Soneium Wallet: Get Started on Sony's Layer 2 With ETH and USDC.e

A Soneium wallet is a wallet that can hold ETH and tokens on Soneium, the Ethereum layer 2 that Sony's blockchain venture built for entertainment, games and fan communities. It runs on the OP Stack, so your existing 0x address works there, and every fee is paid in ETH. Its main dollar token, however, is a bridged version called USDC.e.

Soneium's docs list the Startale App first among its wallets, and it creates a different kind of account from the one a recovery-phrase wallet gives you. Knowing the difference saves confusion later. Facts below are as of October 2026.

Soneium at a glance#

Sony, Startale and the Soneium Foundation#

Soneium came out of Sony Block Solutions Labs, Sony's blockchain venture with Startale, a Web3 company with roots in the Astar ecosystem. Today the Soneium Foundation operates the network, and Soneium's docs credit Startale Group's experience in entertainment, gaming and technology.

The aim is mainstream use: games, fan clubs, music and tokenized intellectual property. Its 2026 announcements fit that pattern: a September partnership with DayOneDream to bring K-pop IP onchain, and support in October for ERC-8432, a standard for IP licenses that both people and AI agents can read.

Rights holders carry more weight on Soneium than on most chains. On launch day in January 2025, RPC providers blocked a number of tokens that copied protected characters and brands. So if a meme token borrows a famous name, expect that some apps may refuse it.

Startale App or a recovery-phrase Soneium wallet#

The Startale App is the wallet and app hub built for Soneium. Signing in creates a Startale Account, which is a smart account: a contract that acts as your wallet. Startale also pays network fees for that account on Soneium, though Soneium's docs say that sponsorship can change.

A smart account has its own address, which won't match the 0x address from a recovery phrase. So if you want funds from a Startale Account in Keylo, send them on Soneium to your Keylo address. Importing won't help, because a phrase-based wallet shows a different address from the smart account.

Your Soneium wallet address#

A phrase-based Soneium wallet address matches your 0x address on Ethereum, OP Mainnet or Base. Keylo uses the derivation path m/44'/60'/0'/0/0, as MetaMask does for its first account, so the two wallets agree on it.

Each network still keeps its own balance. So ETH sent to that address on Base doesn't show up on Soneium. There's nothing to activate, and Soneium uses no memos or minimum balances.

Choosing a Soneium wallet#

Soneium's docs list four wallets, and each suits a different person.

• Startale App suits newcomers who want gas paid for them and easy access to Soneium apps, and who are fine with a smart account.

• MetaMask is a browser extension that can add Soneium as a network and connect to its apps.

• OKX Wallet is a self-custody wallet that lists Soneium among its networks.

• Safe is a multisig wallet for shared or larger balances, where several keys must approve each move.

Keylo is a web wallet with a regular recovery phrase. It works for holding ETH and USDC.e on Soneium, sending them and moving them between networks. You can also view your Soneium NFTs there in a read-only Collectibles list.

Be clear about the gaps before you choose, though:

• No app connections. Keylo has no browser extension or WalletConnect, so it can't sign in to Soneium games, fan apps or marketplaces.

• No NFT sending or minting. Keylo only shows collectibles.

• No staking. Staking exists in Keylo for Cosmos SDK chains, not here.

• No gas sponsorship, testnet, hardware wallets or card purchases. You pay your own gas in ETH, and Soneium's Minato testnet isn't in Keylo.

And because nobody else holds the keys, Keylo can't fix a lost password combined with a lost phrase.

Opening a Soneium wallet in Keylo#

Keylo runs in a browser on your phone or computer, and Soneium is already one of its networks.

1. Go to Keylo's sign-up page. Fill in Full name, Email and Phone number, pick a password, enter it again under Confirm password, accept the terms and choose Create account.

2. When asked, confirm your email from the message in your inbox.

3. Choose Create a new wallet. The browser generates your 12-word phrase on the spot and encrypts it with a password-derived key (Argon2id, then AES-256-GCM) before it's stored anywhere.

4. Find Soneium in your list of assets and open it to see your address.

5. Make the backup. In Settings, choose Recovery phrase, give your password, write the words down by hand and confirm the words Keylo checks.

6. In the same menu, turn on Two-factor authentication and add an Anti-phishing code.

That phrase is the wallet, so guard it. Keylo stores an encrypted copy it can't open, so a password reset alone won't bring your funds back.

Importing a MetaMask or OKX phrase#

Choose Import a recovery phrase and type the words, from 12 up to 24. Keylo follows the common Ethereum path, so the first account of a MetaMask or other phrase-based wallet shows the same Soneium address. A Startale smart account can't be imported this way.

Testing without a testnet#

Keylo doesn't offer Minato, Soneium's testnet. Instead, try a very small real transfer first. At well under a tenth of a cent per transfer, a test costs next to nothing.

How to receive ETH on Soneium#

Direct exchange withdrawals to Soneium are less common than to Base or Arbitrum. Check your exchange's network list for Soneium before you rely on it.

1. In Keylo, choose Receive, then Soneium. The screen says "Receive on Soneium" and shows a QR code under "Your Soneium address".

2. Choose Copy or Share, or hold up the QR code for the sender's camera.

3. Ask the sender to pick Soneium as the network. If they're on an exchange that doesn't list it, have them send on Ethereum, Base or OP Mainnet, then bridge it in Keylo.

