Astar: From Blockchain to Collaborative Ecosystem, Empowering the Core Sony Chain Ecosystem
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Astar: From Blockchain to Collaborative Ecosystem, Empowering the Core Sony Chain Ecosystem
Against the backdrop of core contributors sharing a vision and aligned interests, Soneium is the ideal platform for Astar to realize its vision.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
Background
Originally launched as Plasm Network, Astar Network was founded with the vision of building a heterogeneous and interoperable blockchain ecosystem where different blockchains could seamlessly collaborate. This vision—combined with our belief in the potential of decentralized Web3 technology to safeguard democratic freedom and drive transformative innovation—has been the core driving force behind our journey. As Startale Labs, over the past four years we have successfully developed Astar L1 and Astar zkEVM, continuously advancing blockchain infrastructure with the mission of bringing Web3 to billions.
However, technological innovation alone is not enough to achieve this goal. While cutting-edge technologies such as Layer 2 solutions and interoperability protocols have improved scalability and efficiency, alleviating network congestion, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing accessibility, the blockchain industry still faces challenges in user engagement and application diversity—especially in real-world use cases.
The true challenge in achieving mass Web3 adoption lies in developing impactful applications and establishing strong distribution channels to reach billions of users. To address this, Startale Labs—the core contributor behind Astar Network—launched Astar Japan Labs, collaborating with over 100 Japanese enterprises, government agencies, and startups to incubate practical Web3 solutions.
But that’s not all. We are now launching Soneium—an Ethereum Layer 2 public blockchain protocol jointly developed by Sony Group and Startale. By combining Astar’s technical expertise in cryptocurrency with Sony Group’s powerful resources in distribution, intellectual property, and market influence, we have established a uniquely advantageous position to accelerate Web3 adoption.
Astar Network's Evolution: Advancing into the Soneium Ecosystem
Today, we officially announce the upgrade of Astar Network to Astar, a key milestone in Phase 1 of the Astar Evolution Plan. Astar will evolve into an inclusive collaborative ecosystem, expanding beyond blockchain infrastructure (such as Astar L1) to actively promote real-world Web3 adoption through project incubation, technical development, community engagement, and strategic investments—starting with the Soneium ecosystem.
To date, the ASTR token has primarily served as the native token of Astar L1. This made it difficult for the community to understand how to benefit from Soneium’s growth and the expansion of Web3 applications. Additionally, despite Astar Network being a strategic partner of Soneium, misaligned incentives limited active community participation in Soneium’s development.
With Astar’s evolution, ASTR will become the representative asset of Astar. This transformation will empower the community to actively drive Web3 adoption while receiving commensurate rewards through expanded ASTR utility, as detailed in “The Evolution of ASTR: Cryptocurrency for Billions.”
Astar’s Evolution: From Blockchain to Collaborative Ecosystem
Astar is redefining itself as an emerging collaborative ecosystem, enabling real-world Web3 applications across multiple ecosystems through project incubation, technical development, community engagement, and strategic industry investments. Our mission is to build the world’s largest Web3 ecosystem centered on consumer-facing applications and efficient distribution channels, bringing blockchain technology to billions while creating value for ASTR holders.
As the first step in ecosystem expansion, Astar will focus on the Soneium chain, forming the core layer of the ecosystem alongside Astar Network. Developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs—a joint venture between Sony Group and Startale Labs, Astar’s core development team—Soneium is a public blockchain protocol with unique advantages in reaching billions of users and unlocking real business opportunities, significantly accelerating broad Web3 adoption. With shared vision and aligned interests among core contributors, Soneium is the ideal platform for Astar to realize its mission.
The Evolution of ASTR: Core Asset for Billions
ASTR is evolving from the native token of Astar L1 into the primary asset across the entire Astar and Soneium ecosystem, fulfilling multiple critical roles:
- Representative Asset of Soneium: ASTR will serve as the core asset of Soneium, allowing holders to directly benefit from ecosystem value growth.
- Currency within the Soneium Ecosystem: ASTR will be used as a payment token in DeFi and consumer dApps on Soneium, driving real-world utility.
- Liquidity Asset for Soneium DeFi: ASTR will provide liquidity in the Soneium DeFi ecosystem, facilitating trading between native and mainstream assets (e.g., ETH, USDC, BTC), reinforcing its role as foundational currency.
- Payment Token for Consumer dApps on Soneium: Selected consumer dApps on Soneium will use ASTR directly or via ASTR-backed stablecoins for payments, further strengthening its payment functionality.
- Staking Asset for Securing Soneium’s Core Infrastructure: ASTR holds significant economic value and can be utilized in various aspects of network security:
- ASTR will be used as staking collateral in Soneium’s fast confirmation layer, offering additional reward opportunities for ASTR holders.
- ASTR can participate in building other Soneium infrastructure components, contributing to blockchain security and scalability.
- Investment Reserve: ASTR will act as an investment reserve, supporting consumer application projects within the ecosystem through governance, aligning holder interests with ecosystem growth.
- Governance Token: ASTR will serve as the governance token of the Astar ecosystem, guiding strategic decisions.
- Gas Token: ASTR will continue to function as the gas token on Astar L1, providing fundamental economic support to the ecosystem.
- Core Token for dApp Staking: ASTR will power dApp Staking governance, incentivizing more developers to contribute to the Web3 ecosystem.
