What is ASTAR Network ($ASTR)?

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9 May 2024

About Astar Network

Astar Network is Japan's most popular smart contract platform, supporting both EVM and WebAssembly (Wasm) environments, and interoperability between them using a Cross-Virtual Machine. Astar Network is friendly to all kinds of developers, and the tools and languages they already know. Backed by the shared security of Polkadot, Astar shines brilliantly on its own within a vibrant and healthy ecosystem, and in the blockchain industry overall driving international corporate adoption, and consumer interest in Web3 technologies.

Lack of developer incentives

Astar's Build2Earn system is designed to grow the network in an innovative way, while simultaneously rewarding participants and builders. It allows developers to earn incentives for building and maintaining their decentralized applications, and users to earn incentives for supporting their favorite projects, all while encouraging growth of the ecosystem overall.

Scalability

Blockchains do not scale by design, mostly due to the security assurances inherent in their decentralized consensus mechanisms. If blockchains were faster, they would be less secure. There is an upper limit to the amount of data that can be stored in individual blocks, and at times of network saturation, users of typical blockchains may notice their transactions sitting unconfirmed or in a pending state for long periods of time, resulting in a poor user experience.
The solution to the issue, up until now, has been a patchwork of independent blockchains loosely connected by bridges - often subject to attack due to their reliance on custodial elements, with no common security standards or methods of interoperability between all. The idea of 'cross-chain', therefore, has mostly been to copy and paste a smart contract from one blockchain, to another. Projects that create real value are quickly copied and deployed elsewhere for better, or for worse, with almost no real innovation taking place overall.
Astar Network is changing that, and ushering in the next generation of multichain smart contracts uniquely able to utilize the best features from both EVM and WebAssembly Virtual Machines, and any number of application-specific blockchains across the broader Polkadot ecosystem. All while being future-proof.

Interoperability

This interoperability framework, empowered by the shared security of Polkadot coupled with Astar XVM, allows developers to use and build smart contracts in ways they never have before. By fostering cooperation and integrations across multiple blockchains and applications, complex synergies can be developed, leading to the realization of truly innovative solutions that can't be replicated in any other environment.

Accounts

Overview

An account on Astar Network consists of two parts - a private key and a public key. A public key is also known as an address of an account because it is accessible and known to the public - just like an e-mail address, for example. A private key is a key to access and manage your address. With that said, anybody can send tokens to your address, but only you can access them with your private key. Therefore, it is crucial to keep your private keys safe at all times.
Astar Network supports two virtual machines (Wasm VM and EVM) and therefore utilizes two account formats.

Substrate Accounts

Astar is built with Substrate, a framework to build blockchains, and uses Substrate accounts. Substrate-based chains use the underlying public key to derive one or more public addresses. Instead of using the public key directly, Substrate allows you generate multiple addresses and address formats for an account, meaning you only need to generate your public key, private key pair once and derive different addresses for different Substrate-chains.
The private key is a cryptographically-secure sequence of randomly-generated numbers. For human readability, the private key generates a random sequence of words called a secret seed phrase or mnemonic.
The address format used in Substrate-based chains like Astar is ss58. ss58 is a modification of Base-58-check from Bitcoin, with some minor modifications. Notably, the format contains an address type prefix that identifies an address as belonging to a specific network.
Astar supports spezialized accounts, such as Proxy and Keyless accounts.

EVM Accounts

Astar EVM side allows Ethereum-style addresses (H160 format), which is 40+2 hex-characters long, in a Substrate based chain. This address matches a private key, which can be used to sign transactions in the Ethereum side of the chain. Furthermore, the address is mapped into a storage slot inside the Substrate Balance pallet to a Substrate-style address (H256 format).

Astar Token

Overview

The native token of Astar Network is Astar Token, with the ticker ASTR. The total initial supply of ASTR was 7,000,000,000 units. The current tokenomics model of the network is inflationary and the inflation is estimated to be ~665,000,000 yearly. ASTR token has 18 decimals. At the genesis, ASTR were allocated as follows:
Allocation%Users and Early Supporters30Parachain Auction in 202120Parachain Auctions Reserve5Protocol Development10On-Chain DAO5Marketing5Early Financial Backers10Team (Employee Incentives)5Foundation10

Utility

Astar Token is the utility token for Astar Network that has 3 primary functions.

dApp Staking
Transactions
On-chain Governance

dApp Staking

Astar Network's core team has developed a unique concept called dApp Staking, which is exclusively available on Astar within the Polkadot ecosystem. The goal of Astar Network is to establish itself as the primary hub for decentralized applications (dApps) on Polkadot. Hence, we prepared incentives for dApp developers who choose to build their smart contracts on Astar Network.
dApp Staking is a simple but effective mechanism. Astar Network's innovative approach allows Astar token holders to show their support for their preferred dApps by staking Astar tokens. By doing so, they not only contribute to the ecosystem's growth but also earn Astar tokens through block rewards. Additionally, dApp developers can receive rewards based on the amount staked on their applications. As part of Astar Network's commitment to sustainability and decentralization, developers can earn Astar tokens by creating smart contracts or infrastructure for the Astar Network community, making it a robust and decentralized grant mechanism.

