Multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corp. SONY unveiled its Ethereum ETH/USD Layer-2 blockchain, Soneium, as part of a sustained bid to enter into the realm of Web3 technology.
What Happened: In a press release shared Friday, Sony revealed that Soneium is developed in collaboration with Web3 infrastructure, Startale Labs, with whom the tech titan entered into a partnership last year.
The public blockchain would be accessible to everyone, Sony added, hosting a pool of Web3 games, NFT marketplaces, as well as entertainment-related services.
"We will work to create use cases that can spark the interest of people who have never used Web3 services," the press release read.
Sony said a test version of the blockchain would be rolled out soon for developers to get first-hand experience. The date of the mainnet launch was not disclosed.
Sony joins a small club of publicly traded firms that have launched their own blockchain, with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase pioneering the trend with the release of Base, another Ethereum-based Layer-2 solution.
See Also: Donald Trump Launches Crypto Platform ‘The DeFiant Ones’ To Challenge Traditional Banking Systems
Why It Matters: Soneium's tease came a month after Sony launched S.BLOX Inc., a revamped version of a cryptocurrency exchange it acquired last year. A redesigned interface and a new mobile app were put in place as part of the relaunch.
Moreover, a patent filed last year suggested the company is exploring the concept of "super-fungible tokens," a more flexible type of NFT potentially applicable to in-game assets.
Sony’s Web3 embrace was motivated by worries about the increasing concentration of information on the traditional internet, and growing optimism in decentralized systems.
Price Action: Shares of Sony Group closed 1.61% lower at $91.30 during Thursday's regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Ethereum was exchanging hands at 2,672.87, up 2% in the last 24 hours.
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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