Key Takeaways
- • Soneium, the Sony-backed Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, plans to issue $SONEIUM, a native token meant to link creators, IP owners, builders, fans and investors in an onchain entertainment economy, according to The Cryptonomist.
- • The planned Soneium Portal would serve as the main entry point for IP discovery, issuance and investment, with royalty payments automated through smart contracts, starting with primary sales.
- • Two planned products, IP Vault (royalty-backed assets, including indirect access to music catalog funds) and IP Bonds (backed by entertainment businesses), broaden the investment offering.
- • Initial projects include Moriusa character IP with Super State Holdings and K-pop concert royalties with DayOneDream's WAVIST platform, including artists BTOB and Lee Chae-yeon.
- • Soneium reports more than 250 applications on its network, with approximately $9.38 million locked in those applications.
Summary
Soneium, the Sony-backed Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, plans to issue $SONEIUM, a native token intended to connect entertainment creators, intellectual property owners, builders, fans and investors, according to an announcement reported by The Cryptonomist on October 26, 2026. The network is developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, Sony's blockchain unit. The model centers on tokenized IP, which Soneium describes as a way to represent a creative work's future economic value onchain. Creators could seek funding from fans and investors and share commercial proceeds through automated revenue splits. An IP token can represent a creator, studio or individual title, and may take the form of a collectible used in fan activities or a fungible token designed to circulate within that IP's economy.
The Soneium Portal is planned as the main entry point for IP discovery, issuance and investment, with royalty payments automated through smart contracts. Soneium says the platform will begin with primary sales and expand into fan participation and royalty distribution. Two planned products broaden the investment offering: IP Vault, designed to support royalty-backed assets and provide indirect access to opportunities such as music catalog funds, and IP Bonds, which will be backed by entertainment businesses and are intended to generate entertainment revenue.
Initial projects focus on Asian pop culture. A collaboration with Super State Holdings begins with Moriusa, a character IP for which fans and supporters will be able to help fund expansion into merchandise, animated shorts and wider licensing. A partnership with DayOneDream's WAVIST platform targets concert-business royalties, including artists such as BTOB and Lee Chae-yeon, allowing fans and investors to participate in revenue from live entertainment.
The network's mainnet launched on January 14, 2025, runs on Optimism's OP Stack, and users pay transaction fees in ETH. Soneium says it hosts more than 250 applications spanning music, games, anime, film, collectibles and fan creations, with approximately $9.38 million locked in those applications. The USDSC stablecoin is already live on the mainnet and used for settlements. Sony invested $13 million in Startale Labs in early 2025; Startale Labs is the infrastructure partner that has worked with Sony to build the blockchain.
Soneium's strategy aims to make ownership, licensing and royalty arrangements programmable, and includes an Onchain IP Architecture with a proposed IP Registry, IP Graph and IP Execution Layer to register works, connect derivatives and collaborations, and support predefined licensing, royalty and revenue rules. NFT-based fan engagement and funding routes for IP creators are already part of its approach to connecting Web2 and Web3 audiences.
The Soneium Portal is planned as the main entry point for IP discovery, issuance and investment, with royalty payments automated through smart contracts. Soneium says the platform will begin with primary sales and expand into fan participation and royalty distribution. Two planned products broaden the investment offering: IP Vault, designed to support royalty-backed assets and provide indirect access to opportunities such as music catalog funds, and IP Bonds, which will be backed by entertainment businesses and are intended to generate entertainment revenue.
Initial projects focus on Asian pop culture. A collaboration with Super State Holdings begins with Moriusa, a character IP for which fans and supporters will be able to help fund expansion into merchandise, animated shorts and wider licensing. A partnership with DayOneDream's WAVIST platform targets concert-business royalties, including artists such as BTOB and Lee Chae-yeon, allowing fans and investors to participate in revenue from live entertainment.
The network's mainnet launched on January 14, 2025, runs on Optimism's OP Stack, and users pay transaction fees in ETH. Soneium says it hosts more than 250 applications spanning music, games, anime, film, collectibles and fan creations, with approximately $9.38 million locked in those applications. The USDSC stablecoin is already live on the mainnet and used for settlements. Sony invested $13 million in Startale Labs in early 2025; Startale Labs is the infrastructure partner that has worked with Sony to build the blockchain.
Soneium's strategy aims to make ownership, licensing and royalty arrangements programmable, and includes an Onchain IP Architecture with a proposed IP Registry, IP Graph and IP Execution Layer to register works, connect derivatives and collaborations, and support predefined licensing, royalty and revenue rules. NFT-based fan engagement and funding routes for IP creators are already part of its approach to connecting Web2 and Web3 audiences.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.