Sony Layer 2 Soneium Fields User Uproar Over Frozen Memecoins

Sony, the second-largest consumer electronics company by units sold, today launched its own Ethereum Layer 2 chain, a major milestone for both the Japanese company and the blockchain industry. Still, the day quickly soured.

Within hours of the launch, users started to complain on the Soneium Discord channel and on X that they were unable to trade tokens such as Aibo and Toro. Sony’s Layer 2 has labeled the memecoins “forbidden,” rendering untradeable, citing intellectual property concerns.

Soneium’s decision to protect intellectual property rights has sparked a heated debate over the balance between corporate control and the decentralized principles of blockchain, putting the platform’s approach under scrutiny within the crypto community.

“Measures were put in place to safeguard the rights of IP holders,” a spokesperson for Sony Block Solutions Labs, told DL News. “In the two cases where Sony’s IP was used without authorisation, swift action was necessary to uphold our mission of protecting creators’ rights,” the spokesperson said.

Public blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana were built to enable permissionless and uncensorable access to financial services. Nodes on these chains are unable to stop or interfere with transactions and software code. That architecture clashes with a chain where a centralized corporation can have direct and unilateral control over which tokens are traded.

User Outrage

Several prominent crypto users voiced their disappointment and outrage across social media platforms like X shortly after Soneium’s actions came to light. Some even accused the platform of “rugging them,” a term used when projects unfulfill their promises or in the worse scenarios, steal user funds.

“Soneium rugged users >$100k in ETH on launch day. I've never seen anything like it,” a popular crypto account that goes by the handle of @0xKawz shared on X. “Want to be a permissioned chain? fine. Instead of whitelisting developers, they chose to instead freeze contracts (effectively rugging users).”

Similarly, Alon (@a1lon9), a crypto account with more than 80,000 followers, stated: “Sony’s new Ethereum L2 is actively blacklisting memecoins they don’t like, instantly nuking everyone’s position to 0.”

Alon added: “What makes you think that other centralized L2s won’t do the same if push comes to shove? Don’t take your freedoms for granted.”

Soneium uses tools such as Blockaid to identify IP infringement and restrict contract addresses, according to its docs.

“Soneium actively prevents unauthorized use of major IPs and takes action to uphold legal and ethical standards, ensuring protection for creators worldwide,” the docs say. Users like Pop Punk (@PopPunkOnChain), the co-founder of G8Keep, said on X Sony’s Layer 2 IP standards mean the chain can “freeze ANY assets they want.”

Soneium’s Layer 2 is built on the Optimism Foundation’s OP Stack. The chain’s mainnet launch follows a four-month testnet period, with over 14 million active wallets and 47 million transactions processed, according to a press release.