Explore the Sonychain ecosystem: 60+ early projects and airdrop opportunities at a glance

Author: Bai Ze Research Institute

If you don’t know Sony yet, you can understand its global influence through these numbers:

1. More than 900 million Sony devices are in use (TVs, cameras, audio equipment, PS game consoles, mobile phones, etc.)

2. A digital media empire spanning movies, music and games, with 116 million active users, and video game device PS2 has sold more than 150 million units worldwide

Sony ranks as the 131st most valuable company in the world with a market value of US$117.45 billion, and revenue of US$87.483 billion between June 2023 and June 2024.

Sony has just established a blockchain department and launched the Ethereum Layer-2 network Soneium, which some domestic users call "Sony Chain" and is committed to providing an open Internet for creators.

Quickly understand Sony Chain

Soneium is an Ethereum Layer-2 co-founded by Sony and Startale Labs, which is famous for building Japan's largest public chain Astar Network.

Soneium is a general blockchain platform for creators and developers. Startale provides its professional blockchain development knowledge to build it and uses Sony's global influence to expand.

Soneium is built on OP Stack and integrated with Optimism Superchain.

Going mainstream is the purpose of Sony Chain. Soneium’s official Twitter account has mentioned “Go Mainstream” more than ten times, and cleverly borrowed the abbreviation GM (Go Mainstream) most often mentioned by Web3 users, which is very popular among Web3 users. Who says that people from Web2 big companies don’t understand Web3?

Soneium x Astar Network

Astar Network is reshaping its Astar zkEVM into Soneium L2 (by migration, not simple renaming), unlocking new potential. As the announcement states, working with Sony Group enables Astar to leverage its expertise in entertainment, games, and finance to integrate Web3 technology into real-world applications, thereby reaching a wider audience.

Announcement: https://x.com/AstarNetwork/status/1826832310949347807

The rebranding promotes the growth of the Astar ecosystem, enhances interoperability, and increases the value of $ASTR through higher sorter revenue, a wider user base, and greater utility.

$ASTR will power the Soneium ecosystem, but the Gas token remains $ETH. Soneium has no plans to launch a native token in the near future.

Soneium Minato Testnet and Spark Incubation Program

The Soneium Minato testnet was launched on August 28 as a testing ground for developers and creators to build and experiment with dApps.

Users can bridge ETH test coins from the Sepolia testnet to Minato via the Soneium native cross-chain bridge.

https://bridge.soneium.org/en/testnet

Soneium Spark is an ecosystem builder-centric program that provides visionary developers, creators, and projects with up to $100,000 investment per team. Other support includes marketing, business, and technical assistance.

The first batch of projects for Soneium Spark have begun accepting applications, and incubation began in mid-October, continuing to bring new applications to the Sony Chain ecosystem.

60+ Ecosystem Projects at a Glance

In just half a month, Soneium has announced more than 60 projects for development or integration. With the triple halo of Sony's global influence, vision to reach mainstream users, and Spark plan, more projects are coming soon. Next, we will introduce them one by one and classify them to give an overview of the rapidly developing Sony Chain ecosystem.

We divide ecological projects into eight categories: SocialFi, GameFi, RWA, DeFi, NFT, Infrastructure, Protocols and Cross-chain Bridges.

1. SocialFi

Yay!

Yay! is a popular Web2 social platform that aims to become a virtual world where users connect through interests. Since its launch in 2020, the number of users has exceeded 9 million and there are more than 100,000 online communities.

In August 2023, Yay! began to transform into a Web3 Social-Fi application, first integrating Worldcoin, and then cooperating with leading Web3 protocols such as LayerZero.

Yay! immediately announced its cooperation with Soneium and launched an ETH staking activity with a limit of 1,000 ETH (which can be unstaked at any time). Participants will have priority in obtaining future rights (such as native tokens, NFTs), and the quota has been filled.

https://dashboard.yay.space/stake

Metadomo 

Metadomo is a decentralized "loyalty points" trading platform that connects users' traditional loyalty program points (airline miles, credit cards, telecommunications points) and game points with global merchants (100,000 merchants worldwide). Consuming points on the platform can earn native tokens $DOMO.

