Astar Network named ‘Product of the Year’ in Japan

Astar Network (ASTR/USD), a leading Polkadot parachain with multi-chain smart contracts support, is the ‘Product of the Year’ winner after bagging the award at the 4th annual Blockchain Award.

The platform’s recognition by the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA) also included an award for its founder and CEO Sota Watanabe, who was named the Person of the Year for the second year in a row.

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Best Web3 project in Japan

Astar Network and Sota Watanabe bagged the awards after emerging favourites in a survey the JBA conducted across the Japanese Web3 community, according to details Invezz obtained on Friday.

The JBA is Japan’s largest blockchain association, with 171 companies as members. These include the Big Four audit firms Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte and KPMG, as well as crypto platforms bitFlyer, Coincheck, and ConsenSys. Tech giant Microsoft, and car maker Toyota are also members.

Commenting on the awards, Watanabe said:

“We are delighted to have been recognized by the Japanese Web3 community. As Japan’s leading blockchain project, we remain committed to accelerating Web3 innovation through Astar. In 2023 and beyond, we will leverage our presence in Japan to unlock opportunities for entrepreneurs, developers, and users alike.”

Astar is the leading Polkadot parachain

Astar Network is EVM and WASM smart contracts compatible and offers Cross-Consensus Messaging (XCM) as well as Cross-Virtual Machine Messaging (XVM). It is the most popular Layer-1 chain in Japan, providing for interoperable dApps and increasingly the go-to blockchain for Web3-focused developers and enterprises.

Astar connects top blockchains such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos, and is supported across all major exchanges. The platform is also backed by tier 1 VCs, including Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs and Fenbushi Capital. As reported in September, a record 329 companies backed Astar Network in a Nikkei advert.

In the market, Astar is the first public blockchain listed in Japan despite the country’s tough listing regulations. ASTR, the Astar Network’s native token, is registered as a cryptocurrency and not a security.