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Yoki Origins, the launch campaign for Astar zkEVM, was held from March 7th 2024 and ended on May 31st. Many major companies participating in the campaign sold and distributed a large number of unique NFTs as part of their own Web3 initiatives. By showcasing its strong ecosystem by onboarding numerous projects and accomplishing multiple milestones, Yoki Origins showed Astar Network’s potential to accelerate innovation. We interviewed the companies to find out what they thought of the campaign and what the future holds for them. Please read on to learn more about each company's specific initiatives and how they are working with Astar zkEVM.
Launch of Astar zkEVM
Astar Network launched Astar zkEVM, a Layer 2 network with fast processing and low gas costs, inheriting the security of Ethereum. It allows smooth use of assets on Ethereum and implements extended tools such as credit card payments.
Astar zkEVM features: ・Can be built in the same development environment as Ethereum. ・Approximately 95% to 98% lower gas costs compared to Ethereum ・Smooth user experience with fast processing ・Equipped with extended tools such as credit card payment ・Designed for ease of use for Global companies
About Yoki Origins
Yoki Origins is a campaign to celebrate the launch of Astar zkEVM, where players can earn, evolve, and earn points for NFTs of 'Yoki', an original Astar Network character.
Several capsule machines, known as 'YoPorts', which drain NFTs, can be found on the Yoki Origins website. By playing YoPort, users can win NFTs provided by the Web3 projects, artists, as well as firms representing Web2, taking part in the campaign. The aim is to make Web3 services more accessible by gamifying and providing an onboarding process for users into the Astar zkEVM ecosystem.
・BitGet × SUZUKI (Jimny NFT Collaboration Model) ・CASIO ・Candy Girl (Twin Planet) ・City Pop Tokyo (Asobisystem×Upbond) ・DenDekaDen (Strata × Toei Animation) ・HIS ・JAL ・JR Kyushu ・MAZDA ・Trekki NFT (Trip.com)
The campaign drew the attention of many Web3 users, with the total number of NFT minted within the campaign exceeding 3 million and daily transactions reaching up to 100,000. The milestones achieved in Yoki Origins are as follows:
・+100,000 daily transactions ・+3 million NFT mints ・10 Enterprise ・+40 web3 projects
Yoki Origins interviews
After Yoki Origins ended, interviews were conducted with the companies that participated in the event. The following 4 companies were interviewed. (in alphabetical order, titles omitted) ・CASIO ・HIS ・JAL ・JR Kyushu
Each company was asked to review the measures taken by Yoki Origins and discuss synergies with Astar and their future prospects.
CASIO
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their business, CASIO launched CASIO WATCHES NFT at Yoki Origins, produced by various creators based on the brand's products. Looking back on the measures taken at Yoki Origins, we will discuss what the company envisions for the future.
What made you decide to join Yoki Origins this time? I was attracted to Yoki Origins because of its ease of entry. We thought that Yoki Origins, which allows users to pay for affordable NFTs by credit card, would make it easier for users who have no contact with Web3 to participate and encourage more fans of CASIO products to enjoy Web3 and NFTs.
Looking back on Yoki Origins, how did you feel about it? What are your impressions and any feedback? Yoki Origins was an opportunity for us to show that CASIO is actively involved in Web3 by selling CASIO WATCHES NFT, which was themed around the 50th anniversary of the watch business.
Eight creators participated in the creation of the NFT art this time, and we have seen the effectiveness of the measures, with customers saying that they were able to experience the pleasure of encountering new things by being exposed to creators they didn't know.
What are your prospects for future cooperation with Astar, and what are your expectations of Astar? Astar is a blockchain from Japan that is building for the globe, and as a Japanese company, we hope to work together to develop accessible and valuable services related to web3 on a global scale. We are not only in the watch industry, but also in the education and musical instrument industries, so we would like to explore the possibilities of providing value through Web3 on a market-in basis, without being influenced by short-term trends.
What are your company's plans and prospects for the Web3 domain in the future? In the future, we aim to pioneer the culture of watches on games, animation, and the metaverse. We will also expand participation-based communities through the use of our brand. To achieve this, we plan to create a one-of-a-kind service using Web3.
Finally, what would you like to say to our readers? We started our Web3 initiative in 2023, beginning with VIRTUAL G-SHOCK. We will continue to aim to provide innovative and one-of-a-kind value in Web3 based on our management principle of 'Creation and Contribution'.
HIS
HIS has been implementing various Web3 projects before participating in Yoki Origins.
Yoki Origins collaborated with the local VTuber illustrated book NFT, and we will talk about what it was like to participate in Yoki Origins, as well as future prospects.
What made you decide to participate in Yoki Origins? At HIS, we want to support 'local VTubers' who love their local area and are actively trying to make their community more vibrant. We decided to participate in Yoki Origins this time because we hope that more people will become interested in Web3 from the perspective of travel and VTubers, and that this will be an opportunity for our society to take a step forward towards the popularization of Web3.
