Astar, Startale Labs, Soneium and the state of our ecosystem

Astar
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Hello everyone,

I’d like to address the current state of our ecosystem with regard to the Soneium project and its impact on the Astar Network community. I appreciate the Astar team’s dedication in partnering with Sony to develop Soneium, which represents a significant technical achievement and a strategic step forward. However, recent shifts in focus have had measurable consequences for our core network, and I believe it’s time to discuss how we can better align the interests of all community members.

Observations from Recent Data

  1. Resource Reallocation: Over the past year, we’ve seen a clear redirection of development, marketing and other strategic resources from the core Astar network to the Soneium project. Reports and public updates suggest that this shift has slowed progress on key Astar ecosystem’s development, which many community members rely on daily.
  2. Community Impact: On-chain metrics clearly indicate that engagement levels on Astar have decreased in areas where development was scaled back. Trading volumes and user activity data reflect a growing concern among Astar token holders about the network’s growth and ecosystem’s development.
  3. Market Sentiment: While Soneium’s progress is generating interest—evidenced by early engagement metrics and preliminary feedback—the Astar token has experienced increased volatility. This appears linked to the perception that our core network is receiving less attention, which is a significant issue for long-term holders.

Proposal for Fair Compensation

Modified by Astar Foundation for sharing misinformation to the community.

  • Acknowledgment of Impact: The diversion of resources to Soneium has directly affected the Astar network’s performance. Modified by Astar Foundation for sharing misinformation to the community.
  • Strengthening Community Ties: A fair distribution will help to bridge the gap between the Soneium initiative and the existing Astar community. This approach encourages a unified ecosystem rather than creating a divide between new and long-standing supporters.
  • Market Stability: Early data from similar initiatives suggests that a well-implemented airdrop can stabilize market sentiment. By rewarding long-term holders, we can help mitigate the volatility that has emerged in response to recent shifts in focus.

Points for Discussion

  • Allocation Mechanism: Modified by Astar Foundation for sharing misinformation to the community.

  • Long-Term Ecosystem Planning: what steps are being taken to ensure that the core Astar network receives the necessary resources and development focus going forward? A roadmap that outlines both Soneium’s and Astar’s future ecosystem and technical development priorities could help align community expectations.

I believe this proposal is not about undermining the Soneium project—it’s about ensuring that all parts of our ecosystem continue to thrive. The innovation behind Soneium is impressive, but it’s critical that we also support the network that has been the foundation of our success.

I look forward to your thoughts and feedback on this proposal. Let’s work together to ensure a balanced approach that honors our long-standing community while embracing new opportunities.

Best regards,
Loyal Astar Token Holder

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I agree on this topic. It is true that Soneium takes Astar’s resources, but this is expected because Soneium is strategically important for Astar in the long term, and Soneium actually makes Astar’s value higher, especially at Astar Evolution Phase 2. Though Soneium doesn’t confirm future tokens at this moment, and this topic cannot be discussed publicly due to the restriction of a big corporation, Soneium’s leadership members (I am one of them) recognize such voices from the community and I will finalise this topic as early as I can.

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dear sota… forgive me for being frank… such a response is not acceptable… I’ll start by saying that investment is personal and everyone is responsible for their own money, but this vague way of responding to yours is unacceptable. … … how many astars, in terms of tokens sold, have contributed and are contributing to the development and growth of soneium? because I’m telling you if you hadn’t noticed, the feeling, outside and inside the community is this, that astar grants soneium… how can you not deny the birth of a soneium token? the narrative up until now has been: the ticker is ‘astr’, and now you don’t want to silence a proposal like this that talks about an airdrop of a soneium token? whoever reads your answer will have even more doubts than before, it is not right to hide behind company secrets and demand unconditional trust, without ever being definitive in your answers for once…, it is not intended to be an attack on you, but only the request from an investor to be more clear.

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Yea, a lot more details should be shared. While we do understand that since Sony is a big corporation, things from there can’t be public easily, but Astar side of things should be made more transparent.
Another important issue that I highlighted was that the community should know the exact plan of Astar ecosystem and tech growth for 2025.

