What does Astar Network do?

Japan-founded web3 collective behind Astar Network, a Polkadot parachain and EVM/WASM smart contract chain with the ASTR token.

Who founded Astar Network?

Astar Network was founded by Sota Watanabe in 2021.

Who are Astar Network's investors?

Astar Network's investors include Coinbase Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Hypersphere Ventures, IOSG Ventures, LongHash Ventures, Mapleblock Capital, Alameda Research, Animoca Brands and 8 more.

Where is Astar Network headquartered?

Astar Network is headquartered in Tokyo, JP.

Astar Network

Tokyo, JP · Founded 2021 · 26 employees on LinkedIn · 20 known investors

Find your way into Astar Network

363 people in our graph share verified history with the Astar Network team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Alpin Yukselogluunlockedknows Sota Watanabe · together at Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator (overlapped)

×7knows the team · via SoftBank Group

×2knows the team · via Keio University

×2knows the team · via AIESEC

AstarFi is a self-custodial personal finance interface designed for cryptocurrency and tokenized real-world asset holders to manage their onchain portfolio across multiple asset types.

Also known as Astar Collective · ASTAR Network · Plasm Network · Stake Technologies

Cloud Computing Crypto & Web3 Developer Tools Fintech

Founders & leadership

Astar Network was founded in 2021 by Sota Watanabe.

Sota Watanabe inSota Watanabe is CEO of Startale Group, a Singapore-based digital asset infrastructure company, where he oversees development of blockchain-related products including a JPY stablecoin, a DEX platform, and Sony's Layer 2 blockchain. He also serves as a Board Member at SBI Holdings and is focused on bridging traditional finance with onchain infrastructure.

Investors · 20

Coinbase VenturesStamford · $100K – $10M

Fenbushi CapitalShanghai · $1.3M – $30M

Hypersphere VenturesMiami Beach

IOSG VenturesHong Kong · $10K – $100K

LongHash VenturesSingapore

Mapleblock Capital

Alameda Researchreported · 2 sourcesCentral and Western · $1.3M – $35M

Animoca Brandsreported · 2 sourcesHong Kong · $1.5M – $40M

Crypto com Capitalreported · 2 sourcesSingapore · $2.5M – $19M

Digital Finance GroupreportedShanghai

GSRreportedNew York

gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC)reportedSan Mateo

Huobi CapitalreportedBeijing

OKX VenturesreportedSingapore · $2M – $38M

Polychain CapitalreportedSan Francisco · $100K – $10M

Scytale Venturesreported · 2 sourcesBerlin

Also in the syndicate · 4

Alchemy VenturesAnimal VenturesInjective ProtocolPolychain

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

Undisclosed amountstrategic fundingJan 2022
Alameda Research, Alchemy Ventures, Animal Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Digital Finance Group, GSR, Injective Protocol, Polychain, Scytale Ventures
Source ↗
Undisclosed amountstrategic funding roundJan 2022
Polychain Capital (lead), Alameda Research, Alchemy Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Huobi Capital, OKX Ventures
Source ↗
Undisclosed amountStrategic InvestmentJan 2022
Polychain (lead), Alameda Research, Alchemy Ventures, Crypto.com Capital
Source ↗

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Astar is a web3 collective anchored by Astar Network, a blockchain launched by Japanese company Stake Technologies that positions itself as a smart contract hub for Polkadot, operating as a Polkadot parachain with the native token ASTR. The chain supports both EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) and WASM (WebAssembly) smart contracts, which the project presents as a way for Ethereum-built dApps and contracts to migrate and for the network to act as a hub for multi-chain smart contracts. ASTR is used to pay transaction gas, for governance proposals and voting, and as a staking reward asset. The code is written in Rust and released under the GNU General Public License, with a public repository on GitHub.

