1. Introduction
Hello dear Astar Community,
We’re delighted to submit suggestion for the next round of Astar dApp Staking and to share how Kyo Finance on Soneium can deepen ASTR’s real-world utility.
Kyo Finance is already the #1 liquidity and trading hub on Soneium. In its first four months before any token emissions, it delivered $457M in cumulative volume and 27M on-chain swaps.
By integrating ASTR directly into our governance, incentives, and cross-chain liquidity plans, we can turn Kyo into a perpetual ASTR demand engine and a showcase for Astar-powered DeFi.
2. Project Snapshop & Mission
Kyo Finance is a next-generation veDEX (vote-escrow DEX) that pairs the deep liquidity mechanics of modern AMMs with real-time, fungible governance. Built from audited and battle-tested codebases, Kyo Finance replaces week-long voting epochs and illiquid veNFTs with a gauge system that updates in real time. Users can shift voting weight instantly and earn swap fees and external bribes the moment blocks are generated. An AI “Intent Prompter” and Account Abstraction (AA) batching collapse multi-step DeFi flows into a single transaction. A LVR protection solution in development rebates arbitrage gains to LPs, turning passive liquidity into active yield. With an SDK and widget toolkit, as well as cross-superchain routing, on the roadmap, Kyo aims to become the default liquidity and governance layer wherever EVM users trade.
3. Powering the Astar Ecosystem
3.1 Supercharging ASTR Utilities
- Blue-Chip Pools: ASTR-ETH, ASTR-USDC, and vASTR-ASTR pools are deployed, as well as many more ASTR-paired liquidity pools. ASTR is treated as tier1 asset on Kyo.
- Yield opportunity : Through a real-time vote/bribe/reward system, ASTR liquidity providers can receive stable yield supply, while token holders are provided with profit opportunities and traders are given deeper order books
- AA Gas Usage: Users pay gas in ASTR via our ERC-20 Paymaster, which creates constant usage spots.
3.2 Superchain Amplification
Kyo’s Tokyo 2.0 update is in the works and will expand our ecosystem to include other superchain family. When Superchain’s interoperability upgrade is applied or asset inflows from other chains become accessible through our proprietary cross-chain solution, and conversely, if bridges from Astar to other chains open up, Kyo will become a medium that can seize new opportunities there for ASTR as well.
3.3 Flywheel Economics
- dApp staking rewards bribe ASTR pools.
- Increase veKYO votes.
- The protocol redirects more emissions back to the ASTR pool.
- Offer a high APR for ASTR-paired pools to attract more liquidity.
- Deeper liquidity = tighter spreads and higher volume.
- More fees and bribes flow to veKYO voters. Repeat.
4. Team & Governance Credibility
Kai, the founder of Kyo Finance, followed an elite STEM track before pivoting from a successful professional career into Web3. Over the past five years he has led a global DeFi-builder collective that audited, engineered, and launched multiple production-grade protocols across several L2 networks. This blend of rigorous analytical training, hands-on smart-contract expertise, and proven product execution equips Kai to steer Kyo Finance’s roadmap, security standards, and ecosystem partnerships with a long-term, builder-first mindset.
The members of the broader team have extensive experience researching and operating blockchain infrastructure companies. They now work for Kyo Finance worldwide.
5. Security & Audits
- Audits: Omniscia, Beosin, and Sherlock’s top auditor invitational round sponsored by Optimism Fnd.
- Monitoring: Hexagate real-time monitoring offering 24/7 alerts through hotline.
Links → https://docs.kyo.finance/security
6. Record of Awards and Past Performance
Soneium Spark Competition – DEX Winner
Optimism Season 7 Grants: Liquidity Incentive + Audit Grant secured
Agent Hackathon 1st Place: AA-powered, AI swap-prompter
- TVL Growth: US $6.3 M ➜ US $55 M in 100 days
- Cumulative Volume: US $457 M since mainnet launch (May 2025)
- Total over 15m swap transactions happened
7. Roadmap
- Roadmap & Milestones — Narrative Overview
- KYOTO 2.0 (rolling out June 2025)
KYOTO 2.0 release delivers the AI intent-prompt interface, an ERC-20 Paymaster for Account Abstraction gas payments, multi-swap in a single transaction, and an entirely refreshed UI/UX.
The first wave has already been deployed this week, showcasing a fresh look, and features such as AA, Zap LP, transaction history view, etc. are being continuously updated in sequence. We talk less, ship more.
- SCS AA Toolkit Deep-Link (bundled with Kyoto 2.0)
Users will be able to create or connect a smart contract wallet with one click and pay gas fees with ASTR, USDC.e, USDT, or solvBTC fully sponsored by the SCS toolkit.
- Why is this AA update particularly important for ASTR users?
The most utilized pool among ASTR pools is the one paired with wstASTR, nsASTR, and ASTR, which allows users to earn both LST yield and swap fees simultaneously. Previously, when someone who had been using ASTR on other chains wanted to utilize this pool, they had to install a new EVM wallet and transfer ETH for gas fees to use it. However, after the AA update, users can connect their social accounts through the Privy embed wallet to create a wallet instantly without installing a separate wallet, transfer only ASTR, and send transactions using ASTR as gas fees. They can also mint wstASTR directly within our pool page to pair it, or even provide LP directly through zap using only ASTR. This makes the usability much more convenient. After that, both harvesting and compounding can be performed with one-click.
- NAGOYA Release (Q3 2025)
Marks the KYO TGE and introduces Kyo Finance’s unique real-time governance system with the SmartVote feature and auto-vote compounding.
- TOKYO Release (Q4 2025)
Expands Kyo Finance across multiple Superchain L2s, deploys our Rust-based solver module, and unifies cross-chain liquidity.
6. dApp Staking Reward Allocation
Kyo Finance respectfully requests an Astar dApp-Staking slot. They will be recycled into ASTR-centric growth, including liquidity incentive bribe and new user onboarding campaigns. These campaigns will generate continual ASTR demand, deeper markets, and a best-in-class experience for Astar holders.
Thank you for your consideration. We welcome all questions and feedback from the Astar community!
The Kyo Finance Team