TL;DR
2025 was a year of re-structure and foundation-building, preparing Astar for what comes next.
The focus was on restructuring, alignment, and laying the foundations across ecosystem expansion, protocol readiness, governance, and community frameworks to evolve from a network focused phase into a stronger Astar Collective. Much of this work happened behind the scenes, but it was essential to remove constraints and prepare for the next stage of growth.
As we move into 2026, Astar enters a new execution phase with clearer priorities around usability, token health, and product driven growth that supports web3 adoption at scale. This shift positions the Collective to continue progressing toward Astar Evolution Phase 2 with a well defined direction and renewed momentum.
Strengthening Astar Collective
In 2025, Astar focused on building the organizational and strategic foundations required to transition from a network centric phase toward a broader Astar Collective that supports long term usability, sustainability, and growth.
On the Astar Core side, the network continued evolving its blockchain infrastructure. The transition to Agile Coretime and the chain upgrade with Asynchronous Backing reflected ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, scalability, and reliability.
Governance also matured over the course of its first year. Onchain governance activity became more established, with proposals and council motions playing a regular role in network decision making. In parallel, the Astar Community Program was launched to provide a more sustainable framework for long term participation, alongside the continued role of the Astar Finance Committee in overseeing financial governance and asset management.
Tokenomics remained a core area of work throughout 2025. Through research, forum discussions, and groundwork on Shibuya, Tokenomics 3.0 was shaped through community consensus, outlining the direction for further development as the network moves into 2026.
Ecosystem Expansion and Adoption
The Astar Contribution Score operated as a structured ecosystem campaign, supporting participation across the Astar collective and its expansion to Soneium, the Ethereum layer 2 developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs. These efforts contributed to broader ecosystem growth, with more than 3.5 million unique wallet addresses engaging onchain. In parallel, Yoki Legacy revisited Yoki Origins, reinforcing continuity within the ecosystem.
Toward the end of the year, Astar created space for controlled experimentation. The Burndrop PoC was introduced to test mechanics and gather practical learnings in a live environment for the Burndrop Concept. Alongside this, the xStocks Trading Competition, run in collaboration with SoneFi and Pyth Network, reflected ongoing ecosystem led DeFi activity.
Looking Ahead
The work completed in 2025 sets the foundation for a more focused execution phase in the year ahead. While the Collective continues to aim for the completion of the first Burndrop, the first quarter of 2026 will prioritize improving core usability across the network.
Key focus areas include:
-
Tokenomics & Inflation
Our Tokenomics 3.0 proposal will be taken further, with the goal of lowering inflation and revamping the dApp Staking model. This includes reshaping token emission distribution across the ecosystem to better support ASTR value and reduce value extraction from the network. -
Astar Portal & dApp Staking
As dApp Staking evolves, the Astar Portal, which sits at the heart of network usage, will also be rebuilt from the ground up. The focus will be on a significantly improved user interface, including early steps toward simplifying the current multi-address and multi-network experience into a more unified and intuitive flow. -
DeFi Focus
The Foundation will focus on DeFi by supporting the launch of a new AMM centered around ASTR to strengthen onchain liquidity, improve utility, and reinforce value aligned DeFi infrastructure. -
Ecosystem Progress
Continuing to evolve governance, staking, and token mechanics together to support long term sustainability.
Together, these efforts reinforce Astar’s foundations and set the rails for its next evolution, enabling a more integrated, product driven web3 experience from applications to devices.
This direction is reinforced by Astar Foundation Forward which outlines a more focused, execution driven approach to operations and financial management, with clearer priorities and stronger discipline.
All of this positions Astar to move steadily toward Astar Evolution Phase 2 while entering 2026 with a clearer structure and stronger execution focus. In parallel, work is underway to define a broader direction for Astar, centered on products and infrastructure that support web3 adoption both globally and in Japan.
Entering 2026
The priorities outlined above guide Astar’s focus for the first quarter and mark the start of a sustained execution phase. In early Q1, a new blog will be published outlining the direction for the Astar Collective alongside a clearer roadmap for 2026, providing additional context on how these initiatives connect over the year.
Looking beyond Q1, the second half of 2026 will accelerate the shift from foundation building to execution:
-
Building products under the Astar Collective to onboard and retain more users through cohesive, product driven experiences. The transition to a Collective model enables a more integrated product strategy, allowing Astar to deliver coherent user experiences that were difficult to achieve when operating purely as a network.
-
Providing DeFi-related services capable of generating sustainable and repeatable revenue that can flow back in ASTR token value. Beyond incentive driven growth, these services are intended to support long term ecosystem sustainability while reinforcing alignment around ASTR.
More details on these directions will be shared as plans are finalized and shared in late January.
For those looking to engage more directly, the Burndrop PoC and the xStocks Trading Competition are currently ongoing, offering a closer look at live experimentation and ecosystem activity as this next phase takes shape.
Thank you to everyone who supported Astar throughout the year. We look forward to continuing the journey in the year ahead.
