Players will soon be able to purchase games on PlayStation using cryptocurrency.

Nikkei , citing sources, reported that Sony Bank has applied for a license in the US to establish a subsidiary specializing in stablecoin operations. Sony stated that its cryptocurrency will be used for payments in games and animated films on PlayStation. It is expected that Sony's cryptocurrency will be licensed and operational as early as the beginning of 2026.

Stablecoins are digital currencies whose price is pegged to a real-world asset such as gold or the US dollar. This characteristic helps stablecoins maintain price stability while still offering the advantages of cryptocurrencies such as fast transactions and low costs.

Sony's ambitions

Currently, PlayStation players purchase games using credit cards and traditional methods. The introduction of stablecoins is expected to help Sony reduce the fees it pays to credit card companies.

This initiative targets American customers, who account for approximately 30% of the company's international sales. Sony plans to partner with the US stablecoin issuer Bastion to develop the project. Sony's venture capital arm participated in Bastion's $14.6 million funding round led by Coinbase Ventures to strengthen the partnership between the two companies.

Sony sắp cho chơi sắp được mua game trên PlayStation bằng tiền mã hóa - Ảnh 1. — The Sony and PlayStation logos are located on the front of the PS5 handheld gaming console.

To prepare for its stablecoin ambitions, Sony's bank established a Web3-focused subsidiary called BlockBloom in June with initial funding of 300 million yen ($1.9 million). According to the statement, the unit aims to create an ecosystem connecting fans, artists, NFTs, and both traditional and digital currencies.

In May, Sony Bank highlighted that digital assets utilizing blockchain technology are being integrated into a wide range of services and business models. They argued that financial services such as NFT wallets and Bitcoin assets are becoming increasingly important in the burgeoning digital economy .

Back in 2021, Sony filed a US patent application to build a standardized digital infrastructure that would allow gamers to own and transfer NFTs. The application stated that these NFTs could include interfaces, avatars, artwork, weapons, or "video game skills." To date, Sony has not implemented this functionality within the PlayStation ecosystem.

That same year, Sony filed a patent application for a blockchain-based system for tracking digital assets in games. In January 2025, Sony and its partner Startale Group launched the Soneium Ethereum Layer 2 network. Fans hoped Soneium would bring a range of PlayStation games onto the blockchain. However, to date, no major Sony brand has released a cryptocurrency game on Soneium. Instead, the blockchain network has become a network with NFT music collections and a growing library of smaller games.

Meanwhile, the PlayStation platform continues to expand. They primarily release digital games and subscription packages for the PlayStation 5 console, along with PC games and games that can be streamed to various devices via cloud computing.

Sony's ambitions come amidst the rapidly growing US stablecoin market. The total circulating supply of the two largest stablecoins, Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, has reached $260 billion, accounting for a large portion of the total market capitalization, according to updated data from CoinMarketCap.

Sony's ambitions

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