4. Watch your activity. Soneium makes a block about every 2 seconds, so a transfer appears quickly once it's sent.

Keylo notes on that screen that EVM networks share the address. A transfer that goes out on Base by mistake isn't lost: you'll find it under Base in Keylo and can bridge it to Soneium.

How to send ETH and tokens on Soneium#

1. Choose Send and pick ETH or a token on Soneium.

2. Paste or scan the address into To. Keylo checks its format and checksum.

3. Enter the amount, or choose Max, which leaves the fee behind when you send ETH.

4. Choose Review, then Slow, Normal or Fast.

5. Look over the summary. It lists Soneium, the recipient in full and the fee in ETH.

6. Choose Send. The status goes from "On its way" to "Sent", with View on Blockscout for details.

Sending to a friend's Startale Account works, but Keylo will usually warn that the recipient is a smart contract, because a Startale Account is one. Ask your friend to copy the address from the Startale App and confirm it's their Soneium address. Then continue. Keylo also simulates every transfer first and refuses a send to a token's own contract.

USDC.e and other tokens on Soneium#

Circle doesn't issue USDC natively on Soneium. Instead, USDC there is a bridged token listed as USDC.e, at 0xbA9986D2381edf1DA03B0B9c1f8b00dc4AacC369 according to Soneium's docs. Bridging USDC through the Startale App or Stargate delivers this token. If a bridge doesn't offer USDC for Soneium, search for USDC.e.

Stargate also carries USDT0 to Soneium. Keylo reads Soneium's explorer index, so every token your address holds appears on its own, and incoming transfers show in Activity. If one doesn't, add it under Settings, Networks, Custom tokens with its contract, symbol and decimals. Since anyone can copy a token's name and logo, the contract address is the only thing to trust.

Soneium gas fees#

Gas on Soneium is paid in ETH. Each fee has the usual OP Stack parts: execution on Soneium, priced by a base fee plus a tip, and a data fee for posting the transaction to Ethereum.

Keylo looks up the Ethereum data fee from Soneium's fee contract before you sign. With a little headroom added, that cost goes into every speed choice, and the review screen ends up showing the full price. Keylo charges nothing on a normal send.

Soneium's operators can set a minimum base fee. According to L2BEAT, they set one on October 14, 2026 and cut it to 0.0022 gwei on October 21. With the 0.001 gwei tip the network suggests on top, a plain ETH transfer on October 24 cost about 0.00000007 ETH, under $0.0002, and a token transfer about $0.0004. App transactions cost more, often around a tenth of a cent.

Normal is enough for nearly every transfer. If one does get stuck, Speed up resends it with a higher fee.

Bridging to and from Soneium#

Soneium's bridging page recommends three bridges, all run by independent projects at your own risk:

• Startale App for ETH and stablecoins, in a few minutes.

• Superbridge for ETH and ERC-20 tokens, in a few minutes.

• Stargate for ETH, USDC and USDT0, usually in about a minute.

But leaving through the standard bridge is slower. L2BEAT notes that a withdrawal needs a seven-day period to pass before you can act on it on Ethereum.

Keylo quotes fast bridge routes through LI.FI, so you can skip the wait and the separate website:

1. Choose Swap and fill in You pay with the token and the network it currently sits on.

2. Under You receive, select Soneium and a token, or another network if you're leaving Soneium.

3. Compare the routes, each with an amount, a time estimate and fees.

4. Confirm the Minimum you receive figure, and that Delivered to is your own address.

5. Approve the exact amount if asked, then choose Bridge and follow the progress.

Swaps between Soneium tokens use the same screen, with a 0.5% slippage limit by default. Routes that fail send the money back to your wallet, sometimes converted into another token, and any Keylo service fee appears separately. The swap and bridge page explains the details.

Soneium safety: scams and decentralization#

How decentralized Soneium is#

Be realistic about trust on Soneium. L2BEAT gives it no stage and lists it under Others, because its proof system isn't fully functional. A single permissioned proposer posts Soneium's state to Ethereum, nobody can dispute those proposals, and a centralized operator runs the sequencer. If the sequencer ignores you, you can force a transaction through Ethereum, with up to a 12-hour delay.

Since late October 2025, only approved RPC endpoints can write directly to Soneium's sequencer, for compliance reasons. Ordinary users can still submit transactions through public and private RPCs, and Keylo's sends work as usual.

Scams to watch for#

• Fake IP and fan tokens. Tokens copying famous characters or brands may be blocked by apps and are often worthless. Treat unrequested ones as bait.

• Points, airdrop and wallet checker pages. Soneium runs community programs, and fake claim and checker pages copy them. A real program never needs your phrase.

• Address poisoning. Someone sends you a near-zero transfer from an address that resembles a contact's. Paste recipients from the real source.

• Fake support. Nobody from Keylo will ever request your phrase or password. Contact the team on the Keylo support page, and read Keylo's security model for 2FA and anti-phishing codes.

Before a real transfer, confirm:

1. Your phrase is written down and checked in Keylo.

2. There's ETH on Soneium for gas.

3. The sender chose Soneium as the network.

4. Your stablecoin is the USDC.e contract from Soneium's docs.

5. A small test went through.

Your phrase works on the other OP Stack chains too. See the Ink wallet guide, the Optimism wallet guide and the full network list.

Soneium wallet FAQ#