Transactions

Every on-chain transaction requires the sender to pay fees. Part of the fee is burned and part is deposited to the collator.

On-chain Governance

At Astar Network, we believe in the power of decentralized decision-making. That's why we're committed to implementing on-chain governance, where every member of the community has a say in shaping the network's future. The Astar token plays a crucial role in this process, serving as the primary means for facilitating governance activities such as voting and referenda.

Shiden and Shibuya

Both Shiden and Shibuya ahs their own tokens. Shiden's token is SDN. You can see the SDN initial allocation below:
Allocation%Users and Early Supporters30Parachain Auctions30Parachain Auctions Reserve5Protocol Development10On-Chain DAO5Marketing5Ecosystem Growth10Team (Employee Incentives)5
Shibuya's token is SBY. There are ways to get SBY for testing purposes via Faucet on the Astar Portal.

dApp Staking Overview

At Astar, we're driven by the mission to transform the internet into a freely owned space by the people, where everyone has inviolable control over their data and assets. This commitment to a user-governed internet lies at the heart of the Web3 vision that inspires us.
dApp Staking is a crucial accelerator in realizing the Web3 vision, as it lays the foundation for the development of exceptional dApps for users and fuels the drive towards making Web3 accessible to all.

What is dApp Staking

dApp Staking is Astar’s unique mechanism to financially incentivise developers who build decentralized applications (dApps). By engaging in dApp staking, developers can receive a basic income, which allows them to continue building and enhancing their dApps. Moreover, it allows to build a strong relationship between developers, stakers and users of dApps, where everyone is rewarded.
dApp staking on the Astar/Shiden Network operates similarly to staking on validators. However, in new paradigm, individuals known as dApp stakers have the ability to stake their Astar or Shiden tokens on specific dApps they wish to support.
At every block on the network, a portion of the inflation is allocated to dApp staking. This reward is then distributed between the operators (developers) of the dApps and the stakers.
The mechanism is simple: developers earn rewards while building their great projects and attracting supporters, while stakers earn by backing their favorite dApps.

Benefits of dApp Staking on Astar and Shiden Network

For Web3 to flourish, there needs to be a symbiotic relationship between dApp stakers, dApp developers, and dApp users. On Astar and Shiden, dApp staking is the mechanism that enables this mutually beneficial relationship to occur.

Developer Compensation: Unlike traditional approaches where dApp developers need to rely on grant programs, token issuance, and fundraising efforts to generate income, dApp staking on Astar/Shiden provides developers with a basic income. As long as a dApp has been nominated, developers can receive a steady stream of rewards.
Increased Popularity, Increased Reward: As a dApp gains popularity and attracts more nominators from the community, the developers who built the dApp can receive a larger percentage of the block rewards. This incentivizes developers to create high-quality dApps that resonate with users and foster community engagement.
Reduced Dependency on Gas Fees: Building on other blockchains often entails paying substantial gas fees for transactions and interactions. However, on the Astar and Shiden Network, developers can receive compensation through dApp staking, minimizing their reliance on gas fees and making it more economically feasible to continue dApp development.

Benefits for Stakers: Increase in Token Value & Earn Tokens

Astar or Shiden dApp stakers want the value of their tokens to increase but for the value of their tokens to increase, the underlying value of the asset needs to increase.
This increase in value can happen when the Network grows or when there are fewer tokens in circulation. This way, stakers can not only make their tokens more valuable over time but also earn high returns (APRs) by staking their tokens on dApps.
This market dynamic enables dApp stakers to get more long-term value from their tokens while earning high APRs from staking their tokens to dApps.

Benefits for Builders: Earn Rewards

For great dApps to be built, developers need to build them. For developers to build great dApps, they need financial incentives.
Ultimately, the most precious human resource in the Web3 ecosystem are developers. Before dApp staking, there were little to no financial incentives for developers to make dApps or to build infrastructure on public blockchains.
With dApp staking, developers can earn a basic income while building dApps on Astar or Shiden. Having financial incentives entices more developers to build and improve their dApps. The more developers build on our ecosystem, the greater the benefits for the whole ecosystem.
That is why Astar considers it essential to provide developers with financial motivation and to ensure they are able to build and earn simultaneously, focusing on development without additional hustle.

