Controversial Launch of Soneium Sparks Debate as Researchers Unveil OP Stack’s Anti-Censorship Mechanism, Enabling Execution of Transactions on Mainnet, Bypassing L2
The highly anticipated Sony Group’s Ethereum Layer 2 Soneium recently launched its mainnet, but immediately sparked controversy. Generally, the public’s biggest concerns regarding major players venturing into blockchain technology revolve around two main points: first, how much resources the group is willing to invest in blockchain, whether as a serious endeavor or merely experimental. Second, the issue of centralization, as exemplified by Deutsche Bank’s Layer 2 display. Soneium’s controversy falls into the latter category, as the public chain can review token contracts during the RPC phase and reject transaction executions if deemed unsuitable.
Soneium will freeze tokens and does not possess anti-censorship characteristics
Co-founder of the derivative protocol Polynomial, @gauthamzzz, shared some controversies surrounding Soneium’s initial launch on Twitter. He stated that when creating tokens on Soneium, the public chain would review token contracts and reject transaction executions during the RPC phase. If they disapprove of your token contract, you would receive a denial response without specific feedback on the contract’s deficiencies. When Soneium decides to reject transaction executions, early token traders cannot sell their tokens, resulting in losses.
L2beat researcher bypasses L2 to execute transactions on L1
Individual Donnoh explained that he attempted to create the $aibo token following the standards of Soneium’s DEX dyorswap, which is named after Sony’s robot dog. However, he was promptly prohibited from creating the token. Donnoh, being a researcher at L2beat, utilized the features of OP Stack to circumvent executing transactions on Ethereum’s mainnet via Layer 2.
Special rules of Soneium: Strict IP protection review
Soneium also clarified that the rules on this chain are particularly focused on IP protection. While they encourage applications like meme coins, any suspected copyright infringement will blacklist the token contract during the RPC phase. However, this blacklist is reversible, meaning that after necessary modifications to comply with Soneium’s rules, tokens can still be successfully released. There has already been a successful case of unlocking a previously blacklisted token.
Soneium also announced IP-related rules, including:
-Prohibition of using names: asset names, stock codes, or images cannot reference other companies, projects, individuals, or protected entities (e.g., Sony).
-Prohibition of copyrighted content: unauthorized usage of specific images, personalities, artists, games, products, or other copyrighted materials is not permitted.
Specifically, there is a 12-hour grace period for token issuance. If copyright suspicions arise during this period, the token will first move to a suspicious token list, and an official notification will be sent in advance with detailed reasoning explaining why the token is banned. Token developers can interact directly with the official team to resolve issues within this period. If problems remain unresolved within this timeframe, the token will be moved to the blacklist. An official committee has also been established to review related regulations.
OP Stack L2 possesses anti-censorship characteristics
@gauthamzzz stated that this is a critical design feature of OP Stack, which compels every Layer 2 to inherit Ethereum’s security guarantees. While Soneium may attempt reviews at the RPC level, they cannot prevent users from forcibly executing transactions via L1. This is not a hacking tactic but an inherent design of OP Stack, ensuring that all Layer 2 tools utilizing it inherit anti-censorship features.
Binji, responsible for Optimism’s NFT sector, also mentioned that centralized censors cannot fully review transactions, as users can always enforce Layer 2 transactions via Layer 1.
Vitalik Buterin also believed that Soneium’s case perfectly demonstrates how Ethereum Layer 2 provides significant flexibility for enterprises in setting public chain rules. Regardless of the rules chosen, everything is on-chain, transparent, and subject to third-party audits. Whether in an open or closed ecosystem, users can make choices with an understanding of the rules.
Similar rule-making is even more pronounced in Deutsche Bank’s Layer 2.
(Formerly Europe’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank launches a stripped-down version of Ethereum Layer 2 based on zkSync to comply with regulatory requirements)
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