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I must say that I share the sentiment with the community. I tried to avoid making myself busy when I’m already spread thin to the brim, but I want to share my perspective on this matter.

TL;DR: From an Astar community perspective, it is hard to understand how Soneium’s success or hype will lead to Astar’s ecosystem growth. Both the community and the core business team must put enough effort to clarify the future direction of the network and make the public conscious that ecosystem growth of Soneium = growth of Astar Network

One trend I noticed with mobilizing the Astar community is following big names rather than making the network stand independently (I know, it’s easier said than done). Starting from zkEVM with Polygon to Soneium. When I was still part of the team, I was only aware that Startale and Sony would work together on a joint project where marketing was covered jointly through Sony’s channels and resources. However, I have not seen any meaningful benefit of Astar on Sony’s channels.

You can call me a Sota glazer (and I won’t deny my fan-boy-ism), but I still trust the core team, and I know Sota and Maarten have the best intentions for everyone. However, a blockchain should not operate under the assumption of “trust.” If the core team wants the community’s support, I think the team must put active effort into explaining the bigger picture of the network. Like what this partnership means (outside of saying, “Hey, it’s Sony!” or “They’ll use $ASTR!”), why a closed business deal is better than a public and transparent one, what can we expect through the partnership between Startale and Sony to make Soneium, what would happen to developers and ecosystem builders if Soneium is extremely successful, and what is the tokenomics of Soneium?

So far, I’ve learned that (and please correct me if I’m wrong);

  • Sony is developing a new L2 blockchain that recently launched its mainnet.
  • It will use $ASTR and $ETH for its ecosystem but eventually mint the Soneium token.
  • $ASTR is mainly used for governance, staking, and ecosystem (whatever that means), but most documents I can find are kinda unclear about the future or their tokenomics.
  • Startale jointly developed Soneium, but the Astar Foundation dev resource was spent to realize it.
  • Most builders I spoke with were confused when Astar promoted Soneium more than Soneium promoted Astar (only based on X post history x.com and x.com)

Having said that, I cannot fully agree with the OP’s proposed solution of airdropping Soneium tokens since that will be a business nightmare, and it only encourages people to move out of Astar Parachain. But strengthening community ties between Soneium and Astar does sound like an interesting approach. Articles like this and this mention the strong ties with Astar and Soneium, but community and sentiment show that this was not sufficient.

I guess articles like this add to the confusion regarding the dynamics between Astar and Soneium (also, this was the only official acknowledgment of Astar that I could find on their webpage outside of the Soneium L2 Contract address) since the official sources don’t show enough special treatment to Astar compared to their other ecosystem partners. It doesn’t help that Soneium (or Sony, more like) is taking the closed ecosystem approach, which is in odds with what the Astar community wants.

Astar Network has a lot going on right now that is just not being used or shared with the public. Let us share the excitement for the network’s future! Maybe it’s also the right time for the community to propose their ideas for a practical community integration strategy/campaign with Soneium rather than scaring off potential devs from building on Astar and waiting for Soneium. As a builder operating in the traditional gaming sector, I find it increasingly challenging to be proud of using blockchain technology.

But I also want to acknowledge that this is an extremely challenging situation. Pointing out a problem is easy, but I wouldn’t have done any better, even with the full context of the situation.

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It is with some apprehension that I reflect on the possibility of Soneium creating its own token. Although Soneium is strategically important for the Astar Foundation and contributes to increasing the ecosystem’s value, especially in Astar Evolution Phase 2, the idea of a specific Soneium token raises some uncertainties. Until now, the Astar Foundation has always promoted the Astar token as the “official token” of Soneium, and this potential shift, even if unconfirmed, could raise questions about the project’s cohesion and transparency.

What concerns me the most is the fact that this possibility has not been openly discussed or communicated by the Astar Foundation. The lack of clarity on the matter, coupled with the mention that the topic cannot be publicly debated due to corporate restrictions, ends up generating distrust within the community. Although Soneium’s leaders, state that they are aware of the community’s concerns and promise to address the issue soon, the absence of transparent communication leaves room for speculation and doubt.

