Soneium ¹

Sony's L2 that blocked meme coins on launch day, freezing $100k in user funds. The corporate chain where IP protection trumps permissionless deployment.

Unique Position Soneium features built-in IP protection that automatically restricts contracts suspected of trademark infringement. Sony-themed meme coins (Aibo, Toro) were blocked and funds frozen on day one. The only L2 where corporate compliance overrides crypto principles, designed for entertainment companies rather than DeFi degens.

Primary Use Cases

• Entertainment companies deploying official IP
• Sony Music/Pictures NFT collections
• Regulated applications requiring compliance controls
• On-chain ticketing and fan engagement
• Corporate partners within Sony ecosystem

Ecosystem Character Curated environment where Soneium Spark selected 32 apps from 1,700+ applicants. Entertainment-focused with anime titles like Solo Leveling leading adoption. Community split between Sony fans embracing controls and crypto natives opposing censorship. More corporate boardroom than crypto Twitter.

Trade-offs

• Blocked legitimate meme coins freezing user funds on launch
• Contract deployment requires passing IP filters
• RPC-level censorship makes flagged contracts invisible
• 12-hour delay to bypass restrictions through L1
• Philosophy fundamentally conflicts with permissionless ethos

Technical Details

Architecture OP Stack optimistic rollup with additional IP protection layer screening deployments. EVM-equivalent base with Superchain compatibility maintained. Restrictions implemented at RPC level allowing eventual L1 bypass. Curated application layer on top of standard infrastructure.

Performance Processes approximately 8 operations per second reflecting limited activity. Sub-$0.001 transaction fees due to low usage volume. Nine-minute batch intervals for transactions, two hours for state updates. Performance unchallenged due to controlled ecosystem.

Security & Trust Model Standard optimistic rollup with 7-day withdrawal period to Ethereum. Centralized sequencer operated by Sony Block Solutions Labs. Fraud proofs restricted to authorized actors rather than permissionless. Additional trust in Sony's IP filtering decisions required.

Control & Governance Sony Block Solutions Labs controls all aspects including sequencer and IP filters. Contract restrictions decided internally without community input. Soneium Spark curation process gatekeeps ecosystem access. No meaningful decentralization or community governance planned.