Sony’s “Entertainment Network”, Soneum, Goes Live

  • Sony launched a layer 2 network on Ethereum to create an entertainment layer on top of a Web3 finance layer.
  • The network is open to all creators and will protect creator rights while ensuring equitable value distribution between creators and consumers.

Sony, the media and Entertainment giant, has launched a layer 2 network on Ethereum called Soneum through its subsidiary, Sony Block Solutions Labs. The network is intended to use Web3 tech to power a digital creator economy.

The network, built using the OP stack (a blockchain development kit from the Optimism Foundation), will use chain abstraction technologies and methods to onboard regular users to Web3 without requiring them to understand the underlying tech.

Another important touchpoint for the Head of Sony BSL, Sota Watanabe, is the protection of IP rights. Soneum is built with mechanisms in place to protect these rights.

According to an X post by Watanabe, “We are making a home for all creators inside and outside of web3. Memecoins are an important culture, which I like as well, but IP infringement is not. Let’s create meme culture not infringing IP rights!”

Unlike other major consumer brands whose engagement with Web3 is largely limited to NFTs, Sony is going beyond to provide an infrastructure for the next evolution of the creator economy.

Soneum also launched Spark, an incubator program that has selected 32 projects from a list of 1,700 that will debut on the new network.

While Soneum recently launched its mainnet, it logged over 14 million users during its testnet phase which lasted four months from August 2024 and logged over 50 million transactions.

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Gate 2024 Annual Report: Trading Volume Exceeds $3.8 Trillion, Solidifying Top 4 Market Position

In 2024, Gate, one of the world’s leading digital asset trading platforms, experienced a year of rapid growth and deep innovation. Through sharp industry insights, innovative product strategies, and a profound understanding of user needs, Gate achieved record-breaking user numbers and trading volumes while actively expanding its diversified ecosystem to drive overall platform development.

Sustained Growth in Users and Trading Volume, Securing 4th Place in Market Share

According to its public report, Gate.io’s total user base surpassed 20 million, with over 50% growth, while trading volume reached $3.8 trillion, a 120% year-on-year increase. Spot trading volume exceeded $1.8 trillion, and contract trading volume reached $2 trillion, both showing significant growth. This reflects Gate’s increasing global market penetration and the appeal of its products.

The platform launched 873 new tokens throughout the year, including 437 exclusive first listings, providing users with diverse investment options. Gate also demonstrated strong performance in various regional markets, particularly in Asia and Europe, where both trading volumes and user numbers grew significantly.

Through its Gate Startup initiative, the platform continued to introduce innovative features, distributing airdrops worth nearly $30 million, with cumulative airdrop value exceeding $120 million. Additionally, Gate Token (GT) saw nearly 300% growth in 2024, with its price reaching a historic high of $18.667 as of January 9th, 2025. These metrics highlight Gate’s robust growth momentum.

Innovative Products Leading Emerging Markets with Over $1 Billion Trading Volume

Gate continued to lead in product innovation in 2024, especially in the Memecoin sector. By launching dedicated Pilot and MemeBox, the platform attracted significant user participation in this emerging market. Since its launch, Pilot has achieved over $1 billion in trading volume, listing more than 500 Memecoin projects. Additionally, a $50 million dedicated fund was established to support the booming Memecoin market.

The platform also increased its focus on the TON ecosystem. Through collaboration with Telegram, Gate introduced the Gate Wallet Mini App and Mini App, which attracted numerous TON ecosystem users. Monthly active users for these apps exceeded 2.55 million and 1.4 million, respectively, further strengthening Gate’s influence in the Web3 and blockchain ecosystem.

Strong Momentum in Quantitative Investment with Superior Returns

Gate made notable progress in quantitative investment. The Quantitative Fund launched in April became an industry benchmark, attracting high-net-worth investors with its innovative low-risk, high-return strategy and flexible redemption mechanisms. In its first year, the fund achieved an annualized return of over 20%, outperforming the average across major platforms.

Gate’s USDT-based fund reported an annualized return of over 40%, while the BTC-based fund achieved 25%. These impressive results significantly bolstered institutional investor engagement, with spot trading volume increasing 4.4 times and contract trading volume growing 1.63 times year-on-year. Broker services also saw a 17-fold increase in trading volume, reflecting growing demand for Gate’s institutional services and professional trading systems.

