Fireblocks, a prominent enterprise platform that facilitates digital asset operations and fosters innovation on the blockchain, has announced its integration with Astar Network, a rapidly growing smart contract platform in Japan. The partnership will enable over 650 banks and institutional investors to securely access and manage their digital assets on Astar, while also leveraging Fireblocks’ cutting-edge technology to explore the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem and engage in various asset-related activities.
With Astar Network’s integration into the Fireblocks platform, financial institutions gain unprecedented access to the booming world of DeFi. They can now participate in various DeFi protocols hosted on Astar, including the widely recognized ArthSwap, and trade, swap, and lend digital assets with the utmost security. Furthermore, Fireblocks’ users can benefit from the platform’s proven Multi-Party Computation (MPC) infrastructure, enabling them to manage their wallets with enhanced protection and peace of mind.
Driving DeFi Adoption in Japan’s Institutional Landscape
Astar Network’s appeal lies in its support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environment and its addition of WebAssembly (WASM), turning it into a versatile multichain platform that promotes interoperability between applications. This has played a crucial role in positioning Astar as a preferred choice among developers and enterprises seeking a secure and adaptable smart contract platform in Japan.
Stephen Richardson, Managing Director, Financial Markets, and Head of APAC at Fireblocks, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating, “We are excited to add Astar to the Fireblocks Network and support the growth of Japan’s leading smart contract platform. Fireblocks has always focused on facilitating institutional adoption in the digital assets industry. By leveraging our highly secure network and MPC-based wallet infrastructure, banks, exchanges, OTCs, and hedge funds can now seamlessly access Astar’s assets. We look forward to further supporting digital assets adoption in Japan with this collaboration.”
In celebration of this milestone partnership, Astar, Fireblocks, and bitbank jointly organized a special event during WebX in Tokyo, which saw an attendance of over 200 guests. The event aimed to enlighten participants about Web3 technology’s applications in the corporate world. A panel discussion was held, featuring Sota Watanabe (Founder of Astar Network and CEO of Startale Labs), Atsushi Kuwabara (Head of Sales Division and Head of Business Development at bitbank), and Stephen Richardson (Managing Director, Financial Markets and Head of APAC at Fireblocks).
The panelists emphasized the growing importance of enterprises in the Web3 ecosystem, particularly in Japan, where the government has shown significant interest in exploring Web3 technologies. Numerous executives from global enterprises, Web3 founders, and venture capitalists also took part in the event, using the opportunity to network and engage in discussions regarding the transformative potential of decentralized protocols and blockchain-powered networks on business models. A key highlight of the event was an exclusive demo of the Fireblocks platform on Astar Network, which offered Japanese companies a secure and hands-on experience of utilizing DeFi technology.
Enabling Adoption with Robust Asset Safeguarding
Fireblocks has garnered considerable recognition in recent years due to its rapid growth and unwavering commitment to security. It became the first service provider to receive certification from the Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium (C4) for its digital asset infrastructure system. With its MPC technology, Fireblocks has attracted clients from various sectors, including traditional finance giants like BNY Mellon, ANZ Bank, NAB, and prominent Japanese trading platforms like CoinTrade.
Maarten Henskens, CEO of Astar Foundation, expressed optimism about the partnership, saying, “Fireblocks is a leading platform catering to institutional investors. We’re looking forward to leveraging this integration to enhance adoption while giving institutions looking to build on Astar a secure and robust way to safeguard their digital assets.”
Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform that offers a secure infrastructure for the transfer, storage, and issuance of digital assets. The Fireblocks Network and MPC-based Wallet Infrastructure enable exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to scale their digital asset operations securely. The platform serves thousands of financial institutions, with a track record of securing the transfer of over $4 trillion in digital assets and offering a unique insurance policy covering assets in storage and transit.
Astar Network, on the other hand, is Japan’s leading smart contract platform, supporting both EVM and WebAssembly (Wasm) environments and facilitating interoperability between them using a Cross-Virtual Machine. The platform is developer-friendly, enabling developers to use tools and languages they are already familiar with. Backed by the shared security of Polkadot, Astar thrives within a vibrant ecosystem and is at the forefront of driving international corporate adoption and consumer interest in Web3 technologies.
