Sony's Soneium Launches Its Own Token and Bets Blockchain on Entertainment Royalties

Sony's blockchain just made its biggest bet yet — and it is not on games. Soneium, the Ethereum Layer-2 network backed by Sony Group and Startale Group, is issuing its native token, SONEIUM, alongside a strategic pivot toward tokenized entertainment intellectual property: royalty funds, tokenized songs and shows, and bonds backed by entertainment businesses. After two years of trying to win consumer crypto with games, anime and music apps, Sony's chain is now asking a different question: what if the killer app for a corporate blockchain is not play, but ownership of the cash flows behind entertainment itself?

Start with what Soneium actually is, because the pivot only makes sense against the base. Launched in January 2025, Soneium set out as a consumer Web3 network for games, anime, music and apps. On paper the early traction looked real: 455 million transactions, 5.3 million wallets and more than 250 applications. But the more recent numbers tell the harder story. Daily activity has fallen to roughly 160,000 transactions and about 4,000 active addresses, and decentralised finance value locked on the network has dropped more than 95 percent from its $203 million peak to about $9.4 million. That is the context for the token launch: a network with distribution and brand, but with an ecosystem that has gone quiet, looking for a business model that does not depend on speculative trading volume.

The new plan has three products, and each one deserves a plain-English explanation. First, IP Tokens: tokens tied to individual creators and works, giving holders economic participation rights in that work. Second, IP Vaults: funds backed by royalty streams, into which eligible users can buy exposure. Third, IP Bonds: tokenized bonds backed by entertainment businesses, pitched as a new way to finance concerts, music production and similar projects. The distinction Soneium stresses matters legally and practically: copyright ownership stays with the original rights holders, and the tokens represent economic participation — closer to traditional royalty securitisation than to buying the rights themselves. That framing is clearly designed to keep the project on the right side of entertainment lawyers and regulators, and it is also the reason the plan might actually work where wilder tokenization pitches have failed.

The first vault is already concrete, not a slide. On October 27, Soneium announced an IP Vault and a stablecoin, ipUSD, tied to a $549 million royalty fund managed by Partners Group, with tokenization infrastructure provided by Asseto. The underlying assets cover more than 100,000 royalty income sources, including music works by The Weeknd and the Discovery television content library, with a projected annual yield of 7 to 9 percent. That is a serious, income-producing asset base — not a meme, not a points program. Its first IP Token project, Moriusa, has already seen strong NFT demand, and a partnership with Korea's DayOneDream aims to bring K-pop concert royalties on chain. If the vault works as described, Soneium will have done something few consumer chains have managed: connect a blockchain to cash flows that exist whether crypto is fashionable or not.

There are honest reasons to be sceptical, and a good blockchain blog should name them. Soneium's own announcement repeats the same "more than 250 applications" figure it was using at the end of 2025, without disclosing more detailed growth in active applications, paying users or ecosystem revenue — a silence that usually means the growth is not there to disclose. A token launch in a weak ecosystem also raises the usual question: is the token a coordination tool for a real economy, or a liquidity event for a quiet one? And entertainment IP is a legally tangled asset class: royalty streams are sliced across writers, performers, publishers and labels, and tokenizing the economics without tokenizing the rights is elegant on paper but untested at scale in court. None of that makes the pivot wrong. It makes it a genuine experiment, and experiments with a $549 million starting fund are worth watching closely.

What does this mean beyond Sony? It is the latest sign that the blockchain industry's centre of gravity is shifting from inventing new assets to putting existing cash flows on chain. The same week brought DTCC and Canton Network moving toward tokenizing $30 trillion in eligible securities, and Securitize extending its tokenization platform to Stellar. Soneium's version is the consumer-culture end of the same trend: if stocks, funds and Treasuries can live as blockchain records, why not the royalty cheque behind a hit song? The networks that win that race will not necessarily be the fastest or the cheapest — they will be the ones that can handle rights, compliance and real-world payouts without breaking. Sony is betting that a household brand, a Layer-2 with real transaction history, and a half-billion-dollar royalty fund are a credible entry ticket.

What to watch next, in order. First, whether the IP Vault actually opens to eligible users on schedule and whether the 7 to 9 percent projected yield survives contact with real payouts. Second, whether Moriusa and the DayOneDream K-pop royalties produce a second and third live example, or whether the vault stays a one-off showcase. Third, whether daily activity — stuck near 160,000 transactions and 4,000 active addresses — responds at all to the token launch, or whether the token trades while the network stays quiet. A blockchain pivot is judged by usage, not announcements, and Soneium has now given the market three measurable things to check.

FAQ:
What is Soneium? An Ethereum Layer-2 network launched in January 2025 by Sony Group and Startale Group, originally focused on games, anime, music and consumer Web3 apps.
What is the SONEIUM token launch? Soneium is issuing its native token alongside a pivot to tokenized entertainment IP — IP Tokens, IP Vaults and IP Bonds — announced in October 2026.
How big was Soneium's ecosystem? 455 million transactions, 5.3 million wallets and more than 250 apps claimed in total, but recent daily activity is about 160,000 transactions and 4,000 active addresses, with DeFi TVL down over 95 percent from a $203 million peak to about $9.4 million.
What is the $549 million royalty fund? An IP Vault announced October 27, with the stablecoin ipUSD, tied to a royalty fund managed by Partners Group and tokenization infrastructure from Asseto, covering 100,000+ royalty income sources including The Weeknd's music and Discovery content, with projected annual yields of 7 to 9 percent.
Do IP Token holders own the copyright? No — Soneium says copyright stays with the original rights holders; tokens represent economic participation rights, closer to royalty securitisation.
What are the first live examples? The IP Vault/ipUSD fund, the Moriusa IP Token project (strong NFT demand reported), and a DayOneDream partnership for K-pop concert royalties on chain.
Is this the same story as the Google custody or Securitize Stellar blogs? No. Those covered institutional custody and fund tokenization infrastructure. This blog covers Sony's consumer-chain pivot to entertainment IP tokenization.

Related reading: https://zimbuck.com/pages/zimbucknews
https://zimbuck.com/groups/zimbuckmarketnews
https://zimbuck.com/blogs/320/33-Companies-Just-Said-No-to-Tokenized-Stocks-and-Wall

This is market news and general information only, not financial advice.