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Soneium: The Entertainment-Grade L2

Arya .ETH
Published On Sep 14, 2025 | Updated On Oct 5, 2025 | 8 min read
A futuristic digital illustration featuring a glowing sphere with abstract shapes and data streams, symbolizing the Soneium blockchain technology.
Soneium slashes Ethereum gas fees by 50x, fueling Sony’s decentralized entertainment revolution!

Soneium launched its mainnet in January 2025 as Sony’s flagship public blockchain. Its design ambition is clear: not only to serve crypto-native developers but to bring millions of Sony users into Web3, gamers, artists, and fans. The joint venture between Sony and Startale underpins Soneium with both corporate distribution muscle and Web3-native engineering talent.

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TL;DR

Soneium is an OP Stack optimistic rollup by Sony BSL/Startale (EVM-equivalent; ETH gas; Chain ID 1868) aimed at scaling entertainment, gaming, and creator workloads on Ethereum. The summary below outlines its stack (op-geth/op-node, EIP-4844 DA, permissioned interactive fraud proofs, centralized sequencer, L1-inherited finality), key integrations (bridges/DeFi/oracles), and a current metrics snapshot; go read the list below: 

 

  • What it is: Soneium is an OP Stack–based optimistic rollup built by Sony Block Solutions Labs (Sony BSL), a joint venture with Startale Group. Gas token: ETH, Chain ID: 1868. It is designed to anchor Sony’s entertainment, gaming, and creator-focused ecosystems on Ethereum scalability.

  • Architecture: EVM-equivalent execution (op-geth/op-node), on-chain DA with EIP-4844 blobs, interactive fraud proofs (currently permissioned), centralized sequencer, forced L1 interaction guarantees. Finality inherits Ethereum.

  • Why it matters: By joining the Optimism Superchain, Soneium inherits Ethereum security, plugs into shared infra, and aligns with Sony’s distribution rails, gaming, music, pictures, financial services.

  • Ecosystem integrations: Canonical Superbridge, Stargate (LayerZero), Squid (Axelar), Layerswap, Orbiter, Jumper, Astar Portal, WheelX for bridging. DeFi stack with Uniswap v4, Velodrome, QuickSwap, Kyo Finance, SONEX, and Aave v3. Oracles include Pyth and Chainlink.

  • Metrics (Sep 14, 2025, Asia/Dubai):

    • ~264.6M total tx

    • ~9.25M addresses

    • ~1.53M daily tx

    • block time 2s

    • typical fees < $0.01

    • TVS ≈ $136.9M

    • Stablecoins ≈ $26M

    • Bridged TVL ≈ $55.3M

    • DEX 30d vol ≈ $83M

    • Perps 7d vol ≈ $18.5M

  • Outlook: Positioned as a mainstream Layer-2 with corporate backing, bridging consumer apps to Ethereum, pioneering the blend of Web2 distribution with Web3 infra.

System Architecture & Technical Deep Dive

Soneium's L2 blockchain is leveraging OP Stack underneath to bring fast and reliable transactions at low cost. In this section, we dive deeply into its architecture.

Rollup fundamentals

Soneium is a Bedrock-based Optimistic Rollup, inheriting the OP Stack’s execution and consensus modules:

  • Execution: via op-geth (Ethereum Geth fork with rollup modifications).

  • Consensus & Rollup logic: via op-node, implementing sequencing, batch submission, and dispute games.

  • Fraud proofs: Implemented as interactive bisection games, though currently permissioned (fewer than 5 challengers) ,meaning only selected actors can dispute invalid state roots. This reduces trustlessness until decentralization expands.

  • Finality model: Transaction batches are submitted to Ethereum; after the ~3.5 day challenge period, withdrawals finalize. This optimistic security model leverages Ethereum’s validator set.

Data availability & costs

  • On-chain DA: All transaction data is posted to Ethereum. Soneium uses EIP-4844 blobs, greatly reducing posting costs compared to calldata.

  • Posting cadence: On average, transaction data submissions every ~8 minutes, state updates every ~2 hours.

  • Costs: Past 1-year onchain cost ≈ $151k. Average per-user operation L1 cost ≈ $0.0006, enabling L2 fees < $0.01 for end users.

Sequencer operations & censorship resistance

  • Sequencer: Currently centralized, operated by Sony Block Solutions Labs.

  • Reorgs/MEV: Like other OP Stack L2s, sequencer reordering risk exists; users rely on operator honesty.

  • Forced inclusion/forced withdrawals: Available through OptimismPortal2, ensuring users can exit even if the sequencer censors them.

  • Incident log: On Jan 14, 2025, RPC providers censored specific infringing tokens (e.g., due to IP concerns), but censorship-resistant exits via self-hosted RPC or L1 remained functional.

Bridging architecture

  • Canonical bridge: L1StandardBridge / OptimismPortal2 contracts, surfaced to users via Superbridge. Handles ETH and ERC-20 bridging with fraud-proof backed security.

  • External bridges:

    • Stargate (LayerZero): Provides OFT/native token routes across major chains.

    • Squid (Axelar): Offers cross-chain swap+bridge in one intent.

    • Layerswap / Orbiter: Gas-priming fast routes.

    • Rango / Astar Portal / WheelX: Aggregator and ecosystem bridges.

Oracles and off-chain data

  • Pyth Network: Integrated as Soneium’s first oracle, delivering high-frequency price feeds.

  • Chainlink: Provides price feeds, Data Streams, and CCIP messaging for secure cross-chain logic.