Built on the Soneium network, the product is not online, and no tokens have been issued.

Layer3

Layer3 is an innovative Web3 task platform. Compared with leading task platforms such as Galxe, the advantage for project owners is that it can generate a unified view of user on-chain identities by aggregating user activities across multiple chains and dApps, and achieve highly targeted and efficient token distribution.

Currently, the platform has more than 4 million users and social interaction data exceeds 100 million.

Layer3 immediately released the task activity of exploring Soneium, exploring the Soneium Minato testnet through tasks such as cross-chain assets and joining Discord. Currently, there are more than 47,000 participants.

https://app.layer3.xyz/quests/the-soneium-minato-testnet

2. GameFi

Heal3

Heal3 is a health-related GameFi based on Astar zkEVM. Players need to buy NFT clothing (tops/pants/shoes) and earn $GHT tokens through sleep, diet management, and outdoor sports. The rarer the NFT, the more token rewards, and the tokens can be used to upgrade NFTs or trade NFTs.

As one of the few GameFis running in the Astar ecosystem, although it has not been announced yet, it is very likely to migrate to the Soneium network.

Derby Race

Derby Race is a horse racing prediction game based on Soneium. Strictly speaking, it is a GambleFi product that is under development. The team has developed similar games such as xDerby Raffle and Derby On-chain Race.

Metapro 

Metapro (Meta Protocol) is an innovative platform focused on GameFi, with the main functions of the development portal (providing GameFi development tools), Launcher (game launch and token issuance), Web3 wallet (asset wallet for Metapro game ecosystem).

Metapro announced that it will support the Soneium chain in its game wallet.

SuperVol

SuperVol has no detailed information yet, and it may be a binary option/prediction market that is more gamified.

3. RWA

All Access

All Access is a fan economy platform and a brand growth platform. The platform cooperates with 50+ offline events/stars to enable fans to earn points and redeem VIP experiences, while also providing brands with a way to directly attract and reward their most loyal fans through decentralized solutions.

No tokens have been issued yet, and no specific method of building on Soneium has been announced yet.

OpenEden

OpenEden is an on-chain U.S. Treasury bond protocol that allows users to invest in U.S. Treasury bonds (T-Bill) by holding its native stablecoin TBILL to obtain an estimated annualized return of 4.89%. TVL exceeds $100 million.

- Users deposit USDC into the OpenEden vault and receive TBILL tokens

- TBILL tokens are linked to U.S. Treasury bonds and receive returns

- Users can redeem TBILL on the chain at any time to receive USDC

Team members come from Web2 and Web3 giants such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Gemini, and Binance.

No tokens have been issued yet, and no specific method of building on Soneium has been announced yet.

DeStore Network

DeStore Network is a Web3 e-commerce platform in the Astar ecosystem that enables enterprises to sell digital twin assets (physical + digital assets) in Web3.

It has not yet issued a coin, but it is certain that it will migrate to Soneium, and it is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.

4. DeFi

Ionic

Ionic is a multi-chain lending platform that currently supports L2 networks such as Optimism, Base, BOB, and Mode, with a TVL of more than 200 million US dollars.

It has issued a coin, and the official hint is that it will soon support the Soneium network.

L2X Pro

L2X Pro is a DEX on Astar zkEVM, aiming to become Astar's trading and liquidity center, and the TVL is not very high.

The token has not been issued yet, but it has been confirmed to be migrated to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.

Very Long Swap

Very Long Swap is a DEX on Astar zkEVM, with functions such as Swap, LP, perpetual contract, IDO, etc. The TVL is currently only 176,000 US dollars.

The beta version has been launched on Soneium and the task activity has been released on Layer3.

Beta version: https://testnet.verylongswap.xyz/

L3 tasks: https://app.layer3.xyz/quests/trending-now-swap-on-soneium-minato

Algem

Algem is an LSD protocol on Astar zkEVM. Users who stake ASTR in it will receive the same amount of nASTR. While earning staking income, they can also trade liquid nASTR to earn income, or use it in the LSDFi protocol without affecting capital efficiency.

