Acala and Astar Network Join Hands to Boost DeFi in Polkadot

In a major boost for Polkadot and its developing DeFi ecosystem, the interoperable network’s innovation hub, Astar Network, is partnering with Acala, one of the largest Parachains, as per a recent press release.

The DeFi Rising Program

According to details, Astar Network and Acala are joining hands to launch the “Astar x Acala DeFi Rising” program. The objective is to reward and unlock new opportunities for developers.

Notably, the program is among the first steps towards building a vibrant DeFi system powered by Astar Network’s Cross-Consensus Messaging Format (XCM). This solution enables trustless execution and decentralized cross-chain transfers.

Together with Acala, Sota Watanabe, the CEO of the Astar Network, says they will build multichain use cases together and prove the timeless value of the XCM.

This collaboration is the first official campaign conducted by major Polkadot Parachains in the ecosystem. As has been the case in the past, Acala and Astar will lead the Polkadot ecosystem and create multichain use cases together. This partnership is our first step to prove the value of trustless Polkadot bridges (XCM) and create the future of multichain dApps.

Projects wishing to add value and utility to aUSD on the Astar Network are free to apply for the $250 million aUSD Ecosystem Fund by Acala that supports early startups keen on building strong stablecoin uses like decentralized money markets, payment solutions, DAOS, and more, on Polkadot and Kusama. At the same time, developers can apply for the SpaceLabs Program offered by Astar.

Promoting DeFi Development in Acala and the Astar Network

Acala is one of the largest DeFi protocols in Polkadot. They were amongst the first bidders to win a Parachain slot, deriving its security directly on the decentralized base layer’s Relay Chain.

The platform is designed to specifically host an array of finance dApps, relying on the security and cross-chain functionality of the Polkadot network to power the aUSD ecosystem. The aUSD is an algorithmic stablecoin backed by various cryptocurrencies, including DOT, BTC, and ETH. The stablecoin is central to the burgeoning Polkadot and Kusama DeFi solutions.

Astar Network notes that financial products launched on Acala are pivotal for its growth. Subsequently, following this partnership, developers will be incentivized to leverage Acala’s solutions and native assets like aUSD, LDOT, and ACA to build and expand on its vibrant DeFi ecosystem.

For their activity, developers will earn extra ACA and rewards from the Astar Network’s ecosystem team. Bette Chen, the co-founder of Acala, believes this partnership will be massively beneficial. Specifically, their solutions will turbocharge the expansion of the already robust Astar Network’s dApp system.

With Acala, we have built a DeFi app-chain to provide products like aUSD to other networks in the Polkadot ecosystem and broader Web3 space. Our deep integration with the Astar team is very exciting as we look to help accelerate the growth of Astar’s strong dApp ecosystem with aUSD liquidity and cross-chain use cases.

As previously reported by Crypto.News, Polkadot’s leading indexing service provider, SubQuery, launched on Acala.