cleverly borrowed the abbreviation GM (Go Mainstream) most often mentioned by Web3 users, which is very popular among Web3 users. Who says that people from Web2 companies don’t understand Web3?
Soneium x Astar Network
Astar Network is rebranding its Astar zkEVM to Soneium L2 (by migration, not rebranding), unlocking new potential. As the announcement states, the partnership with Sony Group enables Astar to leverage its expertise in entertainment, gaming, and finance to incorporate Web3 technology into real-world applications, reaching a wider audience.
Announcement: https://x.com/AstarNetwork/status/1826832310949347807
The rebranding facilitates the growth of the Astar ecosystem, enhances interoperability, and increases the value of $ASTR through higher sequencer revenues, a broader user base, and greater utility.
$ASTR will power the Soneium ecosystem, but the Gas token will still be $ETH. Soneium has no plans to launch a native token in the near future.
Soneium Minato Testnet and Spark Incubation Program
The Soneium Minato testnet was launched on August 28 as a testing ground for developers and creators to build and experiment with dApps.
Users can bridge ETH test coins from Sepolia testnet to Minato through the Soneium native cross-chain bridge.
https://bridge.soneium.org/en/testnet
Soneium Spark is an ecosystem builder-centric program that provides visionary developers, creators, and projects with investments of up to $100,000 per team. Other support includes marketing, business, and technical assistance.
Soneium Spark has begun accepting applications for the first batch of projects, and incubation will begin in mid-October, continuing to bring new applications to the Sony Chain ecosystem.
60+ Ecosystem Projects at a Glance
In just half a month, Soneium has announced the development or integration of more than 60 projects. With the triple halo of Sony's global influence, vision of mainstream users and Spark plan, more projects are about to be launched. Next, we will introduce them one by one and classify them to give an overview of the rapidly developing Sony Chain ecosystem.
We divide ecological projects into eight categories: SocialFi, GameFi, RWA, DeFi, NFT, Infrastructure, Protocol and Cross-chain Bridge.
1. SocialFi
Yay！
Yay! is a popular Web2 social platform that aims to be a virtual world where users connect through interests. Since its launch in 2020, it has more than 9 million users and more than 100,000 online communities.
In August 2023, Yay! began its transformation into a Web3 Social-Fi application, first integrating Worldcoin and then partnering with leading Web3 protocols such as LayerZero.
Yay! officially announced its cooperation with Soneium and launched an ETH staking activity with a limit of 1,000 ETH (which can be unstaked at any time). Participants will have priority in obtaining future rights and interests (such as native tokens, NFTs). The quota has been filled.
https://dashboard.yay.space/stake
Metadome
Metadomo is a decentralized "loyalty points" trading platform that connects users' traditional loyalty program points (airline miles, credit cards, telecommunications points) and game points with global merchants (100,000 merchants worldwide). Consuming points on the platform can earn native tokens $DOMO.
Built on the Soneium network, the product has not been launched and no tokens have been issued.
Layer3
Layer3 is an innovative Web3 task platform. Compared with leading task platforms such as Galxe, its advantage for project owners is that it can generate a unified view of user on-chain identities by aggregating user activities across multiple chains and dApps, thereby achieving highly targeted and efficient token distribution.
The platform currently has more than 4 million users and over 100 million social interaction data.
Layer3 immediately launched a task activity to explore Soneium, exploring the Soneium Minato testnet through tasks such as cross-chain assets and joining Discord. Currently, there are more than 47,000 participants.
https://app.layer3.xyz/quests/the-soneium-minato-testnet
2. GameFi
Heal3
Heal3 is a health-related GameFi based on Astar zkEVM. Players need to buy NFT clothing (shirts/pants/shoes) and earn $GHT tokens through sleep, diet management, and outdoor sports. The rarer the NFT, the more token rewards there are, and the tokens can be used to upgrade NFTs or trade NFTs.
As one of the few running Astar ecosystems, GameFi has not yet announced, but it is very likely to migrate to the Soneium network.
Derby Race
Derby Race is a Soneium-based horse racing prediction game, strictly a GambleFi product under development. The team has previously developed similar games xDerby Raffle and Derby On-chain Race.
Metapro
Metapro (Meta Protocol) is an innovative platform focused on GameFi. Its main functions include a development portal (providing GameFi development tools), Launcher (game launch and token issuance), and Web3 wallet (asset wallet suitable for the Metapro gaming ecosystem).
Metapro was the first to announce that it will support the Soneium chain in its gaming wallet.
SuperVol
There is no detailed information about SuperVol yet, but it may be a binary options/prediction market with a gamification aspect.
3. RWA
All Access
All Access is a fan economy platform and a brand growth platform. The platform has partnered with 50+ offline events/stars to allow fans to earn points and redeem VIP experiences, while also providing brands with a way to directly attract and reward their most loyal fans through decentralized solutions.
No coins have been issued yet, and no specific method of building on Soneium has been announced yet.
