In an exclusive interview with the chief executive of Astar Network, Sota Watanabe stated that the partnership with the giant tech firm Sony has proved to be helpful. The executive envisages that in the coming months, the partnership will bring drastic changes to the entire blockchain ecosystem.
Addressing the BUIDL Asia Conference held in Seoul, Watanabe unveiled the progress of the ongoing blockchain project developed by Sony in partnership with Startale Labs, an affiliate company of Astar Network.
Astar and Sony Developing New Blockchain Network
The two entered into a strategic partnership last year to develop an innovative blockchain network owned by Sony. In his statement, Watanabe described the new blockchain network as a very intensive and crucial project for the company.
The executive argued that the two partners are focusing on how the new blockchain network will be used widely. Under the partnership agreement, the Astar network will support the development of the Web3 network and prove its usefulness in various industries.
Watanabe explained that the collaboration with Sony will build a public blockchain that will be used by diverse users in Web3, crypto, and other fields. He recognized that Sony had established strong touchpoints with the users.
With the changes in the tech industry, Sony, the developer of Playstation, has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the growth of the crypto sector. In February, the Sony team filed for a patent for the new super fungible token that will enable the user to transfer the NFTs on blockchain game.
Astar Network Pushing for Adoption of Web3
Based on the ever-changing nature of the customers’ needs, the Sony team plans to integrate additional features into the new blockchain. This implies that the blockchain network under development will not only focus on games and NFTs but will have additional options.
The development of the new blockchain came at a time when the Japanese regulators enacted new stablecoin rules. These new rules restrict the issuance of stablecoin to trusted financial institutions and banks only.
During the interview, the Astar Network boss confessed that the company was holding talks with various banks about complying with the new rules. Upon contacting Watanabe to inquire about the steps Astar will take to conform with the new stablecoin rules, the official declined to comment.
Review of Astar’s Recent Development
Despite the changes in regulation, the Astar Network has established strong partnerships with fast-paced companies such as Toyota, SoftBank, and NTT Docomo, among others. At the beginning of this month, the Astar team debuted the Polygon Agglayer-based network zkEVM.
The launch of the zkEVM is aimed at supporting cross-chain transactions across the Astar and Polygon networks. At that time, Watanabe projected that the adoption of AggLayer would rise when more partners joined the platform.
Watanabe’s recent remarks on blockchain contradict his previous report, which describes blockchain as a business. With the changes in the crypto ecosystem, Watanabe believes that blockchain is a transformative technology that will redefine the Web3 sector.
He also has a strong belief that tech development will change the world, but it was important to develop and market the benefits of Web3 to the community. He advised the developers to promote the Web3 tools to policymakers and businesses to push for mainstream adoption of this budding technology.
Based on his previous role, he believes that advocating for the usefulness of Web3 to legislators emerges as one of Astar’s main strengths. Reflecting on the ongoing development of regulating the digital sector, Watanabe explained that adopting friendly regulations will support the adoption of Web3 technology.