Together, they enable DeFi protocols (DEXs, money markets, perps) to operate with reliable data.

Explorer, RPCs, and tooling

  • Explorer: Blockscout instance (soneium.blockscout.com), reporting full onchain stats.

  • RPCs: Operated by QuickNode and community endpoints.

  • Tooling parity: Developers can use standard Ethereum toolchains, Foundry, Hardhat, ethers.js, without modification.

Security & risk model

  • Fraud proofs: Interactive but permissioned, limiting true permissionless guarantees today.

  • Sequencer centralization: One operator means MEV/censorship risk; mitigated by OP Stack’s forced exits.

  • Economic model: Sequencer fee revenue is modest (~$2k/day fees), part of which is shared with Optimism Collective. The design favors user affordability over protocol rent extraction.

  • Compliance posture: The RPC incident shows Sony’s willingness to align with legal/IP concerns, which could make Soneium more attractive for enterprise but introduces operational policy risks for certain users.

Operations & Governance

Soneium is governed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, the Singapore JV of Sony Group and Startale.

  • Leadership:

    • Jun Watanabe (Sony): Chairman, representing corporate vision.

    • Sota Watanabe (Startale): Director, architect of Astar and Web3 lead.

  • Governance: No native token; protocol decisions made by Sony BSL. Fee-sharing aligns it with the Optimism Collective. Incentive alignment comes partly via ASTR token integration (Astar’s ecosystem token) for liquidity programs.

This model mirrors Base (Coinbase’s OP chain): corporate stewardship, no L2 token, security rooted in Ethereum.

Ecosystem Integrations

Soneium has created many meaningful and long-term integrations with top protocols in every segment to make a reliable and easy-to-use user experience for its users.

Bridges

  • Canonical: Superbridge for ETH/ERC-20.

  • Third-party: Rango Exchange, Stargate, Squid, Layerswap, Orbiter, Jumper, Astar Portal, WheelX.

DEXs

  • Uniswap v4: Deployed and supported in Uniswap’s official web app + wallet.

  • Velodrome: Extended its ve(3,3) AMM design to Soneium.

  • QuickSwap v4: Hooks-enabled deployment.

  • Kyo Finance (veDEX): Native, high-frequency volume.

  • SONEX: AI-powered native DEX.

Lending & Oracles

  • Lending

    • Aave v3: Deployed with ETH and stablecoin markets, plus GHO exploration.

  • Oracle

    • Pyth and Chainlink both live, giving developers low-latency and enterprise-grade oracle choices.

Consumer & SocialFi

  • UneMeta: IP tokenization platform (NFTs, SocialFi).

  • Evermoon: GameFi title with millions of tx/month.

  • LINE mini-app integrations: Social app entry points.

Network & Market Metrics

Soneium’s activity illustrates a high-throughput, low-fee L2 where most value resides in ETH, BTC derivatives, and stablecoins. Usage is sustained by a core base of active traders and gamers, evidenced by the large transaction count relative to DAU. The table below is a snapshot on September 14th, 2025.

MetricValue
Total transactions~264.6M
Total addresses~9.25M
Daily transactions~1.53M
Block time~2s
Typical fee< $0.01
TVS~$136.9M (≈ $38.9M canonical, $93.6M external, $4.4M native)
Stablecoins market cap~$26.1M
Bridged TVL (DefiLlama)~$55.3M
DEX volume (24h / 30d)~$2.3M / ~$83M
Perps volume (24h / 7d)~$2.9M / ~$18.5M
Chain fees (24h)~$1.9K–$2K

Outlook & Roadmap

Soneium is not “just another OP chain.” It is uniquely backed by Sony’s distribution empire, meaning integrations with PlayStation, Sony Music, or Sony Pictures could onboard millions.

On the technical side, decentralizing fraud proofs and sequencer operations will be important to reduce trust assumptions. On the ecosystem side, the growth of DeFi TVL, perps markets, and native SocialFi projects indicates Soneium is maturing into both a consumer-facing and liquidity-rich L2.

Conclusion

Soneium combines Ethereum’s rollup security, the OP Stack’s Superchain connectivity, and Sony’s mainstream distribution. Technically, it operates as a performant, EVM-equivalent optimistic rollup with blobs, centralized sequencing, and permissioned fraud proofs, common tradeoffs for early OP chains. 

 

For users and developers, the ecosystem is production-ready: major bridges, DEXs, lending protocols, and oracles are live, alongside native entertainment and gaming dApps. On the metrics side, Soneium already handles over 1.5M tx/day, 9M+ addresses, and ~$137M in secured assets within its first year.

Its long-term vision is to merge consumer entertainment rails with Ethereum liquidity, making it a significant case study for corporate-backed Layer-2 adoption.

Resources & Further Reading

Frequently asked questions

Check out most commonly asked questions, addressed based on community needs. Can't find what you are looking for?
Contact us, our friendly support helps!

How do I bridge assets to Soneium?

Easily open Rango Exchange, connect your wallet, and enjoy bridging and swapping to or from Soneium.

How do I add Soneium to MetaMask?

In MetaMask, Add network → enter Soneium RPC details (or one-click via Chainlist) and confirm; Soneium uses ETH as gas and is EVM-equivalent, so standard tooling works out-of-the-box.

Why are Soneium fees low—does it use blobs?

Yes. As an OP Stack rollup posting data to Ethereum with EIP-4844 blob transactions, Soneium benefits from a cheaper data market, helping keep L2 fees under a cent during normal conditions.