Sony’s Blockchain Partner Launches Institutional-Grade Stablecoin for Soneium

Startale Group, Sony’s blockchain collaborator on the Soneium network, has launched an institutional-grade dollar stablecoin on Wednesday as the default settlement currency for the Ethereum layer-2 platform.

The stablecoin, Startale USD (USDSC), went live alongside a rewards program called STAR Points that incentivizes transactions through the Startale App, as per a press release shared with Decrypt.

Sony launched Soneium in January, following a testing period that drew over 14 million users and processed 50 million transactions.

“USDSC is the digital dollar for Soneium that powers everything in the Startale App,” Sota Watanabe, founder of Astar Network and CEO of Startale Group, told Decrypt. “As more users and creators join Soneium, everyone needs a stable and trusted currency to move money around, make payments, and earn consistent yields.”

Universal stablecoin platform M0, which recently partnered with MetaMask and Stripe’s Bridge for the MUSD stablecoin, is providing the “underlying infrastructure for USDSC, connecting issuance, application logic, and liquidity into a single programmable system.”

“We believe that USDSC can become more than a digital dollar; it can be the foundation of a payment railway and yield opportunities designed to empower the creator economy on Soneium,” Watanabe said.

Users can earn STAR Points by minting and holding USDSC, providing liquidity on Uniswap, and interacting with apps, while select Soneium projects will distribute tokens and rewards through the Startale App.

The Startale App waitlist is now open, offering early access to USDSC features and STAR Points.

Stablecoin momentum builds

Stablecoin issuer Circle secured Japan’s first approval for a dollar-pegged stablecoin in March with USDC.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has also reportedly approved a yen-stablecoin pilot to roll out next March, from megabanks MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho under its new Payment Innovation framework.

The regulator has signed off on JPYC, the first fully regulated yen-backed stablecoin in Japan, while Ripple and SBI Holdings are preparing to roll out the RLUSD stablecoin early next year through SBI VC Trade.

The global stablecoin market is currently valued at over $310 billion, according to CoinGecko data, but users on prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt‘s parent company Dastan, place an 88% chance on their total capitalization failing to exceed $360 billion before next February.

Sony’s stablecoin plans

Sony Group is reportedly planning to issue its own dollar-denominated stablecoin next year for purchasing games and anime within its digital ecosystem.

The group’s banking division, Sony Bank, has partnered with stablecoin firm Bastion, which will provide stablecoin services for Sony affiliates, with the latter responsible for “stablecoin issuance, reserve management, and custody at scale for Sony Bank,” according to a press release shared with Decrypt.

Sony Bank has also filed to acquire a U.S. national banking charter in October, which would allow its subsidiary Connectia Trust to engage in crypto activities.