LY Corporation has refuted claims that its Web3 initiative, Line Next, formed a business alliance with Soneium, which is an Ethereum layer-2 network backed by Sony.
This assertion, released on March 28, came after various media and social media outlets suggested that a partnership had been established between LY Corporation and Soneium.
“The reports stemmed from an announcement made by Soneium on [March 12], indicating its intention to leverage the LINE API and LINE Mini Apps on our platform, but no formal business partnership has been created between Soneium and LY Corporation,” the company stated.
In a reply, a representative from Soneium remarked: “Our March 12 announcement points to a collaboration that aims to explore the integration of on-chain Mini Apps within the Line ecosystem. We maintain the accuracy of all the content presented in our official statement.
“LY Corporation has also referred readers to our announcement for further context and clarification. Additionally, Soneium obtained authorization to mention Line in that announcement, and the Kaia Mini App isn’t exclusive to any particular provider,” the spokesperson added.
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Japanese giants and their blockchain initiatives
LY Corporation is a prominent Japanese tech entity formed through the merger of several major companies, including Line — the largest messaging platform in Japan — and Yahoo Japan. The 2023 merger also integrated Line’s Web3 division, Line Next, into the LY Corporation framework.
Line Next was founded in late 2021 and secured $140 million in December 2023 through a consortium led by Crescendo Equity Partners. In January, it launched “Mini Dapps,” which feature games and social content within the LINE messenger, mirroring the popularity of Telegram’s Mini Apps that achieved significant traction through tap-to-earn games and airdrops.
Powered by Kaia, a layer-1 blockchain created by merging Line’s Finschia chain with Kakao’s Klaytn network, Line’s Mini Dapps continue to gain traction, with a March 6 announcement revealing they had exceeded 35 million users.
The top Mini Dapp generated $773,000 in revenue during its launch month on Line. Source: Line Corporation
Much like Line Next, Soneium is also supported by a major Japanese technology company, in this instance, Sony. Developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, Soneium launched its mainnet in January, incorporating features such as NFTs related to Amazon Prime Video content.
Soneium taps into the global appeal of Japanese anime
On March 28, Soneium revealed a new partnership with Animoca Brands aimed at promoting anime culture within the Web3 landscape.
Through this collaboration, Animoca’s digital identity platform, Moca Network, will introduce a decentralized identity layer on Soneium, beginning with Anime ID, a reputation-based identifier for anime enthusiasts.
This initiative comes at a time of heightened global interest in anime content. In a 2024 media interview, the president of anime streaming service Crunchyroll, Rahul Purini, mentioned that their research indicated 800 million individuals outside of China and Japan — where Crunchyroll’s offerings are limited — are engaged with anime content.
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