Sony-backed Soneium unveils native SONEIUM token and tokenized IP investment products

Soneium, an Ethereum-compatible layer 2 blockchain built by Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture between Sony Group and Startale Group, is expanding beyond blockchain infrastructure to build an onchain entertainment economy.

The project on Monday announced plans to introduce its native ecosystem token, $SONEIUM, and new investment products based on tokenized intellectual property. The initiative aims to connect creators, intellectual property owners, developers, fans and investors through onchain funding and revenue-sharing opportunities.

Launched last January, Soneium’s ecosystem has expanded to include more than 250 applications across music, gaming, anime, film, collectibles and fan creations.

With the latest plan, the team seeks to give creators new ways to fund their work, provide IP owners with greater control over licensing and rights in the AI era, and allow fans and investors to participate in the growth of entertainment properties.

New model links entertainment IP to onchain investment

Under its Tokenized IP model, creative works can be represented onchain through tokens linked to their potential future economic value.

IP tokens can represent creators, studios or individual titles, with collectibles supporting fandom and fungible tokens serving as currencies within specific IP economies, according to Soneium. Both can allow fans and investors to contribute capital, with automated revenue splits potentially distributing commercial proceeds.

The first project is Moriusa, a character IP owned by Super State Holdings, which plans to explore opportunities in merchandise, animated short series and licensing.

Additional products will include IP Vault, offering indirect access to entertainment investment opportunities such as music catalog funds, and IP Bond, a bond product backed by entertainment businesses.

Soneium is also partnering with DayOneDream to tokenize concert business royalties from established K-pop artists.

Blockchain tools aim to automate IP licensing and revenue flows

The Soneium Portal will act as the main platform for discovering and investing in tokenized IP, beginning with primary sales and later adding fan participation and royalty distribution, the team noted.

Soneium is also building an Onchain IP Architecture comprising an IP Registry, IP Graph and IP Execution Layer to register works, map relationships between original and derivative creations, and automate licensing and revenue flows.

Its planned support for ERC-8432, a proposed open Ethereum standard, is intended to give applications and autonomous AI agents a common way to query licensing terms and verify agreements across chains and platforms.

The $SONEIUM token is designed to connect participants across the ecosystem, with further details on its TGE to be disclosed later. The Startale App will provide an additional access point for users to manage assets, discover projects and participate in the network.