Astar functions as a web3 collective focused on creating products that onboard users to the blockchain and produce lasting value for ASTR. It runs as a multi-chain ecosystem, coordinating various contributors and products via a common economic and governance structure. The Astar Network sits at the core, offering the basis for security, governance, and economic alignment throughout the system. The platform supports an expanding range of integrations and products intended to foster genuine onchain engagement and sustainable economic operations. Development is directed by the Astar Stack, a unified framework that transforms blockchain infrastructure and finance into secure, user-friendly applications that match Astar’s economic objectives. ASTR serves as the governance and economic token for the ecosystem, synchronizing network activity, product expansion, and long-term value generation.

Sota Watanabe established the Astar Network in 2019. He is a blockchain pioneer who was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2022. Watanabe holds an economics degree from Keio University in Japan. His professional background includes working as a marketing specialist at Chronicled, an IT firm in San Francisco, and founding multiple ventures such as Next Web Capital, an investment company that backs entrepreneurs and crypto startups.

Originally called Plasm Network, the project rebranded to Astar in 2021. It subsequently launched as a multi-chain smart contract platform on Polkadot in January 2022. Stake Technologies, which is based in Singapore with operations in Japan, developed Astar. Sota Watanabe serves as both the founder of Astar and the CEO of Stake Technologies.

Astar aims to establish itself as a comprehensive multi-chain smart contract hub, accommodating diverse virtual machines, blockchains, and layer 2 protocols.

Constructed on Parity Substrate, a Web 3.0 framework for blockchain creation, Astar inherits capabilities such as modular design, upgradable chains, flexible block execution logic, and hot-swappable consensus mechanisms. This foundation is designed to streamline and accelerate blockchain development.

Beyond its Substrate base, Astar provides several distinct features:

• Operator trading: A system enabling the purchase and sale of dApps by tokenizing smart contracts, which permits transferring ownership or designating other users as operators.
• Multi-Lockdrop: An adapted Lockdrop model that facilitates token distribution across the network. Users lock tokens from external blockchains for a fixed duration, receiving native tokens gradually. This approach incentivizes active community participation.
• DApps staking & dApp rewards: The network’s economic model rewards developers who enhance the ecosystem. Block rewards are split evenly: 50% goes to validators, while the remaining 50% is allocated to dApp creators (with 40% to operators/smart contract administrators and 10% to nominators). This structure motivates nominators to stake on smart contracts, potentially boosting the ASTR token’s value.

ASTR serves as the network’s native utility, governance, and staking token. Holders can utilize it to cover transaction costs, engage in platform governance by voting on or proposing referenda, and stake for consensus to earn rewards.

As of April 2023, the total supply stands at 7,000,000,000 $ASTR, with a circulating supply of 4,487,130,325 $ASTR. The token allocation is broken down as follows:

• 30% allocated to users and early supporters;
• 5% reserved for the team;
• 10% assigned to the foundation;
• 5% designated for marketing purposes;
• 10% directed toward protocol developments and grant programs;
• 5% held by the on-chain treasury (DAO);
• 10% distributed to early financial backers;
• 20% used for the parachain auction;
• 5% kept as an auctions reserve.

Astar (ASTR) utilizes a nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) consensus model and functions as a Polkadot Parachain. Consequently, it gains from Polkadot’s scalability and security, which are provided by the network's segmented architecture and shared security framework.

You can acquire Astar (ASTR) on the following exchanges: Binance, KuCoin, Kraken, Gate.io, OKX, Huobi, Crypto.com Exchange, BKEX, CoinEx, MEXC, Bitbank, WhiteBIT, XT.COM, BigONE, BingX, CoinW, Hotbit, and ZT.