LINE says it’s not in bed with Sony’s Soneium after all

LY Corporation denied that its Web3 venture, Line Next, had entered into a business partnership with Soneium, a Sony-backed Ethereum layer-2 network.

The statement, issued on March 28, followed media reports and social media coverage that suggested a partnership had been finalized between LY and Soneium.

“These reports were based on an announcement made by Soneium on [March 12] that it plans to expand its business by using the LINE API and LINE Mini Apps on our platform, although no business partnership or the like has been established between Soneium and LY Corporation,” LY said.

In response, a Soneium spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “Our March 12 announcement refers to a collaboration, which involves exploring the integration of onchain Mini Apps within the Line ecosystem. We stand by the accuracy of all content published in our official statement.

“LY Corporation has also directed readers to our announcement for context and clarification. Additionally, Soneium received permission to reference Line in that announcement, and the Kaia Mini App is not exclusive to any single provider,” the spokesperson added.

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Japanese tech titans and their blockchain ventures

LY Corporation is a Japanese tech giant formed through the merger of several major entities, including Line — Japan’s largest messaging platform — and Yahoo Japan. The 2023 merger also brought Line’s Web3 arm, Line Next, under the LY umbrella.

Line Next was established in late 2021 and raised $140 million in December 2023 from a consortium led by Crescendo Equity Partners. In January, it launched “Mini Dapps,” which offer games and social content within the LINE messenger — echoing the popularity of Telegram’s Mini Apps, which soared in popularity through tap-to-earn games and airdrops.

Line’s Mini Dapps are powered by Kaia, a layer-1 blockchain formed by merging Line’s Finschia chain with Kakao’s Klaytn network. On March 6, Line announced that its Mini Dapps had surpassed 35 million users.

Like Line Next, Soneium is backed by a Japanese tech heavyweight, in this case, Sony. Developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, Soneium launched its mainnet in January with features such as NFTs tied to Amazon Prime Video content.

Soneium taps into the global power of Japanese anime

On March 28, Soneium announced a separate partnership with Animoca Brands to promote anime culture in Web3.

Through the partnership, Animoca’s digital identity platform, Moca Network, will create a decentralized identity layer on Soneium, starting with Anime ID, a reputation-based identifier for anime fans.

The move comes amid surging global interest in anime content. In a 2024 media interview, Rahul Purini, president of anime streaming app Crunchyroll, said the platform’s research found 800 million people outside of China and Japan — where Crunchyroll’s library and access are limited — watch anime content.

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