Reserves Totaling $9.566 Billion: Building Trust Through Security and Compliance

In 2024, Gate excelled in reserve fund performance, providing users with a robust security framework. The platform’s total reserves reached $9.566 billion, with a reserve ratio of 123.91%, up 47.2% from the previous audit. Excess reserves hit a historic high of $1.846 billion, an increase of 68.89%, ranking second among major platforms. Reserve ratios for mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum stood at 124.47% and 128.52%, exceeding the industry average by 20 percentage points.

At the same time, Gate Entities has continued to strengthen its compliance framework, actively advancing regulatory efforts across multiple regions. By acquiring Coin Master, Gate Entities expanded its compliance presence in the Asian market. Through its Malta platform, it has successfully submitted a MiCA license application and further bolstered its compliance presence in Europe by acquiring the licensed institution Sheer Markets in Cyprus. Additionally, Gate Entities completed VASP registration in Argentina and is advancing compliance initiatives in key global markets, including Gibraltar, the Bahamas, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East, paving the way for future global expansion.

Financial Innovation to Meet Diverse Investment Needs: Gate Earn Surges 185%

Gate achieved remarkable milestones in financial innovation, particularly in the Gate Earn product line. Gate Earn’s daily funds surged 185%, reaching nearly $2 billion USDT. The platform added over 500,000 new users, with 205% year-on-year growth. Supporting 832 tokens, Gate offers rewards pools for USDT, BTC, ETH, and other major cryptocurrencies, with up to 30% additional returns.

With 665 projects covering a total fund scale of $18 billion, Gate continues to meet the diverse needs of its users. Innovative products like on-chain staking, dual-currency investment, and GT mining further enhance asset management flexibility and expand investment options.

Collaborating with Industry Leaders to Drive Innovation and Growth

Gate partnered with several industry leaders to advance blockchain innovation and ecosystem development. Collaborations included strategic partnerships with Elliptic and Chainalysis to enhance compliance and security, a $10 million investment in The Open Network (TON), and a $100 million Web3 innovation fund co-launched with the Abu Dhabi Blockchain Center. Other partnerships focused on accelerating development in the Move ecosystem and more.

Gate also strengthened collaborations with global cloud providers to enhance platform performance and security. Actively investing in Web3, Gate is driving blockchain innovation and ecosystem expansion, solidifying its position as a leader in the cryptocurrency industry.

Notably, Gate.io became the official sleeve sponsor for Inter, creating more market opportunities for the crypto sector.

Looking Ahead: Deepening Global Markets and Driving Industry Innovation

In 2024, Gate solidified its leadership in the global digital asset trading space through innovation-driven growth and a diversified ecosystem. With robust growth in trading volume and thriving innovative businesses, Gate demonstrated strong market competitiveness and industry influence.

Looking ahead, Gate will continue to embrace innovation as a driving force, deepen its focus on core businesses, expand into emerging markets, and advance the development and application of blockchain technology. The platform aims to provide users with more diverse and high-quality products and services. At the same time, Gate will actively fulfill its social responsibilities, leveraging technology to drive social progress.

Gate will collaborate with its users and global partners to continuously enhance products, optimize services, and give back to the community, working together to build a secure, transparent, and open Web3 world.

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TON Foundation plans US expansion

  • TON Foundation seeks US expansion amid growing crypto-friendly environment.
  • In the crypto market, Telegram-related blockchain project is powered by the Toncoin (TON) token.

Telegram related blockchain platform The Open Network (TON) plans to extend its operation networks in the US. The Toncoin (TON) token rose slightly amid the news.

According to details in a report, the move is inspired by President Donald Trump’s friendly regulatory policies.

TON Foundation shared details of the key development in a blog post published on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

New appointments

The Open Network (TON) has appointed Manuel Stotz as president to spearhead the strategic entry into the US market. He comes after his predecessor Steve Yun who remains as a board member in the foundation.

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s win , who is an investor in digital space,the US will grow into a digital hub enhancing crypto adoption and innovation.

Trump’s administration will promote favourable digital assets regulatory policies to make the US a safer crypto market. The previous administration blocked out many crypto investors by placing strict policies.

