The multi-chain smart contract platform, Astar Network, is poised to burn 350 million ASTR tokens, accounting for 5% of its entire supply, following a governance vote. Originally earmarked for Polkadot parachain auctions—a project now abandoned by Polkadot—these tokens will generate 70 million ASTR in rewards, which will be redirected to the community treasury.

Token burns are generally perceived as bullish events since they reduce the circulating supply. Notably, the meme coin Floki has executed multiple token burns over the past year, one of which triggered a 70% price surge.

In the last 24 hours, ASTR has appreciated by over 7%, outpacing CoinDesk’s CD20 Index, which has risen by a mere 0.27% in the same timeframe. Trading volume for ASTR has soared, exceeding $50 million—a significant 84% uptick compared to Monday, according to CoinMarketCap data.

In March, Astar Network forged an alliance with Polygon to incorporate the layer 1 blockchain’s AggLayer. This innovation aims to interlink various blockchains through zero-knowledge proofs, offering unified liquidity.