What Is Astar
Astar Network, formerly known as the Plasm Network, is the multi-chain Polkadot dApp hub that acts as the gateway for connectivity between Polkadot and multiple Layer 1 blockchains. The Polkadot relay chain by design does not support smart contracts. This limits its functionality and the number of things that can be done in the blockchain.
The need to create an ecosystem where developers can build on the Polkadot system gave birth to the creation of the Astar network.
The Astra Network is a substrate blockchain. A substrate blockchain can be defined as a framework for building customized blockchains.
A substrate is built to enable developers to quickly and easily build future-proof blockchains optimized for any use case.
In the case of Astar, the network was built to enable the Polkadot ecosystem to connect to Ethereum, Cosmos, and all major Layer 1 Blockchains. It also facilitates the co-existence of EVM and WASM smart contracts.
The goal of the creators of Astar is to build the premier multi-chain smart contract hub for the Polkadot ecosystem supporting DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs.
The Astar network today has over $1bn worth of value locked, $250m worth of Eth, and an active member of over 500,000 users.
ASTR Token
The protocol native token for the ASTR network is called the Astr token. The token is used to carry out four basic functions.
- Give rewards to Dapp Operators
- Pay for transaction fees
- Voting and other governance-related activities
- Staking for Network validators.
There is a total supply of 7,000,000,000 ASTR tokens.
ASTAR Founders
Sota Watanabe founded the Astar network in 2019. Before creating Astar he was the Director of the Japan Blockchain Association.
He worked at Chronicled in San Francisco and was a blockchain researcher at the University of Tokyo.
He was previously named in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list.
In January 2022, Astar received $22 million in strategic funding from crypto venture capital firms Polychain, Alameda Research, Alchemy Ventures, Animal Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Digital Finance Group, GSR, Injective Protocol, and Scytale Ventures.
How Does ASTR Work
The Astar network was primarily created to increase the scalability and interoperability of the Polkadot Relay Chain.
It is a substrate blockchain that allows developers to do what they wouldn't have been able to do on the Polkadot relay chain, which doesn't support smart contracts.
It does this by connecting the Polkadot Ecosystem to Ethereum, Cosmos, and all major Layer 1 and layer 2 Blockchains.
The result of this connection is a permissionless blockchain where anyone can join and build innovative applications.
How To Buy ASTR Coins
You can purchase ASTR Coin (ASTR) on the majority of the cryptocurrency exchanges with either Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH).
It is always better to buy the Astr coin using a stable coin like USDT or Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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