Astar Network: December Updates

December updates brought a lot of activity and upgrades to the Astar Network ecosystem. Additionally, institutional and governmental partnerships are becoming increasingly solidified in the Asian region, with a focus on Japan and South Korea.

Sota Watanabe revealed that Astar Network's plans go beyond the crypto world and aim to revolutionize social relationships for the upcoming generations through innovation.

Sota was invited to a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister of the Japanese government, along with prime ministers/presidents of ASEAN countries. They pledged to do their best to make 2024 the year of Japanese Web3 worldwide.

Astar Network and the Korean Market

Following Astar's success in the Japanese market, establishing itself as the country's number #1 blockchain, expansion into the Korean market is the second path outlined by the Astar Foundation

The Astar team revealed that they spent several months in South Korea engaging with projects and hiring members. The main idea is to bring real-world use cases to Korea, similar to what was done in Japan.

Another factor that solidified Astar Network's presence in the Korean market was the listing of the ASTR token on the Upbit exchange, causing the token to surge by over 65%, with trading volume in the last 24 hours surpassing renowned L1 networks like Cardano (ADA).

Astar Network Birthday

December is a very special month for the chain because, two years ago, Astar produced its first block. And after a long journey, it has now produced more than 5 million blocks.

Leader in Transactions in the Polkadot Ecosystem

Another statistical data point that demonstrates the significance of Astar Network in the Polkadot ecosystem was revealed in the Polkadot Annual Report released by Parity. Astar leads monthly transactions within the ecosystem with a considerable advantage.

Even with less prominence than it deserves in the ecosystem, Astar's star will continue to shine and stand out in any ecosystem it enters.

Holders Record

The number of ASTR token holders surpassed the 600k mark in December, with over 11 million transactions, demonstrating the community's confidence in the project.

Astar Portal Updates

The user interface of the Astar Portal has been updated to a more interactive model that reveals more on-chain data to users. Now, it is possible to stake in more than 64 dApps participating in the #Build2Earn program developed by Astar.

Astar will continue shining in the Japanese market, in Korea, and on the Asian side until it is ready to expand operations globally. Stay tuned for updates on the Astar blog.