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Sony’s entry onto the blockchain has excited the cryptocurrency faithful who expect the Japanese electronics giant’s know-how in the entertainment and gaming industries to help crypto adoption.
In late August 2024, Sony announced that its unit is developing an Ethereum-based layer two (L2) network called Soneium.
The real story may have gone under the radar for many. Soneium is being created from an existing crypto network called Astar zkEVM.
$ASTR — the native token of the Astar Network ecosystem — surged to a one-month high on August 24, 2024, on the back of the news.
What is Astar Network (ASTR), and where does it fit in Sony’s blockchain development plans? Let’s find out.
Key Takeaways
- Sony Block Solution Labs is developing an Ethereum-based L2 “general-purpose blockchain” called Soneium.
- Sony Block Solution Labs is a joint venture between Sony Group and Startale Labs.
- The Astar zkEVM chain will transition to Soneium L2 through planned steps.
- Astar Network is a Polkadot-based L1 network founded by Sota Watanabe.
- Soneium testnet is expected to be launched before the end of 2024.
What is Astar Network?
Astar Network is a Polkadot-based (DOT) layer one (L1) network founded by Sota Watanabe.
Originally known as the Plasm Chain, the project received grants from Polkadot founder Gavin Wood‘s Web3 Foundation to kickstart their journey in March 2020.
Plasm Chain transitioned to the Astar Network to provide ethereum compatibility (via EVM) and to enhance the Polkadot ecosystem’s interoperability.
Astar Network focuses on catering to the Japanese market. The platform has collaborated with watchmaker CASIO on a non-fungible token (NFT) collection and with telecom company NTT Digital to develop blockchain solutions.
In March 2024, Astar Network launched a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup for Ethereum called Astar zkEVM.
Astar zkEVM was built using Polygon’s (POL) AggLayer platform, thus uniquely combining Polygon’s blockchain solutions, Polkadot’s development team, and Ethereum’s utility.
By August 2024, plans were drawn to combine Astar zkEVM with the upcoming Soneium L2 following a strategic collaboration with Sony Group.
What is Soneium?
On August 23, 2024, Sony Block Solution Labs announced that the company was developing an Ethereum-based L2 “general-purpose blockchain” called Soneium.
Sony Block Solution Labs is a joint venture between Sony Group and Startale Labs. Sony Group owns 90% of the joint venture.
Astar Network founder Watanabe is the CEO of Startale Labs.
Soneium is being built using Optimism’s rollup development stack called OP Stack. Soneium will join a connected network of OP Stack chains collectively known as the Superchain.
As of August 26, 2024, Soneium was under development, and the Soneium testnet is expected to be launched before the end of 2024.
Sony Block Solution Labs has enlisted blockchain companies such as Alchemy, Chainlink (LINK), Circle, Optimism (OP), and The Graph (GRT) as its launch partners.
Is Astar zkEVM a Bet on Sony’s Soneium Crypto Venture?
While Sony said that Astar zkEVM will “integrate” with Soneium, Astar Network announced more details about the collaboration on its website.
According to the Polkadot parachain, Astar zkEVM will transition to Soneium L2 through planned steps.
The transition period will start when the Soneium L2 launches. Soon after, guidelines and support will be provided to migrate smart contracts and liquidity from Astar zkEVM to Soneium L2 using Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) bridge.
Liquidity pool incentives, staking programs, and joint marketing campaigns will then follow.
Sony has not yet announced any plans for a native token launch. For the time being, Astar Network’s ASTR token is the prime candidate for retail investors to invest in their belief in Sony’s ability to create mainstream blockchain products.
Sony has come out strong and stated its intention to support its crypto venture with its existing businesses, saying:
“In addition to applications for existing Web3 services that will be compatible with Soneium in the future, we will consider new services that are linked to businesses within the Sony Group to create use cases that can stimulate the interest of people who have never used Web3 services, and to support the expansion of creativity and engagement with fan communities through Web3 technology.”
Without giving away too much detail, Sony said the ASTR token will be a “key asset” within the Soneium L2 ecosystem to “maintain its role in ecosystem projects” and to “expand utility.”
On Polkadot, the ASTR token is used to pay gas fees, participate in on-chain governance, and stake on the Astar Network.
“In summary, ASTR is set to become a pivotal ecosystem token, capturing the growth and success not only of Astar L1 but also that of Soneium,” said Astar Network.
More details about Astar zkEVM’s migration to Soneium are expected to be published soon.
Techopedia’s Verdict
While we expect gas fees to be paid using the popular ETH token on Soneium L2, the idea of using ASTR for governance and liquidity incentives on Sony’s public blockchain does not seem too far-fetched.
What excites us the most is the synergies between Sony’s understanding of consumer products and Astar’s reputation as a top institutional blockchain solutions provider in Japan.
Astar has a good track record of attracting the use of its products by some of the biggest Japanese corporations, including CASIO, Japan Airlines, and NTT Digital.
Astar Token: Tokenomics, Price Analysis & More
ASTR is the native cryptocurrency of the Astar Network.
It is used for the following functions on the Astar Network:
- Staking
- Gas fee payment
- Onchain governance
ASTR’s Tokenomics, as of August 26, 2024:
| Metric | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Initial supply | 7 billion tokens |
| Circulating supply | 7.117 billion tokens |
| Max supply | Infinite |
| Yearly inflation | 665 million tokens |
| Staked supply | 2.755 billion tokens |
| Market cap | $553.1 million |
| Crypto rank | 110 |
| All-time high | $0.3353 hit on April 10, 2022 |
| All-time low | $0.03219 hit on June 10, 2023 |
| On-chain holders | 802,959 unique wallets with holdings of more than $0 |
| Whale distribution percentage | 73.5% |
ASTR is allocated in the following manner:
| Allocation | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Users and Early Supporters | 30% |
| Parachain Auction in 2021 | 20% |
| Protocol Development | 10% |
| Early Financial Backers | 10% |
| Astar Foundation | 10% |
| On-Chain DAO | 5% |
| Parachain Auctions Reserve | 5% |
| Marketing | 5% |
| Team (Employee Incentives) | 5% |
ASTR Investors:
Some of the investors in Astar Network include Polychain Capital, Finance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Hashkey Capital, Fenbushi Capital, OKX Ventures. Alchemy, GSR, Crypto.com, and Alameda Research.
According to CryptoRank, Astar Network has raised a total of $34 million to date.
The Bottom Line
Sony’s entry into the crypto industry is incredibly exciting. Sony has an amazing track record of producing some of the most popular consumer electronics products in history like the Walkman and the Playstation 5.
The company also publishes movies and music making it the perfect fit to uplift the “general-purpose blockchain,” non-fungible tokens, and blockchain gaming sectors.
Keep an eye out for Soleium L2 testnet and Astar zkEVM’s transition to Sony’s public blockchain.
We will end this article by reminding readers that crypto markets are unpredictable. Therefore, it is important to do your due diligence before investing and never invest more than you can afford to lose. Experts can be wrong in their crypto price predictions.
FAQs
What is Astar Network?
What is Soneium?
References
- Web3 Foundation Grants — Wave 5 Recipients (Medium)
- Astar Network: The Go-to Chain for Global Enterprises (Astar)
- Astar Foundation Partners With NTT Digital to Create Web3 Training Programs and Enhance Network (Astar)
- Introducing Soneium by Sony Block Solutions Labs for the Future of Web3 | Soneium (Soneium)
- Astar Evolution: Phase 1 (Astar)
- Astar Price | ASTR Price Today, Live Chart, USD converter, Market Capitalization | CryptoRank.io (Cryptorank)
