Sonys Layer2 Soneium strategy: Focusing on Web3 security challenges

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No.: PandaLY Security Knowledge No.026

In todays era of rapid technological development, blockchain technology, with its unique advantages such as decentralization and immutability, is gradually becoming the focus of attention in various industries. The entry of Sony, a Japanese entertainment and electronics giant, has brought new vitality and opportunities to the blockchain field. Sony announced the launch of its own L2, Soneium. This major move has undoubtedly set off a wave in the blockchain world, and has also triggered widespread attention and discussion in the market about its security and future development direction.

1. Sony’s development history in blockchain

Sonys exploration in the blockchain field did not happen overnight. As early as 2023, Sony acquired the Whalefin exchange, laying the foundation for its layout in the cryptocurrency field. Earlier this year, Sony announced plans to launch its own cryptocurrency exchange S.BLOX, further demonstrating its strong interest in the blockchain field.

With the continuous development of blockchain technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, Sony has gradually realized the huge potential of blockchain in protecting intellectual property rights and promoting the circulation of digital content. Therefore, Sony Blockchain Solutions Laboratory was established in Singapore in October last year, which is responsible for the research and development and promotion of blockchain projects.

During this process, Sonys emphasis on blockchain security has become increasingly prominent. After acquiring the Whalefin exchange, Sony invested a lot of resources to upgrade the exchanges security system, including strengthening user identity authentication, encrypting and storing user assets, and establishing a real-time risk monitoring system to ensure the security of user assets. In the process of preparing for the S.BLOX cryptocurrency exchange, Sony took security as the primary consideration and hired a professional security team to conduct a comprehensive security assessment and vulnerability scan, using advanced encryption technology and multi-signature mechanisms to ensure the security and reliability of transactions.

2. Background of Soneium

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the status of L2x and the nature of L2 vs. sidechains, and with the sheer number of new chains being released that are either L1 or L2 or somewhere in between, the line between L2 and standalone L1 is blurring, with users focusing more on the actual activity of a particular chain than the underlying infrastructure. This trend seems inevitable with the rise of modular service providers, and there is currently insufficient demand for these services .

Soneium’s announcement comes a day after Story Protocol’s $80 million funding announcement. This development has sparked criticism of the infrastructure, focusing on the huge amount of money raised and the idea and actual premise of tokenizing the intellectual property market. Soneium has similarities to Story Protocol in that both are building infrastructure with more specific use cases and establishing direct or indirect relationships with products that may be able to integrate into the chain from day one, reducing the cold start problem.

In fact, Soneium is not Sonys first foray into the blockchain space. Earlier this year, Sony announced plans to launch its own cryptocurrency exchange, S.BLOX, following its acquisition of the Whalefin exchange in 2023. Sony Blockchain Solutions Lab, headquartered in Singapore and established last October, will be responsible for the Soneium project. Soneium was built in partnership with Startale, which is responsible for Japans leading blockchain Astar Network. Startale will use its Astar zkEVM implementation to help develop Soneium and integrate ASTR in the Soneium ecosystem. ASTR saw some buying pressure following the announcement, but it fell short of expectations, perhaps indicating a certain gap between crypto market participants and more Asia-focused blockchains and applications.

Sony is a time-tested and successful brand with iconic products such as the Walkman and PlayStation. The news of Soneium comes at a time when the release of a Chinese game has significantly boosted PlayStation 5 sales, but the game has also been criticized for some issues. This is similar to Sonys entry into the crypto space, which, while potentially lucrative, also faces opposition that needs to be overcome.

3. Soneium’s Architecture and Features

Architecture Analysis

Soneium is a Layer 2 network built on OP Stack, jointly developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs and Startale Labs. In the future, the Astar zkEVM network will transition to Soneiums second layer, and Soneium will join Optimisms Superchain network and contribute to the Optimism Collective.

• Data availability layer:

Using a design similar to Optimism, it relies on the Ethereum network to provide data availability, ensuring data integrity and availability. However, this also brings certain risks. If the Ethereum network fails or is attacked, Soneiums data availability may be affected. To reduce this risk, Sony can consider establishing a backup data storage mechanism or establishing connections with multiple blockchain networks to ensure that Soneium can still operate normally when problems occur on the Ethereum network.

• Indexing layer:

A single sorter architecture may be adopted, where transaction sorting and processing are completed by a single sorter controlled by Sony Block Solutions Labs and the Startale team, which may concentrate risks and is also the teams main source of income on the Soneium network. In order to improve security, a multi-sorter architecture can be introduced, or a distributed sorting algorithm can be used to disperse the power of transaction sorting to multiple nodes to reduce the risk of single point failure.

• Inference layer:

Similar to Optimism, it is responsible for converting the raw data in the data availability layer into a format that can be processed in the execution layer. In this process, it is necessary to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the data to prevent data tampering or loss. Encryption technology and digital signatures can be used to verify and protect data.

• Execution layer:

Op-geth is responsible for executing transactions, supporting traditional Ethereum transactions and L2 transactions, and calculating gas. In the process of executing transactions, it is necessary to ensure the legality and security of transactions and prevent malicious transactions. Smart contract auditing and security monitoring can be used to monitor and analyze transactions in real time, and abnormal transactions can be discovered and handled in a timely manner.