Benefits for dApp Users: Increase in dApp & Network Utility

dApp staking plays an essential role in improving the quality of the ecosystem, as it facilitates the growth and improvement of dApps. This gives developers the opportunity to generate revenue while building high-quality dApps.
The presence of more high-quality dApps not only attracts and retains more users, but also initiates a network effect. This phenomenon encourages ecosystem expansion and increases the intrinsic value of the network in the long term.
In short, the importance of DApp staking lies in its contribution to the ongoing improvement and greater utility of the ecosystem. The multiplication of high-quality dApps, combined with a growing number of users, results in a network effect that increases the overall value of the ecosystem in the long term.

Understand the terminology and parameters of dApp Staking

To understand how dApp staking v3 works, it’s essential to grasp the following basics:

Era

Eras is a basic time unit in dApp Staking. The length of an Era is 7200 blocks, equivalent to roughly 1 day.

Period & Subperiods

Period is a more lengthy time unit of dApp Staking.
To put it simply, if we consider a Period in dApp Staking, it's similar to a concept of a month in human terms , made up of several days (Eras in this case).
Each Period consists of two Subperiods:

Voting
Build&Earn

Continuing with our human time analogy, it's like dividing a month into two (unequal) parts – the first part can be seen as the Voting phase, and the second part is the Build&Earn phase.
Voting (Staking) Subperiod
A subperiod when stakers can decide to vote for dApp(s) to stake their tokens and when dApps owners and team can market their products, conduct campaign and attract stakers.
No staking rewards are generated during the Voting subperiod but if users vote and stake on dApps during this subperiod, they will become eligible for the Bonus Reward;

Build&Earn Subperiod
A subperiod when stakers and dApps start earning rewards; Users can still stake tokens during the Build&Earn subperiod to increase the rewards they get from staking. However, the amount staked during Build&Earn does not contribute to the Bonus Reward.
At the end of a Build&Earn subperiod, the current period ends. A new period begins, and all tokens are unstaked from dApp(s) but remain locked. A new Voting Subperiod starts.

Networks

Overview

Prior to commencing development, especially, it's important to understand the Astar Network family, and choose an appropriate network based on what you would like to do. Currently, there are a number of networks available, including the Local network which runs exclusively within your development environment. All networks support EVM RPCs, and Astar Parachain supports Substrate RPC as well.

Local Networks

Substrate Node

You can clone the Astar repository and run the local node provided, or download the precompiled binary and run it, instead. Both methods are described in the Build section.

Swanky Node

Swanky Node is a Substrate based blockchain configured to enable the smart contract module pallet-contracts, and other features that assist local development of Wasm smart contracts. For more information about Swanky Node, check out the Swanky Suite section.

Zombienet

With Zombienet users can download arbitrary Relay Chain and parachain binaries (or use images) to setup a configurable local test network. Users will have access to all privileged actions on the Relay Chain and parachains, which simplifies testing. For more information about Zombienet, check out the Build Environment chapter.

Testnets

Shibuya (Substrate)

Shibuya has nearly the same chain specifications as Shiden & Astar, and provides an ideal environment for developers to test and debug, prior to launching their dApp on mainnet. Shibuya is running as a parachain of the Tokio Relay Chain, which is managed internally by the Astar team, and supports Shibuya, only, as test parachain.
The Shibuya native token symbol is SBY.
To obtain test tokens from the faucet, please visit the Astar Portal and connect to Shibuya. If for any reason the faucet is empty, please contact the Astar team on Discord.

zKatana (Sepolia) - Deprecated

An early iteration of the zkEVM testnet that used zk rollup architecture. Now deprecated.

zKyoto (Sepolia)

zKyoto is a Validium-based network connected to the Ethereum Sepolia testnet and Polygon AggLayer. It is the testing and proving ground for dApps deployed on the Astar zkEVM.

Mainnets

Astar has three mainnets. One parachain on Kusama, One parachain on Polkadot, and a zkEVM-based network on Ethereum Layer 2.

Shiden Parachain (Substrate)

Shiden is a parachain connected to the Kusama Relay Chain, and used to deploy and test new releases of Astar runtime in a live production (canary) environment. Shiden is not considered a testnet since SDN has its own tokenomics and value, but is used to validate and stabilize new software releases and upgrades for Astar Network.
The Shiden native token symbol is SDN.

Astar Parachain (Substrate)

By now you may have guessed that Astar parachain is connected to Polkadot Relay chain.
The Astar native token symbol is ASTR.

Astar zkEVM

Astar zkEVM is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, powered by Polygon AggLayer. Technically referred to as a Validium, the zkEVM combines zk rollups with modular data availability, synthesizing the best features of each.