Astar Network has been named the Product of the Year at the JBA Annual Blockchain Award.

Astar Network’s founder bagged the ‘Person of the Year’ award for a second-consecutive time.

The JBA comprises some of the leading Japanese companies.

Astar Network becomes the Product of the Year

Astar Network, the smart contract platform for multichain, announced on Friday, December 23rd, that it had been awarded the Product of the Year at the 4th annual Blockchain Award by the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA). 

In a press release shared with Coinjournal, Astar Network added that its founder and CEO, Sota Watanabe, also bagged the Person of the Year award for the second consecutive year at the same event.

The JBA is currently the largest blockchain association in Japan and comprises some of the leading global companies, including, bitFlyer, Coincheck, Microsoft, GMO, EY, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, Toyota, and ConsenSys. 

While commenting on this latest cryptocurrency news, Sota Watanabe, the founder and CEO of Astar Network, said; 

“We are delighted to have been recognized by the Japanese Web3 community. As Japan’s leading blockchain project, we remain committed to accelerating Web3 innovation through Astar. In 2023 and beyond, we will leverage our presence in Japan to unlock opportunities for entrepreneurs, developers, and users alike.”

Astar Network’s win doesn’t come as a surprise

Astar Network has shown itself to be one of the leading blockchain projects in Japan. It is a leading Layer-1 chain in Japan. As a parachain of Polkadot, it enables developers to build interoperable dApps. It supports both EVM and WASM smart contracts with cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and cross-virtual machine messaging (XVM).

This latest development comes barely a month after the Astar Network launched Swanky, an all-in-one tool that gives developers what they need to build WebAssembly (WASM) smart contracts easily.

Astar Network’s CEO is helping the Japanese government chart the path forward for web3 development in the country. He has also been featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 for both Asia and Japan. 

Astar Network has become the go-to blockchain for developers and enterprises interested in exploring the Japanese Web3 space. Furthermore, it is the first public blockchain in Japan to be listed there despite the country’s strict listing regulations

In addition to that, Astar’s native token, ASTR, is registered as a cryptocurrency, not a security, by the Japanese government.