The collective describes itself in four layers: Astar Network (the live onchain infrastructure hosting dApp Staking, governance and ecosystem projects); the Astar Stack (an in-development finance product layer whose first two products are Astar Fi, a personal finance interface for portfolio tracking, curated yield and long-term positions, and Astar Guard, a portfolio risk monitoring product covering liquidation risk, protocol incidents and stablecoin depegs); Yoki, a consumer IP layer comprising the Yoki Legacy collectible game and Yoki Arcade onchain PvP platform on Soneium, built around Japanese folklore characters; and the ASTR token itself, running under a ratified Tokenomics 3.0 design. Live products on Astar Network include dApp Staking (restructured to 16 curated projects across two tiers on an annual cycle), the Astar Portal for managing ASTR, staking and bridging, and onchain governance over protocol parameters, treasury allocation and staking decisions. A holder-driven "Burndrop" lock-and-burn mechanism for permanent ASTR supply reduction is described as having completed a proof of concept.

Astar is active across Astar Network, Soneium, Ethereum and Polkadot. Its ecosystem page lists Uniswap (ASTR trading on Ethereum and Soneium), Comet Swap (an ASTR-anchored CLMM DEX on Astar), Bifrost (omnichain liquid staking producing vASTR), the Startale App superapp for Soneium, and Chainlink CCIP for bridging ASTR between Astar Network and Soneium.

Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported

ASTR inflation ceiling under Tokenomics 3.0Jan 20255.5%

Curated dApp Staking projectsJan 202616 projects

Long-term ASTR supply convergence targetJan 202510,000,000,000 ASTR

Total funding raised (company claim)May 2022$30M

Web3 Foundation grants receivedMay 20226 grants

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Competitors · 10

by search overlap

CoinGecko43 shared keywordsCoinGecko is the world's largest independent cryptocurrency data aggregator, providing comprehensive market data including price, volume, and market capitalization across thousands of cryptoassets. It serves millions of users globally with tools, research, and APIs for cryptocurrency market analysis and insights.

Coinbase32 shared keywordsCoinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that offers trading, custody, and financial services for cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives, and prediction markets to consumers, institutions, and developers. The company operates a full-stack infrastructure including secure custody, liquidity services, stablecoin infrastructure, and global settlement rails.

TradingView27 shared keywordsTradingView is a charting platform and social network used by over 100 million traders and investors worldwide to analyze and trade across global financial markets. The platform provides tools for technical analysis, market data, and community collaboration for retail and institutional traders.

CryptoRank26 shared keywordsCryptorank is a data platform that tracks and publishes information on cryptocurrency funding rounds, project valuations, and investment activity. It aggregates and verifies funding data from public sources for the crypto market.

Crypto26 shared keywordsCrypto.com operates a cryptocurrency exchange and digital asset platform serving 150 million users across 90 countries, with a mission to accelerate global adoption of cryptocurrency.

KuCoin25 shared keywordsKuCoin is a global cryptocurrency trading platform trusted by over 45 million users that provides spot trading, leverage, options, derivatives, DeFi, lending, and mining services across more than 200 countries. The platform offers access to 1,000+ coins and includes features like copy trading, Web3 wallets, and institutional services, with a focus on security through multi-layered systems and compliance certifications.

Bitget23 shared keywordsBitget is a cryptocurrency exchange offering spot trading, futures trading, and copy trading services for users worldwide. The platform provides a secure investment solution for crypto trading with regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

MEXC Global21 shared keywordsMEXC is a cryptocurrency exchange where users trade a range of tokens and futures, with features such as low fees and liquidity. It highlights asset security measures including a Guardian Fund, 1:1 backed reserves, and a futures insurance fund.

Kraken21 shared keywordsKraken 360 Investments provides capital and launch infrastructure to blockchain protocols in pre-token and early post-token phases, offering custody, staking, treasury, and liquidity services alongside fundraising support.

Bitrue17 shared keywordsBitrue is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that provides secure digital asset trading and custody services with proprietary security infrastructure. The company serves crypto traders and investors globally through an international team based in Europe and Asia.

Companies competing with Astar Network for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Timeline · 20

launches, deals, and filings

May 2026

Yoki Arcade launches on Soneium

Yoki Arcade goes live as an onchain PvP mini app hub inside Startale App, with Wave 1 featuring Jan-Ken-Pon commit-reveal duels using ASTR match pools.