Sony launches Soneium, Ethereum Layer-2 for Web3
The Key Points at a Glance:
- Sony has launched the Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) network Soneium.
- The Soneium testnet has already processed over 3 million transactions.
- Other Ethereum L2s like Arbitrum (ARB) and Optimism (OP) are also showing positive market movements.
- Soneium aims to popularize blockchain technology and promote Web3 innovations.
What is Soneium?
Sony, the well-known Japanese technology company, has recently launched its own Ethereum Layer-2 network called Soneium. The official launch took place on August 23, 2024. Soneium is an infrastructure designed to serve as a foundation for Web3 applications. Its goal is to make blockchain technology more accessible to a broader audience and accelerate innovations in the Web3 space.
In the official announcement, Sony stated that they plan to make the network publicly available in the future. Various business units and intellectual property (IP) within the Sony Group are expected to be utilized to create new services. As a result, Soneium is envisioned to become an infrastructure that can be used in the everyday lives of many people.
Early Successes of the Soneium Testnet
Shortly after its launch, Soneium quickly gained attention in the blockchain community. According to Google Trends data, the number of global search queries surged. The statistics from the Soneium/Minato testnet are also impressive: Over 1.3 million blocks have already been processed, and the number of transactions has surpassed the 3.3 million mark. Additionally, there are over 200,000 active wallets on the testnet. Currently, around 123,000 transactions are being processed daily.
How Are Other Ethereum L2s Performing?
Soneium is not the only Layer-2 network on Ethereum. Other established L2s like Arbitrum (ARB) and Optimism (OP) are also active and showing positive developments. According to data from Artemis, Arbitrum continues to dominate Optimism in terms of daily active addresses and transactions. However, Optimism managed to outperform on the price side last week: While OP saw a 7% price increase, ARB’s price only rose by 2%.
At the time of analysis, the price of OP stood at 1.47 USD with a market capitalization of over 1.7 billion USD. Arbitrum was trading at 0.518 USD and had a market capitalization of over 1.8 billion USD.
Our Assessment
Sony’s entry into the blockchain space with Soneium shows that major technology companies are recognizing the potential of Web3 and blockchain technologies. The impressive numbers from the testnet and the growing attention in the community suggest that Soneium could become a serious player in the Ethereum L2 ecosystem. At the same time, it remains to be seen how the network will develop compared to established L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism. It will be exciting to watch how Sony leverages its resources and IPs to further expand Soneium and make it attractive to the mass market.
| Symbol | ETH |
| Coin type | Alt Coin |
| Transaction Speed | Medium |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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| Price | $3,307.68 |
| 24h % | -4.94 % |
| 7d % | -15.09 % |
| 30d % | -2.59 % |
| 60d % | 26.52 % |
| 1y % | 46.35 % |
| Market Cap | $398,592,759,645.00 |
| Official Links | Website | Source Code |
| Socials | Reddit | X |
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