Soneium and Astar Join Forces, Focusing on Entertainment and Finance to Accelerate Web3 Adoption
Soneium is a Layer2 network supported by Sony and led by Startale (Astar's development team), led by Astar's founder Sota Watanabe. Soneium and Astar are deeply integrated in resources and strategy, with ASTR as the core asset of the Astar ecosystem, and is expected to become a representative asset of Soneium, playing a key role in its application scenarios, with potential for token exchange.
Recently, JE Labs founder Evie dialogued with Sota, deeply exploring the two important projects under his leadership - the public chain Astar and the Layer2 network Soneium co-built with Sony. In the interview, Sota shared the strategic collaboration transformation logic of Astar to Soneium and revealed new attempts to combine Web3 and Web2.
From Highlight Public Chain to Web3 Adoption Platform: Astar's Three-Stage Evolution
Sota shared the complete path of Astar's evolution from a public chain to a Web3 adoption platform. He stated: "We proposed the Astar Evolution three-stage plan, aiming to build a world where billions of people use Web3 technology, not just serving the geek circle." By jointly establishing the Sony Block Solution Lab with Sony Group, Startale developed the Layer2 public chain Soneium as a collaborative ecosystem of Astar, jointly promoting large-scale Web3 adoption.
Long-Termism Driven: Astar and Soneium Co-Build a Positive-Sum Ecosystem
Sota, with his dual identity as Astar founder and Soneium director, promotes deep collaboration between the two ecosystems, building a positive-sum network around "long-termism".
Currently, Soneium has not independently issued a Token, using ASTR as the collective asset of the ecosystem. Through the on-chain contribution mechanism called ACS (Astar Contribution Score), developers and users can earn ASTR and OP (Optimism Token) rewards by contributing to the Soneium ecosystem. Astar thus becomes the representative asset on Soneium.
"We are not working for short-term returns, we are preparing for 2030, or even 2040," Sota said. As a serial entrepreneur, Sota believes that technology should empower more individuals and bring Web3 into the public eye. "What we are doing is a long-term game of over ten years, ultimately becoming one of the top three to five global mainnets," Sota emphasized. After the ACS activity was launched, TVL doubled. Currently, with Soneium's mainnet online for only two months, it has risen to the global top 14, with the goal of moving towards the top 3.
Entertainment Strategy: Key Breakthrough for Web3 Adoption
Sota emphasized that entertainment and social interaction are powerful tools for driving Web3 adoption, sharing the star project built on Soneium - Yoake, a decentralized entertainment platform where fans can vote on idol performance content through the chain, attracting over ten thousand offline participants and twenty thousand voters. Most crucially, users can smoothly participate in voting and interaction without understanding blockchain.
"The biggest advantage of on-chain voting is its immutability, even we cannot change the results," Sota emphasized.
Building Long-Term Moat: From Financial Foundation to Star Applications
Soneium's strategic path is divided into two layers: first, building stable financial infrastructure (such as DeFi integration), then undertaking large-scale entertainment, social, and other Web2-level applications. "Before building the entertainment layer, I prefer to first establish the financial layer. On this basis, we will then build application scenarios," Sota revealed that they are collaborating with DeFi blue-chip projects like Uniswap. He simultaneously emphasized: "Fundamentally, our success can be measured by how many Web2 users we attract. We don't want to play a zero-sum game, but rather hope to create a positive-sum situation."
For Soneium, true victory is not just the migration of Web3 native users, but whether it can attract Web2 users who have never touched Web3 through killer applications in the next one or two years - this is the core mission of building the "next mainstream blockchain". Entertainment + Web3 is the key to attracting Web2 users, truly breaking the Web3 user cycle of "airdrop to pull people, leave during bull market".
Global Orientation but Not Forgetting Local: Advantages and Opportunities in the Japanese Market
Although the Startale team comes from over 20 countries with 80+ employees, Sota also highly values the Japanese local market. He mentioned that Japan's regulatory environment is being optimized, with favorable stablecoin and tax policies driving more funds and users into the market. Startale is also collaborating with successful case Startbahn to further expand its influence in Japan.
Sota is confident about the Japanese market. He pointed out, "If the tax rate drops from 55% to 20%, Japanese investors will flood into the market"
Next Stage: Redefining the Connection Between Blockchain and the Masses
Sota stated that current Web3 projects are competitive but lack practical applications. Soneium will focus on a "user-first" core concept, connecting Web2 and Web3, from finance to entertainment, building a sustainable ecosystem loop.
Facing market cycles and industry competition, Sota clearly pointed out Soneium's differentiated path - building a Web3 world that non-technical users can naturally participate in through extreme usability + powerful distribution channels + mass-oriented killer products.
About
Astar Official Twitter: https://x.com/AstarNetwork
Astar Official Website: https://t.co/UB8q2Fdl7x
Soneium Official Twitter: https://x.com/soneium
Soneium Official Website: https://soneium.org/
Startale Official Twitter: https://x.com/StartaleGroup
Startale Official Website: https://startale.com/en
