Vitalik Buterin Supports Soneium Amid Ethereum Layer-2 Dominance Battle

• Soneium introduces governance mechanisms that balance oversight with user autonomy, sparking industry-wide debate.
• Competition among Ethereum Layer-2 solutions intensifies, with new protocols like Soneium and Ink challenging established players.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed strong support for Soneium, a new Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution built on the Ethereum blockchain.

His comments come in the wake of controversy surrounding onchain restrictions implemented by Soneium, which some critics label as financial censorship.

Buterin emphasized that blockchain technology offers businesses and users unique flexibility, allowing them to establish fine-tuned controls while maintaining transparency.

Highlighting the Soneium case, he argued that blockchain systems enable businesses to define clear rules, enforceable through onchain mechanisms that are fully auditable by third parties.

Soneium’s Approach to Onchain Governance

Soneium, which recently launched on Ethereum’s mainnet, attracted backlash for restricting memecoins . Despite the criticism, Buterin defended the project’s design, explaining that while Soneium imposes certain limitations, these do not amount to outright censorship.

Instead, users are subject to clearly defined rules, and platform accountability is enhanced through tools like L2Beat.

The @Soneium situation is a good live demonstration of how launching an ethereum L2 is great for businesses *and* users.

Businesses can make very fine-grained choices around how much control they keep vs give to users.

But whatever rules they choose, that's what the rules are.… https://t.co/jmaCRDsyF0

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 15, 2025

Buterin praised Sony for creating a system where transactions can be controlled with a “speed bump” mechanism, showcasing a balance between corporate oversight and user autonomy.

“Whatever the rules they choose, that’s what the rules are” Buterin said, reinforcing the principle that transparency and user awareness are paramount in blockchain governance.

Rising Competition in Ethereum’s Layer-2 Space

Soneium’s launch marks another significant addition to the growing Ethereum L2 ecosystem , intensifying competition among protocols. Established players like Arbitrum and Coinbase-backed Base Network currently dominate the space in terms of transaction volume and Total Value Locked (TVL).

Base Network developers, for instance, have ambitious plans to tokenize COIN on their protocol this year, aiming to solidify their position in the ecosystem.

The @Soneium situation is a fascinating case study in Ethereum L2s. Businesses get flexibility—choosing how much control to keep vs. give users—while everything remains onchain, transparent, and auditable. 🧐

You can build a closed system with no escape hatch (hello,…

— MAXPAIN (@Mangyek0) January 15, 2025

Soneium represents a live experiment in balancing corporate control with the transparency and decentralization core to Ethereum’s ethos. Its success—or failure—could set a precedent for future blockchain governance models.

Ethereum (ETH) is currently trading at $3,388.90, reflecting a 5.09% increase in the last 24 hours. Its market capitalization stands at $408.12 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $23.38 billion, marking a 10.24% increase. The circulating supply is 120.49 million ETH, with no fixed maximum supply.

From a technical perspective by ETHNews analyst, ETH is approaching key resistance at $3,400 – $3,450. A successful breakout above this level could lead to upside targets of $3,500 – $3,600. 

However, if Ethereum fails to maintain its momentum, a correction toward $3,300 – $3,320 is likely, with strong support at $3,200. On-chain data shows increasing staking deposits, indicating rising confidence in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake ecosystem.