Singapore – September 8, 2022 – Moonbeam, the top destination for cross-chain connected applications, has announced an integration with Astar, the Future of Smart Contracts for Multichain, allowing two of the most popular networks on Polkadot to communicate and interoperate. Astar’s token ASTR can now be deposited on Moonbeam as xcASTR and used across the Moonbeam DApp ecosystem. This most recent integration brings together Moonbeam and the Astar WASM platform, joining two of the most active parachains in Dotsama to pave the way for the development of interoperable applications in the Polkadot ecosystem.
Astar and its Kusama sister parachain Shiden are developer-focused chains with programs aimed at accelerating growth on Polkadot and Kusama networks through the offerings of Astar SpaceLabs, a program to scale DApps through marketing, technical support, and Astar’s innovative #Build2Earn initiative. Now that XC-20 assets can be used across both networks, Moonbeam developers are able to build out their projects, and easily integrate with Astar’s ecosystem and WASM smart contract technology.
Moonbeam is a smart contract platform optimized for cross-chain connected applications. The Moonbeam development platform makes it possible to build applications that unite functionality from Ethereum, Cosmos, Polkadot and more — simplifying the experience for users who want to interact with services and assets that are dispersed across many chains. This focus on moving the infrastructural complexity away from the user helps encourage new entrants to the Web3 ecosystem by reducing the learning curve and unlocking new application use cases. Other parachains natively connected to Moonbeam, such as Astar, can benefit from access to these additional users and functionality.
Builders interested in exploring advanced interoperability scenarios with Moonbeam, Astar, and other developer-friendly parachains on Polkadot can build cross-chain connected contracts, which leverage functionality and resources from multiple chains to provide a consolidated user experience. Grants and other forms of funding may be available through the Moonbeam Foundation for teams building new applications on Moonriver and Moonbeam.
Moonbeam launched in January 2022 and has since seen over 10 million transactions, the deployment of more than 6,800 smart contracts, and several cross-chain integrations with parachains like Acala and Astar as well as external blockchains through LayerZero and Axelar. Assets from these chains can be brought to Moonbeam as XC-20s, and can be used like ERC-20s across the Moonbeam ecosystem, setting the precedent for interoperability within and outside of the broader Polkadot network.
About the Moonbeam Network
Moonbeam is a smart contract platform for building cross-chain connected applications that can access users, assets, and services on any chain. By uniting functionality from Ethereum, Cosmos, Polkadot and more into a single platform, Moonbeam solves today’s fragmented user experience — unlocking true interoperability and paving the way for the next generation of applications. The Moonbeam platform uses integrated cross-chain messaging to allow developers to create smart contracts that access services across many remote blockchains. This approach, plus Moonbeam’s developer-friendly EVM platform, vast tool support, and modern Substrate architecture, creates the ideal development environment for building connected applications.
About Astar Network
Astar Network – the Future of Smart Contracts for Multichain. Astar Network supports the building of dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts and offers developers true interoperability, with cross-consensus messaging (XCM). We are made by developers and for developers. Astar’s unique Build2Earn model empowers developers to get paid through a dApp staking mechanism for the code they write and dApps they build.
