Astar, Startale Labs announce Web3 partnership with Japanese telecom giant, KDDI 

Singapore-based Astar Network and Startale Labs have entered a memorandum of understanding with Japanese telecom firm KDDI to accelerate societal adoption of blockchain technology and innovate customer experiences in the “Web3 era.”

• The partnership will explore new business opportunities in token technology and applications of Astar Network’s Ethereum scaling solution, the Astar zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) in KDDI’s “αU” market.
• KDDI’s “αU” includes Web3 services such as “αU market” and “αU wallet,” which allow clients to manage and trade digital assets.
• With over 50 million subscribers in Japan, KDDI is a telecommunications giant serving 60 cities and 100 locations around the world.
• Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has shown support for digital finance and Web3 adoption in Japan to reinvigorate the economy in what he has called “new capitalism.” He said non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) can help support Japan’s national strategy dubbed ‘Cool Japan’ to attract investment and expand the economy.