During the previous administration, Telegram faced hurdles as it tried to raise funds for a cryptocurrency project in 2020. The foundation had to bow out after a series of legal proceedings with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trumps who is pro-crypto in July 2024 described Bitcoin as significant marker of freedom, sovereignty and independence in his speech

To make the US a digital hub and attract global investors, Trump has promised  his support for crypto investment. For an avid crypto investor he is, Trump has recently launched his family’s digital asset venture dubbed World Liberty Financial.

Among his policy formulations, the incoming president has announced plans to make the US the “crypto capital” globally. He also spoke of making a Bitcoin reserve in the US.

Tether announced it was relocating operations to El Salvador on Monday.

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BTguru partners with Chainlink to enhance tokenization in Turkey

  • BTguru and Chainlink have teamed up to promote asset tokenization in Turkey.
  • The crypto platform will tap into Chainlink’s key technology around interoperability, data feeds and proof-of-reserves.

Chainlink has joined forces with BTguru, Turkey-based virtual and crypto assets firm. The two firms aim at enhancing adoption of tokenized securities across the country for institutional investors.

Per details in a press release on Tuesday, BTguru seeks to tap on Chainlinks services for this goal. These are Chainlink’s flagship tech stacks, which include Chainlink’s proof-of-reserve technology, interoperability protocol CCIP, and Data Feeds.

To enhance digital assets solutions, BTguru borrows essential services from Chainlink to have enhanced security in its service delivery. It will have cross-chain interoperability protocol and make use of Chainlink’s tech infrastructure to the Turkish regulated financial firms.

A solution to challenges for institutions

The partnership seeks to offer solutions to the challenges affecting tokenized assets markets. With combined efforts, BTguru will seal the gap in tokenized assets markets by ensuring users have seamless data connectivity, enhanced security, asset utility, interoperability as well as getting reliable services.

BTguru managing partner Can Bukulmez in a statement noted that the two firms’ partnership will bolster BTguru’s growth.

He said, “The Chainlink standard will help BTguru provide financial institutions with the tools they need to unlock the full potential of tokenized assets while ensuring compliance and security at every step,”

The partnership goal is to provide real time solutions to emerging challenges associated with digital assets markets to banks and other financial institutions. Banks will have access to proof-of-reserves, price data and net asset value.

BTguru linking with Chainlink’s oracle network users will get multi-chain tokenized asset data synchronization allowing for off-chain connectivity.

David Fuchs, Head of business development for EMEA at Chainlink Labs could not downplay the importance the partnership brings onboard.

He noted that “Chainlink will enable BTguru to not only meet the stringent compliance and security requirements for institutional-grade digital assets, but also foster innovation and trust in the growing tokenized asset economy,”

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MoonPay kicks off 2025 with acquisition of Helio to advance the future of crypto payments

  • Helio is a blockchain-based platform built on Solana
  • It has handled more than $1.5 billion in transactions and supports over 6,000 merchants
  • Helio integrates with platforms such as Discord, Shopify, and WooCommerce

MoonPay, a crypto payments platform, has acquired Helio, a blockchain-based platform built on Solana, for a reported $175 million.

Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay, posted the announcement on X, adding that “2025 is going to be [an] even bigger [year], and we’re kicking it off with a bang [with] the acquisition is HelioPay.”

Fox Business reported the acquisition was for $175 million.

According to a press release, the acquisition of Helio brings its technology, team, and ecosystem into MoonPay’s portfolio.

“This acquisition is an important step in advancing our vision for the future of payments,” said Soto-Wright. “Helio’s technology and expertise strengthen our ability to deliver efficient, secure, and scalable solutions for crypto commerce, trading infrastructure, and marketplaces. With MoonPay and Helio combined, we now offer the most comprehensive product for on-chain payments.”

Helio has already handled more than $1.5 billion in transactions, integrates with platforms such as Discord, Shopify, and WooCommerce, and supports over 6,000 merchants.

MoonPay receives MiCA approval

In December, MoonPay secured its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license in the Netherlands. By doing so, MoonPay can offer its services and products across Europe.

The granting of the MiCA license is a massive milestone for MoonPay as the approval means expansion across a large market where more people are tapping into crypto payments.

In June, MoonPay integrated with PayPal for on-ramp crypto purchases in the UK and the US. MoonPay also partnered with Ledger last April to bring instant crypto purchases to its Ledger Live users.

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