Astar Network: Build2Earn, dApp staking and AstarPass.
What is Astar?
Come on, you still don’t know?
Astar Network is the #1 TVL Smart Contract Hub for WASM + EVM on Polkadot.
Since winning its Parachain auction in January 2022, Astar Network has become the top Parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem in Total Value Locked and most Ethereum assets transferred over.
Astar Network is the leading smart contract hub that connects the Polkadot ecosystem to Ethereum, Cosmos, and all major layer 1 blockchains. Astar Network supports dApps using multiple virtual machines — namely WASM and EVM — and offers the best technology solutions and financial incentives via its Build2Earn and Astar Incubation Program **for Web3 developers to build on top of a secure, scalable, and interoperable blockchain.
Basic concepts of dApp Staking
General information
At its essence, dApp staking is identical to PoS staking, but in this new paradigm, dApp stakers (also known as nominators) can submit their Astar/Shiden tokens on dApps they want to support.
A part of the rewards are allocated to dApp staking at each block. This sum is then split between developers and nominators. Overall, this provides a significant motivation for developers to produce dApps on Astar/Shiden.
Working with Astar, developers may earn a basic income if their dApp is nominated. Also as it rises in popularity, more people of the community nominate it, allowing its developers to get a larger part of the block reward.
What is the purpose of dApp Staking?
Web3 requires a symbiotic connection between dApp stakers (i.e. nominators), dApp creators, and dApp consumers in order to work properly. On Astar, dApp staking is the mechanism that allows this mutually beneficial connection to take place.
Astar/Shiden dApp stakers (i.e. nominators) want the value of their tokens to grow. The more tokens staked, the fewer tokens there are in circulation. And the less tokens there are in circulation, the higher the price. This market dynamic allows dApp stakers to acquire greater long-term value out of their tokens while earning high APRs by staking their tokens to dApps.
Users benefit from dApp staking because it allows the ecosystem to develop and improve in terms of utility. This is due to the fact that better dApps are produced as a result of developers being able to make profit while developing them. Having more dApps attracts and maintains more users, producing a network effect that aids in the growth of the ecosystem and raises the network’s long-term intrinsic value.
Expanding horizons with AstarPass
AstarPass is the mapping between your Astar Native Address (sometimes referred to as Polkadot address) and your Astar EVM address (also known as MetaMask address).
The main purpose is to draw more EVM dApps users to Astar and to provide additional chances for users to join in the Astar ecosystem. Astar’s team intends to enable EVM dApps on Astar with AstarPass to attract and reward the community and to encourage users to take use of their dApps staking system as well.
In fact, having an AstarPass allows Astar Network dApps to give you bonuses and rewards in exchange for staking your tokens on them. dApps can reward you as a nominator (dApp staker) with NFTs, airdrops, and other benefits.
The main advantage of AstarPass is its adaptability. It can serve a variety of tasks (such as implementing NFT smart contracts) and expand as the ecosystem evolves. Pass holders will receive exclusive deals and incentives, meanwhile gaming dApps will be able to engage more users by delivering unique items to them.
Build2Earn Program
Astar’s dApp staking initiative is the cornerstone of their Build2Earn Program and a natural extension of their Stake2Earn campaign. The project aims to offer developers with a basic income for creating useful dApps on Astar and Shiden.
Staking on Astar: Top Projects
Smart contract developers are opting to build on top of Astar Network firstly due to their Build2Earn Program. Staking Astar tokens on dApps you trust in helps to support the developers who are building on Astar while also earning staking incentives from the tokens that you staked. With that stated, it’s essential to be informed about the projects on which you choose to stake your tokens.
ArthSwap (dApp)
ArthSwap is the most popular decentralized exchange platform (DEX) on Astar Network, with the largest community. It offers high-frequency trading on the Astar Network with a simple UI and designed for high APY. In just one month after launching ArthSwap has surpassed $120 million in TVL, and its community user base has grown to over 200K across Twitter, Discord, and Telegram.
Starlay Finance (dApp)
Starlay Finance is a non-custodial lending protocol on Astar Network. Its depositors can give liquidity to earn interest as a consistent passive income, whilst borrowers can leverage their assets without selling them. With Starlay Finance, the Astar ecosystem is on its way to creating a massive marketplace for holding all types of tokens on any type of chain.
tofuNFT (dApp)
tofuNFT is an NFT marketplace that is permissionless, decentralized, and fully featured. It enhances the traditional marketplace experience with innovative features such as incentivized bidding, real-time alerts, attribute filtering, bulk listing, and rarity explorer. BSC, Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, Fantom, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Astar are among the 25+ chains supported by tofuNFT.
Astar Degens (DAO)
Astar Degens is a community-governed DAO established with the goal of incubating great enterprises and bringing creative ideas to the Astar ecosystem. It consists of Astar community members who have banded together to form a 10,000-strong NFT collection with the community and treasury structure to sustain the growing Astar ecosystem.
Astar Ambassadors
Astar Ambassadors are critical in raising awareness, strengthening the community, and extending Astar’s global footprint. They contribute to the ecosystem by creating content, managing communities, organizing meet-ups and far more.
OnFinality
OnFinality is a SaaS platform that delivers infrastructure and developer tools, saving developers time and allowing teams to grow confidently. Their objective is to assist blockchain and dApp developers in accelerating the development of a decentralized future. It is a reliable partner who has supported 42 parachains and networks since their first block.
And Astar Network itself!
Astar Network is a multi-chain smart contract platform that supports multiple blockchains and virtual machines. Astar supports dApps that use several virtual machines, specifically WASM and EVM, and provides the finest technology solutions (as well as financial incentives) for Web3 developers through its Build2Earn and Incubation Program.
