Astar Network, a layer-one smart contract blockchain platform within the Polkadot ecosystem, has announced the commencement of its "Astar 2.0 Vision" to advance the widespread adoption of blockchain technology and Web3. Founder Sota Watanabe reveals the company's concentration on enhancing its footprint in Japan, where they see significant opportunities. The company has been developing use cases with major firms like Toyota and Sony.
Watanabe emphasized their collaboration with Sony, the largest company they've partnered with, and their mutual potential in Web3. Astar and Sony are currently incubating 19 projects, expected to be launched in the coming months. The Astar website states that the incubation period with Sony runs from mid-March to June 18, with the Demo Day slated for June 18.
Astar is presently the top parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem, serving a variety of roles. However, Sota developed Astar to bring smart contract capabilities to Polkadot since the Polkadot relay chain does not support smart contracts.
Watanabe reveals Astar's ambitions to attract large projects from Ethereum, Solana, and more. He also hopes for a Japanese CBDC to be launched on Astar, thus generating many real use cases.
According to Watanabe, the Japanese government is eager to invest in blockchain as they see it as a new opportunity, after missing out on Web2. Astar's creation as a layer-one smart contract platform aligns with this vision, and although the government can't officially push for its adoption, it does endorse the platform.
