Vitalik Buterin Discusses Blockchain Soneium: Concerns of Concentration

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently shared his opinion on Sony’s new blockchain platform, Soneium, launching on January 14.

He analyzed in detail how it presents the benefits of Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solutions for businesses and users.

Buterin Highlights Transparency and Control in Soneium

According to Buterin, deploying an Ethereum L2 is a powerful tool for businesses. L2 helps them make granular decisions about the level of control they want to retain over their systems.

“Businesses can make very granular choices about the level of control they retain or give to users. But whatever rule they choose, that’s the rule. Everything is on-chain, transparent and auditable by a third party,” Buterin said on X.

These comment Buterin’s announcement comes amid concerns about asset freezes and rug-pull allegations that raise questions about Soneium’s centrality. Soneium builds on Optimism’s OP Stack, which reportedly blocks traders from being able to trade certain Meme Coin Coins.

Soneium responded that it had imposed temporary restrictions on certain contracts to protect intellectual property rights.

“We have taken steps to protect intellectual property rights, ensuring a fair and inclusive ecosystem. Temporary restrictions on certain contracts at the RPC level have been applied to protect creator rights while encouraging responsible innovation,” Soneium clarify.

However, Buterin emphasized that the transparency inherent in blockchain technology means businesses cannot hide behind opaque systems. Whatever rule they choose to enforce is clear to everyone.

Ethereum L2 can be used to create closed systems where the operator has complete control over the environment. In these cases, the system can allow moderators to edit the “state root” – the core structure of the blockchain.

However, because everything is on-chain, users completely know what they are getting into. The presence of independent auditors and various “internet sleuths” also ensures that even in a closed system, users can monitor and verify platform operations.

He emphasized L2 technology and its ability to create multiple Blockchains serving different business models.

Buterin added that businesses can also choose to design more open systems. He emphasized that businesses have the freedom to choose between models, from completely closed to completely open.

For example, Sony’s Soneium falls into the hybrid category. In this system, users have the option to trade on Ethereum L2 if needed, but the process has a “major hurdle.”

“And you can also create a system where users know they can send transactions on L2 if needed, but there’s a big barrier – the handler can throttle but not moderate. This is exactly what Sony did,” Buterin explained.

However, not everyone is satisfied with Buterin’s clarification.

“It doesn’t make sense to use blockchain if they treat it like a private database,” write Crypto influencer Pop Punk on X.