OpenEden
OpenEden is an on-chain U.S. Treasury bond protocol that allows users to invest in U.S. Treasury bills (T-Bills) by holding its native stablecoin TBILL to earn an estimated annualized return of 4.89%. TVL exceeds $100 million.
- Users deposit USDC into the OpenEden vault and receive TBILL tokens
- TBILL tokens are linked to US Treasury bonds and earn income
- Users can redeem TBILL on the chain at any time and obtain USDC
Team members come from Web2 and Web3 giants such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Gemini, and Binance.
No coins have been issued yet, and no specific method of building on Soneium has been announced yet.
DeStore Network
DeStore Network is a Web3 e-commerce platform in the Astar ecosystem that enables businesses to sell digital twin assets (physical + digital assets) in Web3.
The token has not been issued yet, but it is certain that it will be migrated to Soneium, and it is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.
4. DeFi
Ionic
Ionic is a multi-chain lending platform that currently supports L2 networks such as Optimism, Base, BOB, Mode, etc., with a TVL of over US$200 million.
The token has been issued, and officials have hinted that the Soneium network will be supported soon.
L2X Pro
L2X Pro is a DEX on Astar zkEVM, aiming to become Astar's trading and liquidity center, and its TVL is not very high.
The token has not been issued yet, but it has been confirmed that it will be migrated to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.
Very Long Swap
Very Long Swap is a DEX on Astar zkEVM. Its functions include Swap, LP, perpetual contracts, IDO, etc. Its TVL is currently only US$176,000.
The beta version is currently available on Soneium, and mission activities have been released on Layer3.
Test version: https://testnet.verylongswap.xyz/
L3 Quest: https://app.layer3.xyz/quests/trending-now-swap-on-soneium-minato
General
Algem is an LSD protocol on Astar zkEVM. Users who stake ASTR in it will receive the same amount of nASTR. While earning staking income, they can also trade liquid nASTR to earn income, or use it in the LSDFi protocol without affecting capital efficiency.
Algem's user data ranks among the best in the Astar DeFi ecosystem. Although the token has not yet been issued, it has been determined to migrate to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.
waveX
waveX is the native perpetual DEX on Soneium, the First on Soneium, and is under development. The highlight is that it will integrate various LSTs, such as the nASTR mentioned above, and Ethereum's stETH, etc., which will not only enrich the capital pool of waveX, but also increase additional income for LST holders.
There is a TG mini-game available now: https://t.me/wavex_treasurehunt_bot
Fill out the form after playing the game to win USDT: https://gleam.io/fMTSs/treasure-hunt-airdrop-event
UntitledBank
Untitled Bank is a native decentralized lending platform on Soneium, still featuring efficient liquidity management, risk-isolated lending structure, and modular design for enhanced flexibility and security.
Under development, no further information available.
Velodrome
Velodrome is a long-established DEX in the Optimism ecosystem and the DeFi protocol ranked first in TVL. It rewards liquidity (LPs) and users who actively participate in governance by issuing its native token VELO and allocating veVELO (veNFT).
Support for Soneium was expressed immediately, but no specific integration was announced.
Avalon Finance
Avalon Finance is a multi-chain lending platform that has been deployed on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Scroll, BNB Chain, Bitlayer, CoreDAO and other chains. But in fact, it still focuses on lending in the BTC ecosystem and supports BTC LST token deposits and borrowing. Avalon has the largest market size on the Bitlayer chain, with a total lending amount of US$280 million, followed by Merlin and CoreDAO.
Two modes,
Decentralized lending: multi-chain, support for BTC LST
CeDeFi Lending: Connecting DeFi with institutional CeFi liquidity providers, with nearly $80 million TVL.
No tokens have been issued yet. It may support lending on the Soneium testnet soon, or as soon as possible after the mainnet. It is worth paying attention to opportunities in the testnet.
C14
C14 is a decentralized lending platform for Astar zkEVM, and its market size is not very large.
The token has not been issued yet, and it has been confirmed that it will be migrated to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.
Sake Finance
Sake Finance is the native lending platform on Soneium and is supposed to be over-collateralized.
Currently, you can enter the Sake Finance Discord community and complete tasks in the FAQ channel to get OG status. The official hinted that the beta version may be launched in September.
DC Go to: https://discord.gg/jmnr4rNR
Neemo Finance
Neemo Finance is an LSD protocol of the Astar network. Like the Algem mechanism mentioned above, users can obtain nsASTR by staking ASTR. While enjoying the staking income, they can also trade nsASTR at any time or invest it in the LSDFi protocol.
It will be launched on the Astar mainnet on September 9th. It has been confirmed that it will be migrated to Soneium. It is speculated that it may be on the mainnet soon. No tokens have been issued yet.
QuickSwap
QuickSwap is an old DeFi protocol on Polygon, and it hints that it will support the Soneium network in the future.
