Soneium, Sony Group’s Ethereum Layer 2 platform, has found itself embroiled in its first controversy just days after its mainnet launch. As part of its intellectual property (IP) and contract protection policies, the project moved to restrict the activities of meme coins on its platform by blocking their movements at the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) node level. However, crypto-savvy users quickly found a way to circumvent these measures, highlighting the resilience of decentralized platforms.
How Users Bypassed the Block
The issue first surfaced on social media, where Soneium users reported heavy losses due to their inability to offload positions in several meme coins. The block was implemented at the RPC level, complicating the connection between decentralized contracts and the blockchain. But researchers and skilled programmers soon discovered a workaround. Luca Donno, an L2beat researcher, successfully bypassed the block by leveraging L1 transactions, sidestepping the chain’s sequencer censorship in the process. “Soneium is a standard OP stack chain,” Donno explained, meaning it must comply with the condition that users can submit transactions directly on L1. This option, however, is only available to users who can edit transactions programmatically, leaving the majority of retail users without a ready solution.
Vitalik Buterin’s Take: Free Market at Play
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in on the situation, calling it a “demonstration of how launching an Ethereum L2 is great for businesses and users.” He stressed that businesses can make choices regarding the level of control they surrender to users. “This is all free market at play,” Buterin said, implying that the tension between platform restrictions and user circumvention is a healthy part of an open ecosystem.
Soneium Officials Defend the Move
Mingshi Song, head of DeFi at Soneium, acknowledged that these rules were “stepping stones” for blockchain to reach mainstream adoption. “While these rules and their enforcement are not perfect, the goal is always to build frameworks that businesses can trust while preserving the fundamental principle of user sovereignty,” Song assessed. Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Labs — the development firm behind Soneium — also chimed in, noting that building such a chain would not be easy. “Someone had to initiate these IP rights and protection initiatives to onboard the mainstream business,” he concluded.
Implications for Layer 2 Governance
The incident underscores a broader debate in the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem: how much control should L2 sequencers and operators have? Soneium’s approach — blocking transactions at the RPC level — is relatively soft compared to more aggressive censorship options, yet it still provoked a strong reaction from the community. The fact that users were able to bypass the block via L1 demonstrates the fundamental permissionless nature of Ethereum, even when L2 operators try to impose restrictions. However, the solution is not accessible to everyone, raising questions about fairness and user experience. As Sony continues to roll out its blockchain ambitions, balancing corporate IP protection with the ethos of decentralization will remain a central challenge. The Soneium controversy may well become a case study for how legacy enterprises navigate the crypto space.