Despite a string of failures in crypto and web3 during the last year, many corporations around the world are still showing a keen interest in blockchain technology, and are looking to find new ways to implement it into their business models so that they can provide new services and products to their customers. 

Recently, Sony has become the latest company to explore blockchain technology with a new incubation program that they have begun in partnership with Startale, a web3 company based in Singapore. 

Web3 Incubation Program by Sony Network Communications and Astar

The incubation program created by Sony and Startale will focus primarily on network communications. Results from the incubation program will then help Sony develop new business strategies and tech support as they continue to explore the wider world of web3. 

The incubation program will specifically look into the Astar network and how that can be leveraged to Sony’s benefit. While it’s not the most popular network that exists, Sony’s interest in Astar shows that they are not limiting their scope to just the main blockchains such as Ethereum and Polygon like many others which could lead to some interset results in the future as we see a broader range of capabilities, while also creating new financial opportunities for investors. 

Big companies getting crypto

With Sony’s inclusion into web3, it appears that corporations are doing anything but slowing down on their increased interest in cryptocurrency despite the non-stop series of failures that occurred in 2022. 

Not only that, but Sony also represents another interesting facet of adoption due to their presence in Japan. Asia has been a massive supporter of cryptocurrency throughout its history. Moreover, Japan was where bitcoin was (supposedly) created, so there is an even deeper, more intimate connection in the country to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and they’re not the only ones. 

Singapore’s continued interest in crypto

Startale represents the other half of Sony’s web3 incubation and is based in Singapore which has been one of the leading countries driving the web3 industry. The city-state, which has immense experience in the financial industry, has placed a lot of attention on cryptocurrency because of its relationship with finance, helping the country explore new areas of production.

The country was also partly responsible for the rapid rise in popularity of NFTs when they hosted the Christie’s auction, which sold the Beeple collection to an investor in Singapore for $69 million in early 2021. Suddenly, web3 had become a boon for the country and it’s no coincidence that the country is seeing a collection of web3-based businesses begin to grow within their borders. 

The Astar network

Hidden beneath the significance of all this is the Astar network itself. The Astar blockchain was originally developed as a multichain network that can operate smart contracts efficiently. The network has silently gained the attention of companies like Binance and Coinbase who have both invested in the network. 

It is also in connection with Polkadot, allowing it to provide an even larger set of services for Dapp creators and users alike. While the Astar token only has a price of $0.10 at the time of this writing, things could change depending on the success of Sony’s incubation program.