Algem's user data ranks among the best in the Astar DeFi ecosystem. It has not yet issued a coin, but has been determined to migrate to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.

waveX

waveX is the native perpetual DEX on Soneium, the First on Soneium, and is under development. The highlight is that it will integrate various LSTs, such as the nASTR mentioned above, and Ethereum's stETH, which will not only enrich waveX's capital pool, but also increase additional income for LST holders.

Currently, there is a TG mini-game: https://t.me/wavex_treasurehunt_bot

Fill in the form after playing the game to draw USDT: https://gleam.io/fMTSs/treasure-hunt-airdrop-event

Untitled Bank

Untitled Bank is a native decentralized lending platform on Soneium, which still has efficient liquidity management, risk-isolated lending structure, and modular design for enhanced flexibility and security.

Under development, no more information is available.

Velodrome

Velodrome is a veteran DEX in the Optimism ecosystem and the No. 1 DeFi protocol in TVL. By issuing its native token VELO and allocating veVELO (veNFT), it rewards liquidity (LPs) and users who actively participate in governance.

It expressed support for Soneium at the first time, but did not announce specific integration.

Avalon Finance

Avalon Finance is a multi-chain lending platform that has been deployed on chains such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, Scroll, BNB Chain, Bitlayer, and CoreDAO. But in fact, it still focuses on lending in the BTC ecosystem and supports BTC LST token deposits and borrowing. Avalon has the largest market size on the Bitlayer chain, with a total lending volume of US$280 million, followed by Merlin and CoreDAO.

Two models,

Decentralized lending: multi-chain, support for BTC LST

CeDeFi lending: connects DeFi with institutional CeFi liquidity providers, with a TVL of nearly US$80 million.

No tokens have been issued yet. It may support lending on the Soneium testnet soon, or support it as soon as possible after the mainnet. It is worth paying attention to opportunities in the testnet.

C14

C14 is a decentralized lending platform for Astar zkEVM, and the market size is not very large.

It has not yet issued a coin, and it has confirmed that it will migrate to Soneium. It is worth paying attention to opportunities in the testnet.

Sake Finance

Sake Finance is the native lending platform on Soneium, which should be over-collateralized.

Currently enter the Discord community of Sake Finance, and you can get OG status by doing tasks in the FAQ channel. The official hinted that the beta version may be launched in September.

DC Move: https://discord.gg/jmnr4rNR

Neemo Finance 

Neemo Finance is an LSD protocol on the Astar network. Like the Algem mechanism mentioned above, users can stake ASTR to obtain nsASTR. While enjoying the staking benefits, they can also trade nsASTR at any time or invest in the LSDFi protocol.

Launch on the Astar mainnet on September 9, it has been confirmed that it will migrate to Soneium, and it is speculated that it may be on the mainnet. No tokens have been issued yet.

QuickSwap

QuickSwap is a veteran DeFi protocol on Polygon, suggesting that it will support the Soneium network in the future.

Solv Protocol 

Solv Protocol is an established DeFi protocol that focuses on ERC-3525 and aims to tokenize all kinds of future cash flows, thereby bringing a new asset class to the industry.

This year, Solv Protocol has stepped on the BTCFi track and issued the full-chain yield Bitcoin packaged coin SolvBTC, which has been very popular. SolvBTC is deployed on the Bitcoin mainnet, Ethereum, BNB Chain and other chains. As a unified liquidity portal, Solv integrates various liquidity resources and investment opportunities into one platform. Users can manage their investments on Solv Protocol without accessing multiple different platforms or protocols.

Solv also hit the LSD track and launched the LSD function for SolvBTC. SolvBTC.BBN (Babylon staking) and SolvBTC.ENA (Ethena staking) can be used to obtain LST tokens SolvBTC.BBN (Babylon staking) and SolvBTC.ENA (Ethena staking) can not only obtain income, but also can be used in the LSDFi protocol to obtain potential additional income.

Tokens have been issued and it is announced that it is being built on Soneium.

SynStation

SynStation is a token staking protocol built natively on Soneium.

