Sony-Backed Soneium Plans $SONEIUM Token to Power Tokenized IP and K-Pop Royalties

Sony-backed Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain Soneium has announced plans to launch a native ecosystem token, $SONEIUM, to facilitate an onchain entertainment economy focused on tokenized intellectual property. The network, developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, intends to utilize a framework including an IP Registry, IP Graph, and IP Execution Layer to automate royalty and licensing payments for music, anime, and gaming assets. By supporting the draft ERC-8432 standard, Soneium aims to make licensing terms machine-readable for platforms and AI agents. The project plans to introduce IP Tokens, IP Vaults for royalty-backed funds, and IP Bonds tied to entertainment revenue, such as K-pop concert earnings. A partnership with DayOneDream will specifically bring K-pop concert royalties onchain as tokenized bonds. While the network currently uses ETH for gas, the new token is intended to align ecosystem participants rather than serve as a gas token. The initiative represents a significant shift for the L2, moving from a general-purpose network to a specialized infrastructure for entertainment IP. However, the project has not yet disclosed tokenomics, a token generation event date, or specific regulatory compliance strategies for these investment-grade instruments.