Astar Network, a leading parachain and blockchain innovation hub of Polkadot, is taking Shibuya City to the next level with the signing of a basic agreement to nurture the development of Web3 strategy in Tokyo. The partnership marks the first collaboration between a Japanese blockchain firm and one of the hottest tech hubs in the city.
Touted as Japan’s Silicon Valley, the special ward is home to two of the world’s busiest railway stations and a world-famous fashion district. It is also the location for the Japanese arm of the Google headquarters. The new partnership with Astar will help launch educational programs and hackathons to drive the growth of Web3 within the city.
The CEO of Astar Foundation, Sota Watanabe, commented on the collaboration saying, “We’re honored to have opened our office in this tech hub and to have signed a basic agreement with the city to utilise web3.”
Since 2019, Astar Network has been playing an imperative role in fostering the growth of the Web3 space in Japan. To promote the adoption of Web3, the platform hosts educational sessions for developers and business leaders to get fresher insights into the expanding sect.
The recent collaboration with Sony Network Communications is designed to offer an incubation program that targets projects focusing on the utility of NFTs and DAOs. As part of the program, participants will get to engage in educational sessions with venture capital firms such as Fenbushi Capital, Dragonfly, and Alchemy Ventures to name a few. Moreover, Sony Network will also take charge of tech support, resources, and financial assistance for the approved projects.
Apart from that, the company recently launched its XVM functionality on the public testnet Shibuya. The feature allows the connection of different project’s smart contract environments, further expanding the development of complex applications with more use cases.
The Polkadot ecosystem’s parachain also partnered with the blockchain entity Alchemy last summer to ramp up the development of decentralized finance. On this note, Sota Watanabe mentioned, “ We hope to share the knowledge and resources of both organisations to provide value to the participants selected for the program and create new use cases and projects.”
The recently announced Web3 Hackathon by Toyota Motor Corporation that is sponsored by Astar Network is yet another step towards fostering the growth of the Web3 space in the country. Developers from around the world can join the event and create an intra-company DAO support tool on the Astar Network to simplify the team building process and voting procedure. If the program proves successful, Toyota employees will be actively interacting daily with the Astar platform.
With its collaboration with Shibuya and other forward-thinking firms like Sony and Toyota, Astar’s mission to accelerate the growth of Web3 in Japan is already well under way. This partnership is a unique opportunity for developers worldwide to explore and understand Web3 technology and put their skills to good use.
Undoubtedly, the contribution from Astar Network in the Web3 space will usher in a new wave of digital innovation, paving the path for tomorrow’s digital businesses.
