In August, electronics giant Sony launched Soneium, a layer-2 blockchain, and established Sony Block Solutions Labs (Sony BSL) to spearhead its blockchain ventures. In a recent development, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has partnered with Sony to expand the USDC ecosystem through the Soneium blockchain. This collaboration also seeks to position USDC as a key token within the Soneium network, further integrating stablecoins into Sony’s blockchain strategy.

For Sony, this partnership is expected to capitalize on USDC’s strong market reputation to attract users and creators to its suite of customised blockchain services. Meanwhile, Circle will integrate its ‘Bridged USDC Standard’ with Soneium, making the US-dollar-backed stablecoin more accessible to a broader range of blockchain users.

In an official announcement posted over the weekend, Circle explained that “Bridged USDC serves as a proxy for native USDC held on Ethereum, enabling developers building on layer 2 blockchains like Soneium to easily power their apps with digital dollar payments.”

Jun Watanabe, Chairman of Sony Block Solutions Labs, emphasised that this move aims to deepen the integration of blockchain technology into the entertainment and finance sectors.

“This collaboration aligns ideally with our vision of creating a more interconnected and efficient digital ecosystem,” Watanabe said.

Jeremy Allaire, the Co-Founder and CEO at Circle has called this partnership a ‘milestone’ moment for Circle.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Sony Block Solutions Labs to re-imagine how creativity and innovation are supported in the digital age,” said Allaire.

Within a month of its launch, Soneium has reportedly finalised partnerships with multiple Web3 platforms like Astar, Alchemy, Chainlink, Optimism, and The Graph.

Built on the Ethereum blockchain, the Soneium blockchain has been designed on the basics of ‘open Internet’ to encourage the creation of decentralised landscape for entertainment, gaming, and finance sectors among others.