Key to Mass Web3 Adoption: The Soneium Chain Ecosystem
The Soneium chain ecosystem is central to Astar’s strategy for achieving mass Web3 adoption. As the ecosystem grows, Astar will continue to enhance ASTR’s utility and value, creating more opportunities for holders across multiple ecosystems.
Looking ahead, as Astar expands its contributions across the broader Web3 landscape, ASTR’s role will become increasingly diversified, offering greater return potential for the Astar community. The vision for ASTR is to become the core asset in the world’s largest Web3 ecosystem, reaching billions of users through real consumer applications and extensive distribution channels.
It is important to note that ASTR’s current tokenomics remain unchanged. The evolution of ASTR aims to expand its utility without introducing additional token supply or emissions. We have partnered with multiple interoperability protocols and solution providers to ensure ASTR is technically ready for full scalability upon Soneium’s mainnet launch.
Why the Soneium Ecosystem?
Currently, Web3 faces two major challenges: insufficient user scale and a lack of applications that appeal to mainstream audiences. Most existing Web3 technologies and services target niche communities and have yet to develop the capability to attract broader public participation or meet everyday usage needs. Bridging this gap requires establishing distribution channels and real-world use cases that meet the needs of a wider audience, thereby attracting real users.
Achieving this vision requires an ecosystem partner capable of reaching a broad user base, possessing effective distribution channels and resources, and seamlessly integrating Web3 technology into existing Web2 businesses and consumer domains. With this strategic objective in mind, Astar has become a contributor to Soneium, working together to advance mass Web3 adoption.
What Makes Soneium Unique?
Soneium is a public blockchain built on OP Stack and part of the Superchain, offering a highly secure, scalable, and interoperable environment open to all participants. Developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs—a joint venture between Sony Group and Startale Group—Soneium leverages Sony’s diverse business units and global distribution network to bring new Web3 services to life.
This unique approach not only attracts existing Web3 users but also reaches the broader public unfamiliar with Web3. By focusing on the creator economy, Soneium unlocks new business opportunities and interaction models, empowering creators to expand their influence across digital and physical worlds, accelerating mainstream blockchain adoption.
Synergy Between Astar and Soneium
Astar’s deep expertise in Web3 technology development perfectly complements Soneium’s ability to reach mainstream markets. Through collaboration with Startale, both parties maximize their strengths, positioning Astar as a leader in the global wave of Web3 adoption.
As a key component of Phase 1 of the Astar Evolution Plan, Astar takes a significant step toward globalization through its partnership with Soneium. This collaboration aims to explore and implement more real-world use cases for broad audiences, such as digital content rights management to protect creators, incentive mechanisms to boost creator-fan engagement, and efficient tools for digital asset trading and management.
By continuously investing in and developing solutions for users unfamiliar with Web3, Astar is committed to expanding Web3’s impact, nurturing everyday use cases, and ultimately realizing the vision of Web3 services naturally integrated into daily life.
Governance v1: Astar’s Decentralized Hub
To support the transition to a collaborative ecosystem, Astar introduces the Governance v1 model, with Astar L1 serving as the governance hub of the ecosystem and establishing three core councils:
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Steering Council
Comprised of core contributors from the Astar Foundation and deep ecosystem participants, responsible for driving mass Web3 adoption through project incubation, technical development, and strategic investments.
-
Technical Council
Made up of contributors deeply knowledgeable about Astar L1 technology, responsible for key technical decisions, ecosystem advancement, and maintaining technical security and stability.
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Community Council
Composed of foundation contributors and active community members, responsible for community building, marketing, partnership development, and implementation of dApp Staking to drive broader Web3 adoption.
We aim to establish Astar’s foundational governance framework by the end of 2025. At that point, the Astar ecosystem will have matured further in real-world Web3 applications and progress to the next stage of governance optimization.
Astar Roadmap
From 2024 to 2025, Astar’s development will focus on advancing the collaborative ecosystem and expanding its influence through deep collaboration with Soneium. These initiatives will drive real application growth, strengthen community engagement, and expand ASTR utility—all aligned with holder interests.
Second Half of 2024
- Advance Astar Network’s upgrade into a collaborative ecosystem, focusing on real-world applications.
- Expand dApp Staking to include projects in the Soneium ecosystem.
- Launch Governance v1, establishing the Steering, Technical, and Community Councils.
- Incubate and support growth of the Soneium application ecosystem.
- Collaborate with core Soneium applications to align incentives with ASTR holders:
- Partner with DeFi and consumer dApp developers on Soneium to adopt ASTR as a core asset.
- Launch ASTR staking campaigns on Astar L1 backed by core Soneium applications.
- Discuss dApp Staking incentive mechanisms with core Soneium applications.
First Half of 2025
- Support the successful launch of the Soneium mainnet.
- Build and nurture developer and user communities around Soneium.
- Fully deploy ASTR across the Soneium ecosystem, including DeFi, consumer dApps, and infrastructure layers.
- Host ecosystem-wide incentive programs to drive real-world Web3 adoption and strengthen synergies between ASTR and the Soneium ecosystem.
- Make selective investments in high-potential projects within the Soneium ecosystem to support growth and ensure alignment.
- Launch expanded dApp Staking to cover new projects within the Soneium ecosystem.
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