Looking back on Yoki Origins, how did you feel about it? What are your impressions and any feedback? YokiOrigins has sold 43 different NFTs and received a lot of feedback. We feel that through the NFT of the local VTuber illustrated book, we were able to contribute to the discovery of new tourism resources in Japan and the entry point for an increase in the number of people involved in various parts of the country by getting fans from the Web3 and VTuber communities involved in the other in a bidirectional way.
What are your prospects for future cooperation with Astar, and what are your expectations of Astar? In this project with Yoki Origins, we were able to establish connections with many users through the travel and VTuber angle. We hope to continue working together for the development of the Web3 domain in Japan in the future.
What are your company's plans and prospects for the Web3 domain in the future? We are planning to develop various NFTs in the future, including a new series of Traveler's Canvas projects that we have been implementing for some time. We want to create new value in our products and services by multiplying our domestic and international resources to explore services that enrich the lives of people around the world.
Finally, could you say a few words to our readers? We have recently established an official X account for our project, which aims to revitalize tourism with a view to local and regional development from a variety of approaches, including NFT and other Web3-related topics, as well as metaverse and AI. Please search for "HIS web3" and follow our official SNS accounts.
JAL
JAL, in collaboration with Hakuhodo, has been selling KOKYO NFTs, which are NFTs of experiences and real-world assets (RWAs) in local areas of Japan. Yoki Origins distributed ORIGAMI NFTs to mark the launch of KOKYO NFTs. Looking back at the measures taken at Yoki Origins, we will discuss the prospects they have for the future.
What made you decide to participate in Yoki Origins this time? We are running the KOKYO NFT initiative in collaboration with Hakuhodo, and the second edition of KOKYO NFT was published on Astar zkEVM, which coincided with the Yoki Origins campaign period, so we decided to take part.
Looking back at Yoki Origins, how did you feel about it? What were your impressions and feedback? We distributed Origami NFTs at YokiOrigins, and we succeeded in distributing all 10,000 that we issued. We were satisfied with the results, which exceeded our expectations, as we did not expect to distribute them fully.
Finally, what are the prospects for future cooperation between your company and Astar, and what are your plans for the Web3 domain? We hope that Astar will build an environment that makes it easier for both users and businesses to participate in Web3, such as a UI/UX that is easy to use even for blockchain beginners, as well as a reduction in the cost of gas. We are currently issuing six regional KOKYO NFTs and will continue to offer regional experiences and benefits to our holders. We are also looking forward to actively taking on new initiatives using Web3.
JR Kyushu
JR Kyushu has been involved in Yoki Origins from the very beginning, selling limited edition JR Kyushu NFTs. We will talk about their feedback from participating in Yoki Origins, as well as their future prospects.
What made you decide to participate in Yoki Origins this time? We thought that by participating in Yoki Origins, we would be able to establish connections with even more users than just the existing users of the JR Kyushu NFT Project. We also thought that by participating in Yoki Origins, we could be more involved in the development and expansion of the NFT, so we decided to join.
Looking back on Yoki Origins, how did you feel about it? What were your impressions and feedback? We participated in YokiOrigins as a parallel project to the JR Kyushu NFT Project, and many users from all over the world purchased our products. So we hope that our participation in Yoki Origins will spark interest in railways, Kyushu, and Japan, and encourage people to come and visit us.
What are your prospects for future cooperation with Astar, and what are your expectations of Astar? We plan to utilize our two chains, Astar Network Mainnet and Astar zkEVM, to not only sell and distribute NFTs, but also to implement measures to provide incentives and utilities through NFTs.
On top of that, we would like to promote initiatives that can provide new experiences and new ways to enjoy Kyushu and Japan to users who own our NFTs from all points of contact. We hope that Astar will continue to lead the mass adoption of blockchain to make it a widespread and easy-to-use tool.
Finally, what are your plans and prospects for initiatives in the Web3 domain in your company? We are continuously considering various plans for the JR Kyushu NFT project through Astar Network Mainnet and Astar zkEVM. In particular, we plan to actively implement inter-company cooperation and IP collaboration projects so that people can naturally come into contact with NFT and blockchain, regardless of their level of interest in Web3.
In summary
We talked to the companies participating in Yoki Origins about their impressions, feedback, and future prospects. The Astar zkEVM campaign Yoki Origins achieved various milestones and highlighted Astar Network's wide web3 and web2 connections that attracted the interest of many users.
Astar Network continues to be the number one choice for domestic companies seeking to enter Web3 as a result of the technical advantages of Astar zkEVM, on top of the comprehensive support provided by the Japan Team. In addition, the participation of other well-known companies in Yoki Origins, not only from Japan but also from other parts of the globe, will also lead to further cooperation with companies outside of Japan in the future.