I believe that, to maintain the community’s trust and engagement, it is essential for the Astar Foundation and Soneium to take a clear and open stance on future plans, especially regarding the creation of a new token. Transparency is crucial to ensure that everyone involved in the ecosystem continues to support and believe in the project in the long term.

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Thank you for your replies. First of all, I am the one who wants to disclose this information and share it with transparency more than anyone else in this forum as one of the people who have been making Astar Network since 2019 because I fully believe this increases the value of Astar Network itself. However, the reason why I cannot do this is not because I am trying to hide the info but because mitigate the risk to undermine the strategic move as a CEO of Startale as explained below.

To avoid the confusion (sorry for making confusion), I need to clarify the role of Astar Foundation and Startale Group. I appreciate this post because this is a great opportunity for me to explain the structure.

  • The role of Astar Foundation (led by Maarten) is to take responsibility for ASTR, our asset, manage the community, set governance directions, and set priorities regarding Astar’s future. All in the best interest of Astar as a Collective, its infrastructure, and its token. My role in the Foundation is as founder of Astar Network.
  • The role of Startale Group (company) is to commit to Astar Network and aim for the exponential growth of Astar Network and make sure ASTR always wins in the context of Astar ecosystem. I am involved in Startale as a CEO.

I agree that transparency in explanations is required for the former, as it demands public accountability, as many of you have pointed out. However, the latter is a private company operating on Astar, and I believe it is ethically wrong to disclose and breach details of all deals with Sony or other companies we are working with under the name of “transparency”, whether they are finalized or still in progress.

As the CEO of Startale, I believe that aligning Astar with Soneium is the most effective growth strategy. To maximize Astar’s long-term benefits, it’s crucial to establish strong relationship with Soneium early on. ACS is a proposal from Startale aimed at achieving this.

As Astar’s Founder, I acknowledge concerns that the available information hasn’t been clearly presented. Maarten, as Head of Foundation, has also requested greater transparency. However, from Startale’s perspective, we’ve already disclosed everything we can at this stage. Sharing more would not only introduce legal and ethical risks but also undermine the very strategy we’re trying to execute.

I’d appreciate it if the community could evaluate ACS as one potential strategy for ASTR’s growth from one ecosystem company - Startale. At the same time, Astar should welcome strategic proposals from other companies, projects, or community members. Ideally, Astar’s growth would be driven by multiple active stakeholders.

In any case, ASTR remains the foundation of what we are building. My focus, as always, is on ensuring that ASTR continues to grow and gain value in the evolving ecosystem, including within Soneium. ASTR benefits from any potential ecosystem expansion and that nothing is being done to sideline ASTR.
When it comes to accountability, this discussion has made it clear that it is important to consistently clarify the relationship between Astar Foundation and Startale Group, as well as whether future proposals are coming from Startale or Astar Foundation.

As Astar Foundation, I believe we should seek broader input on the direction of Astar Network, beyond just aligning with the direction indicated by Startale (i.e., strong alignment with Soneium and Startale’s partner companies such as Sony). If the community thinks another direction is better than the existing one, I believe Astar Foundation should pursue the way.

Regardless of whether it is Astar Foundation or Startale, I am making efforts to maximize the value of Astar Network with a long-term strategic perspective.

Finally, I would like to comment from two perspectives.
• As Startale’s CEO: I strongly believe that aligning Astar with Soneium is the best path for growth of Astar.
• As Astar’s Founder: I’m concerned that Startale is currently the only major active player driving Astar’s growth. Greater transparency from Startale could foster better collaboration between the Astar community and Startale as a business. However, people also need to recognize the need to follow the customs of traditional business practices.

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Hi @sota :wave:
What will be the utility of the astar token? Do we have to wait only for good news (which you said you couldn’t reveal, and I understand, but which no one in the community knows for now) on the Soneium side, so as something central to that chain, or does the astar chain provide for its use at the development level and for dapps that practically don’t exist today?

If the answer is number 1, I think we all agree here that we need to aim to make the astr token a deflationary token, reduce inflation even more and cancel subsidies of any kind on the development side. If development doesn’t exist, I don’t see why we should make the token sellable by those who don’t contribute anything.

