Key points

• Astar Network is introducing Smart Contracts 2.0 on their mainnet on April 6th.

• Smart Contracts 2.0 will allow Astar Network to provide support for both the EVM and WASM VM smart contracts.

• Astar is launching the new feature following their partnership with Sony Network Communications a few weeks ago. 

Astar Network to Introduce Smart Contracts 2.0 on Mainnet

Astar Network, the smart contracts platform for multichain, announced on Monday that it would be launching its Smart Contracts 2.0 on April 6th. The mainnet will now support both the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and WebAssembly (WASM) smart contracts.

The company shared a press release with Coinjournal which detailed the release of Smart Contracts 2.0. The WebAssembly (WASM) upgrade will extend the Web3 capabilities of the EVM. The team also announced a virtual celebration with the entire Web3 community on WASM Launch Day.

The new feature will allow developers to create projects in both the EVM and WASM environments. This means that they can connect to the Polkadot or EVM ecosystems. Sota Watanabe, the founder of Astar Network, called this the next level of smart contracts.

Astar Network to Support Multichain Networks

Astar Network is hosting a virtual meet-up with Parity, Phala, DIA, SubWallet, Brushfam & Subsquid. Developers will be taught how to create multichain networks on Astar. The team said that their platform would be the first  Polkadot parachain to support a stable WASM environment. Additionally, developers can also build with Polkadot through the XCM functionality.

This launch follows the joint web3 incubation program between Astar Network and Sony Network Communications which was announced in February. At the moment, Astar Network supports both the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and WebAssembly (WASM) smart contract environments.

The company also offers developers true interoperability with cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and a cross-virtual machine (XVM). With Smart Contract 2.0, developers can create new multichain applications and gain access to the latest advancements in the cryptocurrency world.