Astar Network, the winner of Polkadot’s third parachain auction, has raised $22 million in its newest round of strategic fundraising.
Image Source: The Crypto Times
The cash will be used to build interoperability between Ethereum and Polkadot-native smart contracts for the project. Polychain Capital led the round, with participation from Alameda Research, Alchemy Ventures, and Crypto.com Capital.
Dr. Gavin Wood, the developer of Polkadot, and Japanese professional soccer player Keisuke Honda were among the noteworthy angel investors who contributed.
The strategic round announced today is Astar Network’s second significant funding round. Fenbushi Capital, OKX Ventures, and Huobi Capital contributed $10 million in a previous round in June 2021.
The majority of its prior contributors have been Asian companies because Astar Network is built by Stake Technologies in Singapore.
Astar noted in a news release that the newest strategic round was targeted towards attracting U.S. investors and strategic partners, allowing the company to expand its geographic reach.
Polkadot’s Astar Network is the first multi-chain smart contract platform. The protocol enables Ethereum and Polkadot-native smart contracts to coexist and communicate with one another, making it easier for Ethereum developers to use Polkadot.
Astar can also connect to other Layer 1 networks via numerous bridges. Astar now supports Celer Network and Nomad connections via the Multichain bridge, with a Cosmos bridge set to launch in the first quarter of 2022.
The cash raised today will be used to help Astar realize its vision of a multi-chain, interoperable future.
Parachain slot winners have begun to launch on the network after the first round of Polkadot parachain auctions ended in December.
Moonbeam was the first to go live on January 11, followed by Astar Network on January 17. Institutional investors are likely to remain interested as parachains on Polkadot begin to develop their platforms and goods.