Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently shared his views on Sony's new blockchain platform, Soneium, launched on January 14.

He detailed how it presents the benefits of Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solutions for businesses and users.

Buterin Highlights Transparency and Control in Soneium

According to Buterin, deploying an Ethereum L2 is a powerful tool for businesses. L2 helps them make detailed decisions about the level of control they want to retain over their system.

"Businesses can make very detailed choices about the level of control they retain or grant to users. But whatever rules they choose, that is the rule. Everything is on-chain, transparent, and can be audited by third parties," Buterin said on X.

Buterin's comments come amid concerns about asset freezes and rug-pull allegations raising questions about the centralization of Soneium. Soneium is built on Optimism's OP Stack, which is said to have blocked traders from transacting certain Meme Coins.

Soneium has responded that they have imposed some temporary restrictions on certain contracts to protect intellectual property.

"We have taken steps to protect intellectual property, ensuring a fair and inclusive ecosystem. Temporary restrictions on certain contracts at the RPC level have been implemented to protect creators' rights while encouraging responsible innovation," Soneium clarified.

However, Buterin emphasized that the inherent transparency in blockchain technology means that businesses cannot hide behind opaque systems. Regardless of which rules they choose to enforce, it is clear to everyone.

Ethereum L2 can be used to create closed systems where the operators have full control over the environment. In such cases, the system may allow operators to modify the 'state root' – the core structure of the blockchain.

However, since everything is on-chain, users are fully aware of what they are participating in. The presence of independent auditors and various 'internet sleuths' also ensures that even in a closed system, users can still monitor and verify the platform's activities.

He emphasized L2 technology and its potential in creating multiple blockchains to serve different business models.

Buterin also added that businesses can choose to design more open systems. He emphasized that companies have the freedom to choose between models, from completely closed to completely open.

For example, Sony's Soneium falls into the hybrid category. In this system, users have the option to transact on Ethereum L2 if necessary, but the process has a 'high barrier'.

"And you can also create a system where users know they can send transactions on L2 if needed, but there is a high barrier – the processor can regulate but cannot censor. This is exactly what Sony has done," Buterin explained.

However, not everyone is satisfied with Buterin's clarifications.

"It is incomprehensible why there needs to be a blockchain if they treat it as a private database," wrote cryptocurrency influencer Pop Punk on X.