Astar Evolution: What? How?

Everybody, calm down, please! Lots of excitement around the Soneium announcement, well timed to co-incide with the WebX 2024 conference

Astar Network has announced a significant development: the Astar Evolution Phase 1, marking a strategic transition towards Soneium, an Ethereum Layer-2 solution. Soneium is the product of a joint venture between Sony Block Solutions Labs, Startale, and the Sony Group. This move is considered a major step towards achieving Astar’s primary objective: connecting the world to Web3.

The decision to collaborate with Sony and Startale was driven by a shared vision of promoting Web3 adoption on a global scale. Soneium’s strategic positioning within the Ethereum ecosystem, a leading platform in the blockchain space, coupled with Sony’s global reach and brand recognition, provides a unique opportunity to introduce Web3 technologies to a broader audience. This partnership is expected to significantly accelerate the growth of the Astar ecosystem by leveraging the strengths of both entities.

The transition from Astar’s current zkEVM to Soneium is designed to be a smooth and phased process, ensuring minimal disruption to the existing Astar community and ecosystem. The transition will unfold in three distinct phases:

Phase 1: Setting the Stage for Transition (August 2024 — Beginning of October 2024)

Phase 1 commenced with the announcement of the Astar Evolution strategy. This phase primarily involves outlining strategic incentive initiatives to encourage community participation and laying out a clear public timeline for the entire transition process. The Astar Foundation will actively engage with the community, seeking input and feedback to ensure a smooth migration. The strategic incentive initiatives will focus on enhancing the utility of the ASTR token across both the Astar Network and the Soneium ecosystem.

Phase 2: Optimizing the Current System (Q4 2024)

During the last quarter of 2024, the focus will shift to optimizing the operations of the existing Astar zkEVM. This will involve fine-tuning chain parameters, addressing any potential issues, and ensuring network stability. This phase is critical to maintain a robust and efficient platform during the transition period.

Phase 3: A Gradual Closure (2025)

The final phase, expected to begin in 2025, will see the gradual closure of Astar zkEVM. This will be a controlled process, allowing ample time for users and projects to migrate their assets and operations to the Soneium L2 platform. Detailed project guidance and user guides will be provided throughout this phase to support a seamless transition.

It’s important to emphasize that while Astar zkEVM will eventually be sunsetted, Astar Network will remain active and will continue to be developed and supported on the Polkadot side. This transition is about expanding the Astar ecosystem to encompass a wider user base and achieve its ambitious goal of widespread Web3 adoption.