Solv Protocol
Solv Protocol is an old DeFi protocol that focuses on ERC-3525. It aims to tokenize various future cash flows, thereby bringing a new asset class to the industry.
This year, SolvBTC, a Bitcoin wrapper with full-chain yield, was launched, which was very popular. SolvBTC is deployed on Bitcoin mainnet, Ethereum, BNB Chain and other chains. Solv, as a unified liquidity portal, integrates various liquidity resources and investment opportunities into one platform. Users can manage their investments on Solv Protocol without accessing multiple different platforms or protocols.
Solv has also hit the LSD track and launched the LSD function for SolvBTC. By staking, users can obtain LST tokens SolvBTC.BBN (Babylon staking) and SolvBTC.ENA (Ethena staking), which not only generate returns but can also be used in the LSDFi protocol to obtain potential additional returns.
Coins have been issued and it has been announced that it is being built on Soneium.
SynStation
SynStation is a token staking protocol built natively on Soneium.
Currently, a staking earning points activity has been launched on the Ethereum mainnet. ETH, USDT, USDC and WBTC can be staked. Assets will be migrated after Soneium launches the mainnet. The first 100 users who stake 10 ETH can get OG NFT, DYOR.
https://synstation.org
SoneFi
SoneFi is a native DeFi platform on Soneium, providing functions such as Swap, perpetual contracts, Launchpad, etc.
The beta version is now online. You can claim the test coins and then swap and form LP.
https://testnet.sonefi.xyz/
5. Infrastructure
Alchemy
Soneium officially announced its technology partner, launching APIs and developer tools in September.
Graph Protocol
Soneium's officially announced technology partner will provide developers with secure and reliable on-chain data.
I feel
Soneium’s official technology partner, Sentio, is an on-chain monitoring tool that helps developers track and collect events, transactions, and status of smart contracts.
Thirdweb
A full-stack Web3 development platform that will soon integrate Sony Chain.
Can deploy tokens, NFTs, and add testnet tx:
https://thirdweb.com/thirdweb.eth/DropERC721/deploy
Pyth Network
Soneium officially announced its infrastructure partner, deploying a real-time price data oracle.
Sequence
Sequence is Soneium's infrastructure partner and is a full-stack Web3 developer platform that provides tools such as wallets, marketplaces, smart contract management, indexers, game engines, etc. Soneium network integration is in progress.
6. NFT
Blues
Bluez is an NFT market on the Astar network. It has not issued any tokens yet and will be migrated to the Soneium network.
Sonova
Sonova is an NFT market on the Astar network. It has not issued any tokens (there is a TGE plan) and has confirmed its migration to the Soneium network. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the testnet.
NFTs2Me
NFTs2Me is an NFT deployment platform that allows developers to quickly create and deploy NFT collections without code.
Support for the Soneium testnet has been added. Deployment tool: https://nfts2me.com/app/soneium-minato-testnet/
NFTs2Me issued a commemorative NFT on the testnet, with a 0 minting fee. You can go to Mint one, which also leaves a standard tx. DYOR.
https://angry-raccoon.testnet.nfts2.me/
7. Agreement
Astar zkEVM is the foundation, a new star project in the Optimism ecosystem, and Circle will support USDC as a founding partner.
8. Cross-chain bridge
Chain link
Chainlink serves as a genesis partner and integrates the Soneium network.
Layerswap
Layerswap is a multi-chain cross-chain bridge that supports cross-chain assets between 35 L1/L2 and more than 15 centralized exchanges.
Layerswap has integrated the Soneium testnet, and can cross-chain assets from testnets such as Ethereum Sepolia, Loopring Sepolia, Arbitrum Sepolia, Immutable zkEVM Testnet, etc. to the Soneium testnet.
No coins have been issued, so it is worthwhile to conduct cross-chain interactions between multiple testnets and Soneium on Layerswap, which can also be used as tx.
https://testnet.layerswap.io/
Superbridge
Superbridge is a Rollup-based cross-chain solution that supports users to cross-chain assets between any OP Stack or Arbitrum Nitro chain, with the goal of supporting all Rollups on the market.
Superbridge will support cross-chain assets after the Soneium mainnet is launched.
Owlto Finance
Owlto Finance is a cross-chain bridge designed to support various Rollups and CEXs. It now supports cross-chain operations from the Soneium testnet to Ethereum Sepolia, Plume Testnet, and Bera Bartio.
Before the coin is issued, it is worth doing some testnet cross-chain interactions as tx.
https://owlto.finance/
Orbiter Finance
The multi-chain cross-chain bridge Orbiter has added support for Soneium in the testnet and will support the mainnet in the future.
Summarize
1. Soneium, developed by Sony, is a new Ethereum Layer-2 that aims to provide an open internet for creators.
2. Sony’s household name and established global presence are likely to generate significant interest in Soneium among Web2 users.
3. However, the market is already crowded with many L2 solutions, so it remains to be seen how much attention Soneium can gain from Web3 users and mainstream users.