• Settlement layer:

The development team has not yet clarified the fraud proof mechanism to be used. The fraud proof mechanism is an important security mechanism in the Layer 2 network, which can ensure the correctness and legitimacy of transactions. Sony should determine the fraud proof mechanism as soon as possible and conduct sufficient testing and optimization to improve the security and reliability of Soneium.

• Governance:

In the Minato testnet phase, the governance layer uses a single address to upgrade contracts, which poses a centralization risk. In order to improve the security and decentralization of governance, multi-signature contracts or DAO governance mechanisms can be introduced to allow more participants to participate in the governance of the network and improve the transparency and fairness of decision-making.

Security Risks

• Network architecture security

Soneium uses Optimism Rollup technology, and the data availability layer is based on the Ethereum network, using its security to ensure data integrity and availability, but there are also certain risks. If a large-scale security incident occurs on the Ethereum network, Soneium may be implicated. In addition, as a Layer 2 network, Soneium also needs to face the risk of attacks from Layer 1 and other Layer 2 networks. In order to cope with these risks, Sony needs to establish a complete security protection system, including network monitoring, vulnerability scanning, emergency response, etc., to promptly detect and handle security incidents.

• Smart contract security:

Support for smart contracts written in Solidity is subject to independent security audits. Smart contracts are the core of blockchain applications. Once a vulnerability occurs, it may lead to serious security issues. Sony should hire a professional security auditing agency to conduct a comprehensive audit and test of the smart contracts on Soneium to ensure the security and reliability of smart contracts. At the same time, Sony can also establish a smart contract vulnerability reward mechanism to encourage developers and security researchers to discover and report vulnerabilities in smart contracts and improve the security of smart contracts.

• Governance Mechanism

Currently, contract upgrades using a single address may require the introduction of more complex governance mechanisms, such as multi-signature contracts or DAOs. Imperfect governance mechanisms may lead to power concentration and opaque decision-making, which will affect the security and stability of the network. Sony should actively explore and introduce more decentralized governance mechanisms to allow more participants to participate in the governance of the network and improve the fairness and transparency of decision-making.

• Transaction verification security aspects

The fraud proof mechanism that has not yet been clearly used may affect the ability to handle transaction disputes. The fraud proof mechanism is an important means to ensure the correctness and legality of transactions. Sony should determine the fraud proof mechanism as soon as possible and conduct sufficient testing and optimization to improve the security and reliability of transaction verification. At the same time, Sony can also introduce other transaction verification technologies, such as zero-knowledge proof and multi-party computing, to improve the efficiency and security of transaction verification.

4. Future Prospects of Soneium

Currently, there is limited public information about Soneium. Its relationship with Astar and the specific application launch have attracted much attention. The team said that it will make the chain very developer-friendly, not limited to Sonys existing products and services, and has formulated plans to immediately attract Web3 developers and users, focusing on existing Sony products, and plans to launch in the second phase of the chain, which will start within two years, and will then seek to attract other businesses.

Similar to Story Protocol, Soneium also plans to help protect creators’ intellectual property. Whether Soneium can attract a large number of developers and users remains to be seen, but this move shows that large companies with a history of innovation and adaptation are willing to get involved in encrypted products and services, and also reflects the Asian encryption trend. Its launch and compatibility with global games and applications remain to be seen.

Security issues are of vital importance in the development of blockchain technology. With a comprehensive development ecosystem that supports advanced smart contract functions, and a scalable infrastructure designed to handle high-volume applications, Soneium ensures that projects can develop without restrictions. Soneium also provides extensive documentation for developers and creators, and will be equipped with a set of third-party development tools needed to develop and launch applications. In the future, as the Soneium ecosystem continues to grow, we, together with our ChainSource team, look forward to better development of the entire blockchain under its security guarantee.

Conclusion

Sony has entered the blockchain field and launched the Soneium Layer 2 network, demonstrating its active exploration in the field of emerging technologies. From the development history, Sony has gradually deepened into the blockchain field through the acquisition of exchanges and other measures, and realized its potential in protecting intellectual property rights and promoting the circulation of digital content. The background of the birth of Soneium reflects the current trends and challenges in the development of the blockchain industry. Its architecture and characteristics have both advantages and security risks. Security measures need to be continuously improved and strengthened in the data availability layer, indexing layer, derivation layer, execution layer, settlement layer and governance layer. In the future, the development of Soneium is full of uncertainty, but if Sony can give full play to its brand advantages and technical strength, and solve security problems at the same time, it is expected to succeed in the blockchain field and contribute to the protection of creators intellectual property rights and the development of the blockchain ecosystem. However, this requires Sony to continue to invest resources, strengthen the construction of the security team, cooperate with professional security organizations, and actively participate in the formulation of security standards to ensure that Soneium stands out in the fierce market competition.

Lianyuan Technology is a company focused on blockchain security. Our core work includes blockchain security research, on-chain data analysis, and asset and contract vulnerability rescue. We have successfully recovered many stolen digital assets for individuals and institutions. At the same time, we are committed to providing project security analysis reports, on-chain traceability, and technical consulting/support services to industry organizations.

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