ASTR becomes OP Superchain’s first interoperable token via Chainlink CCIP

Japan’s Astar Network has become the first blockchain to implement the SuperchainERC20 standard for its ASTR token, in a move aimed at addressing longstanding interoperability issues between networks like Ethereum and Polkadot. 

SuperchainERC20 enables interoperability across Optimism’s Superchain collective, which consists of dozens of projects working to scale Ethereum. 

ASTR can now move between Astar’s Polkadot-based layer-1, Sony’s Soneium and eventually all OP Superchain networks, the company told Cointelegraph. 

The company said ASTR represents one of the “first bridges between the Polkadot and Ethereum ecosystems,” potentially opening the door to ASTR becoming a multichain asset with wider utility. 

Zain Bacchus, a staff product manager at Superchain developer OP Labs, said ASTR interoperability “creates an ideal foundation for DeFi growth across Ethereum and the Superchain.”

The crosschain functionality is enabled through Chainlink’s CCIP protocol, which is designed for token transfers across blockchains. 

“This is the first real-world example of a secure, standards-based architecture for native crosschain interoperability, a glimpse into the future of how tokens will move across ecosystems,” Astar Network head Maarten Henskens told Cointelegraph in a written statement.

Astar Network is a collective driving Web3 adoption by bridging Polkadot and Ethereum. Its mainnet opened to the public in January 2022.

Today, the ASTR token is valued at less than 3 cents with a total market capitalization of $226 million. 

Related: USDT0 deploys on OP Superchain

The ASTR token plays a central role in the Astar Network and is used for transaction fees and staking. However, its value has declined steadily, in part due to the network’s dynamic inflation model.

In April, Astar developers introduced changes to the tokenomics to reduce inflationary pressure. 

The base staking reward was cut to 10% from 25%, lowering the network’s projected annual inflation rate to 4.32% from 4.86%.

As a result, annual ASTR emissions are projected to fall by 11% to approximately 360 million tokens. 

Astar is not alone in rethinking token supply. In January, Multicoin Capital submitted a proposal to transition Solana to a variable-rate emission model, aiming to curb inflation and address concerns around concentrated token ownership.

Related: Web3 growth will be synonymous with Ethereum growth