If the answer is number 2, please share the results of the last 2 years of support, and your ideas on how it should evolve, if you want to continue on this path, dappstaking, and development support, as well as development itself (I think it’s time to ask developers for results, perhaps with onchain metrics instead of chatter)

That said, it would be important to understand another thing.
Do you intend to have a serious governance, based on real votes of stakeholders, as you yourself wrote, or continue to pretend that it is already like this today? Today the numbers are visible to everyone, the ACS campaign was voted by 25 million astars. A campaign that moves 100 million funds. Don’t you think it’s time to understand how to bring more interactions, and not pretend that the system magically without any kind of incentive and interest pulls in a stakeholder who probably doesn’t know much about all this?

We have made a proposal, something that can solve all this. We don’t pretend to think that it is perfect or easy to implement. But in the last year and a half it is certainly true that precisely because they are focused on Soneium, many things have been neglected on the Astar side, making the ecosystem depressed and as you can see the community unhappy.

It is not the time to make drama, it is useless, we just have to roll up our sleeves and work, there are many competent people in the ecosystem, it is time to act.

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Your topics are about dApp staking and ACS which are not related to the topic in this thread. I don’t think it’s good to spread a discussion. Please make a new topic and tag me so that I can join this convo in another thread.

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I disagree with what you wrote, you are free to not respond and even delete my post if you think it is not relevant. If you want to define the relationship between astar and soneium you must first define what astar is.

There are also specific discussions already open, but the interactions are non-existent. Even there, nothing happens. Beyond wasting our time trying to contribute an idea, there is nothing more we can do.
You can move on.

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Great post, here is my reflection, I will do it point by point according to my vision to the past, present and future of Astar:

1. Recognition to the team and technological advances

The work of Sota Watanabe, Maarten Henskens, and the whole Astar team is fundamental. They have built a solid technical foundation, meeting key milestones of their roadmap and positioning Astar as a scalable, interoperable blockchain focused on dApps development.

The collaboration with Sony (through Sony Network Communications) is not accidental: it is an endorsement of its technology and its ability to innovate in fields such as digital identity, tokenization and enterprise solutions. It validates its hands-on approach and its potential to attract great partners.

2. Patience and long-term vision

In a market dominated by short-termism, Astar is betting on robust and sustainable growth. Projects such as the integration with Sony Group (Soneium) require time to mature, but could open massive doors in sectors such as entertainment, logistics or institutional NFTs.

Community anxiety is understandable (especially in bear markets), but true value is built with infrastructure that lasts, not ephemeral “pumps”. Constant work is the key to success and Astar is implementing it.

3. Adapting to new narratives and regulations

Astar and Soneium are exploring emerging trends such as AI, Launchpads for memecoins, and developer tools. These initiatives, while risky, are necessary to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving Web3 ecosystem.

Global regulations (MiCA in the EU, laws in Asia, etc.) are a challenge, but also an opportunity for serious projects like Astar, which prioritize compliance and transparency. This could attract more institutions and traditional users.

4. Community strength

Astar’s community is one of its greatest assets. Keeping it united, informed and motivated is crucial, especially in times of uncertainty. Initiatives such as hackathons, grant programs and transparent communication help to strengthen this aspect.

It is valid to demand improvements (governance, clarity in roadmap, marketing), but always based on constructive trust. The team has demonstrated its ability to execute, and now it must balance innovation with attention to the needs of the holders.

5. The future: Astar-Soneum integration and beyond

The technical and strategic alignment between Astar and Soneium could be a turning point. If they manage to position themselves as the preferred bridge between public blockchains and private enterprise solutions (such as Sony’s), their utility and demand for $ASTR would grow organically.

Do not underestimate Japan’s role: it is an advanced technological and regulatory hub. Astar, being a Japanese project with global reach, is well positioned to lead Web3 adoption in Asia and the world.

Astar’s path is ambitious, but the foundations are there. In a market where many projects fall down for lack of sustenance, their focus on real technology, strategic alliances and active community makes the difference. Yes, there are challenges (competition from Layer 2s, $ASTR volatility, market pressures), and now is the time to stay strong, keep calm, keep building and support the team with proactive criticism seems the best strategy.

Van.