Currently, a staking earning points activity has been launched on the Ethereum mainnet, and ETH, USDT, USDC and WBTC can be pledged. Assets will be migrated after Soneium launches the mainnet. The first 100 users who pledge 10 ETH can get OG NFT, DYOR.

https://synstation.org

SoneFi

SoneFi is a native DeFi platform on Soneium, providing Swap, perpetual contracts, Launchpad and other functions.

The beta version is online, and you can Swap and form LP after receiving the test coins.

https://testnet.sonefi.xyz/

5. Infrastructure

Alchemy 

Soneium’s official technology partner, launching APIs and developer tools in September.

Graph Protocol 

Soneium’s official technology partner, will provide developers with secure and reliable on-chain data.

Sentio

Soneium’s official technology partner, Sentio is an on-chain monitoring tool that can help developers track and collect events, transactions, and status of smart contracts.

Thirdweb 

A full-stack Web3 development platform that will soon integrate Sony Chain.

Tokens and NFTs can be deployed, and testnet tx is added:

https://thirdweb.com/thirdweb.eth/DropERC721/deploy

Pyth Network 

Soneium's official infrastructure partner, deployed a real-time price data oracle.

Sequence

Sequence is Soneium's infrastructure partner and a full-stack Web3 developer platform that provides tools such as wallets, markets, smart contract management, indexers, and game engines. The Soneium network is being integrated.

6. NFT

Bluez

Bluez is an NFT market on the Astar network. It has not issued any tokens and will be migrated to the Soneium network.

Sonova

Sonova is an NFT market on the Astar network. It has not issued a coin (there is a TGE plan). It has confirmed that it will migrate to the Soneium network. It is worth paying attention to the opportunities in the test network.

NFTs2Me

NFTs2Me is an NFT deployment platform that supports developers to quickly create and deploy NFT collections without code.

Support for the Soneium testnet has been added. Deployment tool: https://nfts2me.com/app/soneium-minato-testnet/

NFTs2Me issued a commemorative NFT on the test network, with 0 minting fee. You can go to Mint one, which can be regarded as leaving a standard tx. DYOR.

https://angry-raccoon.testnet.nfts2.me/

7. Protocol

Astar zkEVM is the foundation, a new star project in the Optimism ecosystem, and Circle will support USDC as a founding partner.

8. Cross-chain bridge

Chainlink 

Chainlink is a founding partner and integrates the Soneium network.

Layerswap 

Layerswap is a multi-chain cross-chain bridge that supports cross-chain assets between 35 L1/L2 and more than 15 centralized exchanges.

Layerswap has integrated the Soneium testnet, and can cross-chain assets from testnets such as Ethereum Sepolia, Loopring Sepolia, Arbitrum Sepolia, Immutable zkEVM Testnet to the Soneium testnet.

No coins have been issued, so it is worthwhile to perform cross-chain interactions between multiple testnets and Soneium on Layerswap, which can also be used as tx.

https://testnet.layerswap.io/

Superbridge

Superbridge is a cross-chain solution based on Rollup, which supports users to cross-chain assets between any OP Stack or Arbitrum Nitro chain, and aims to support all Rollups on the market.

Superbridge will support cross-chain assets after the Soneium mainnet is launched.

Owlto Finance

Owlto Finance is a cross-chain bridge designed to support various Rollups and CEXs. It now supports cross-chain operations from the Soneium testnet to Ethereum Sepolia, Plume Testnet, and Bera Bartio.

No tokens have been issued yet, so it is worth doing some testnet cross-chain interactions as tx.

https://owlto.finance/

Orbiter Finance

The multi-chain cross-chain bridge Orbiter has added support for Soneium in the testnet and will support the mainnet in the future.

Summary

1. Soneium, developed by Sony, is a brand new Ethereum Layer-2 that aims to provide an open Internet for creators.

2. Sony's household name and mature global influence may arouse great interest in Soneium among Web2 users.

3. However, the market is already crowded with many L2 solutions, so it remains to be seen how much attention Soneium can gain from Web3 users and mainstream users.