Japan’s Soneium Bets Big: Sony, SBI, and Startale’s Bid to Build a Global Layer-2 Powerhouse

Startale Group is developing Soneium, an Ethereum Layer-2 chain rooted in Japan, with a primary focus on compliance and enterprise adoption, supported by major partners like Sony and SBI Holdings. CEO Sota Watanabe emphasizes that the long-term vision is for Japan to lead in developing world-class, reliable blockchain infrastructure, prioritizing compliance and reliability over speculation.

The project aims to differentiate itself in a competitive L2 market by securing distribution channels and targeting new user segments through entertainment and media tokenization (dubbed Entertainment Tokenized Assets or ETA), leveraging Sony's intellectual property. While Soneium currently shows significant on-chain throughput, it maintains a centralized sequencer and fraud-proof authority, which is a planned, phased approach toward decentralization to ensure stability and compliance.

Financially, the strategy avoids immediate reliance on native token incentives, instead focusing on sustainable revenue from sequencer fees and joint ventures, particularly with SBI to build tokenized stock and RWA markets. The infrastructure is designed to absorb complexity from multiple regulated stablecoins via account abstraction, ensuring a seamless user experience, and applying traditional market safeguards to manage risks associated with tokenized assets.

(Source：BeInCrypto)