Astar Network is a Polkadot parachain that runs EVM smart contracts and pays some dApps a share of network rewards through dApp Staking. This guide explains what Astar is in 2026, what it offers an NFT marketplace, where its limits are, and the steps to build an Astar NFT marketplace.
What Astar Network is today
Astar started as Plasm Network and took the Astar name before it won a Polkadot parachain slot in 2021. Polkadot's validators finalize Astar's blocks, so Astar shares Polkadot's security, and the network's native token is ASTR. Shiden is Astar's sister network on Kusama, and Shibuya is the public testnet.
Three changes matter for anyone who reads older guides:
- Wasm contracts are gone. Astar's developer docs say Wasm (ink!) smart contracts were shut down on Astar, Shiden and Shibuya in October 2026, so new contracts must use the EVM.
- Astar zkEVM is gone. The Astar team ran an Ethereum layer 2 called Astar zkEVM, built with Polygon's CDK, then shut it down and moved its Ethereum work to Soneium.
- Soneium is a separate network. Soneium is an Ethereum layer 2 built on the OP Stack, which Sony Block Solutions Labs developed together with the Astar team and launched on mainnet in January 2025.
"Build on Astar" can therefore mean the Astar parachain on Polkadot or the Soneium network that the Astar team supports. The two options have different tools, users and liquidity, and this page covers the Astar parachain.
Why build an NFT marketplace on Astar Network
- EVM compatibility. ERC-721, ERC-1155 and marketplace contracts written in Solidity deploy with Foundry or Hardhat, and MetaMask and other EVM wallets work.
- dApp Staking. ASTR holders stake on the dApps they want to support. dApps with enough stake receive a share of the network's inflation rewards, so a marketplace can earn income beyond trading fees.
- Polkadot messaging. XCM (cross-consensus messaging) moves assets and messages between parachains without a third-party bridge, which helps if your payment tokens or NFTs live on another Polkadot chain.
- Low fees. Game items and frequent trades stay cheap.
How dApp Staking pays a marketplace
The current version of dApp Staking is v3, and the dApp Staking v3 documentation describes these rules:
| Rule | Value on Astar |
|---|---|
| Era | 14,400 blocks, about one day |
| Period | 365 eras, about one year |
| Voting subperiod | One era at the start of each period, when stakers choose dApps and no rewards are paid |
| Build&Earn subperiod | The rest of the period, when stakers and dApps earn rewards |
| Tiers | dApps are ranked into tiers by total stake. Each tier has a limited number of slots and a minimum threshold, and higher tiers receive larger rewards. |
| Reward-eligible dApps | At most 16 per era |
| Minimum stake | 500 ASTR per staker |
A marketplace earns dApp Staking income only if its community stakes enough ASTR to reach a tier. The reward amount depends on total staking and on parameters that governance can change.
Trade-offs
- Small NFT market. Ethereum, its layer 2 networks and Solana have far more NFT collectors and trading volume, so a marketplace on Astar usually has to bring its own community.
- Fewer ready-made services. Check that your NFT API, indexer, fiat on-ramp and embedded wallet vendors support Astar before you commit.
- Two address formats. Polkadot-native addresses (SS58) and EVM addresses (H160) both exist on Astar. Astar links each address in one format to an address in the other, but the interface must still accept users who arrive with either format.
- Changing XCM links. Astar's governance forum shows XCM channels with some parachains being closed in 2026, so confirm that a channel to your target parachain is open before you plan cross-chain features.
Astar NFT marketplace architecture
| Layer | Choice on Astar |
|---|---|
| NFT contracts | Solidity ERC-721 and ERC-1155 with OpenZeppelin, plus EIP-2981 royalty information |
| Exchange | A signed-order exchange like Seaport, or simple on-chain listings for low volume |
| Wallets | EVM wallets for most users, and Talisman, SubWallet or polkadot.js for Polkadot-native users |
| Indexing | EVM event indexing through a subgraph-compatible indexer or SQD (formerly Subsquid), which also supports Substrate chains (chains built with Polkadot's framework) |
| Cross-chain | XCM for parachain assets, and established bridges for Ethereum assets |
| Revenue | Trading fees, primary-sale fees and dApp Staking rewards |
Build steps
- Choose the target: the Astar parachain with Polkadot users and XCM, or Soneium with Ethereum layer 2 users.
- Write the contracts and test them on Shibuya with standard EVM tools.
- Set up indexing, and confirm RPC capacity with a provider that supports Astar.
- Build the marketplace frontend, with support for both EVM and Polkadot wallets if you target Polkadot users.
- Apply for dApp Staking, and plan community campaigns to attract stakers.
- Audit the contracts and launch with a curated set of collections.
The marketplace logic matches any EVM chain. The Ethereum NFT marketplace guide covers order protocols and royalties, the Polkadot development guide covers the Polkadot side, and the cross-chain NFT marketplace guide covers trading between chains.
Team, timeline and cost
The figures in this section are estimates, not quotes. An EVM marketplace on Astar takes about the same effort as one on any EVM chain, and a first version needs four or five engineers for three to five months. Support for Polkadot wallets and XCM transfers adds several weeks and needs an engineer with Polkadot experience.
Frequently asked questions
What is Astar Network?
Astar Network is a Polkadot parachain with EVM smart contracts and a native token called ASTR. Its dApp Staking system lets ASTR holders direct part of the network's rewards to the dApps they support.
Is Astar EVM-compatible?
Yes. Astar runs an EVM, so Solidity contracts and Ethereum wallets work. It also ran Wasm contracts written in ink! until it shut them down in October 2026.
Can I launch an Astar NFT collection with standard tools?
Yes. Astar NFT contracts are standard ERC-721 or ERC-1155 contracts in Solidity. Foundry, Hardhat and OpenZeppelin work as on Ethereum, and Shibuya provides free test tokens from a faucet.
Is Astar the same as Soneium?
No. Astar Network is a Polkadot parachain, while Soneium is an Ethereum layer 2 developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs with the Astar team's involvement.