ASTR Investment Initiative: Startale to Reinvest Soneium Sequencer Revenue into ASTR Token Purchases

Startale Group is taking a strategic step in supporting the Astar ecosystem through a direct, onchain investment backed by real usage of the Soneium sequencer. Imagine a world where technology doesn't just extract value—it generates and redistributes it.

We're allocating a portion of Startale Group’s revenue generated by the Soneium Layer 2 Sequencer to purchase ASTR tokens on the open market. These purchases are ongoing and powered by real usage of Soneium, the Ethereum L2 co-developed with Sony Group.

This isn’t a buyback. It’s not a short-term signal. It’s a long-term commitment to the network that helped bring Soneium to life — and to a future where infrastructure and ecosystems grow together by design.

A Strategic Layer 2, Backed by a Strategic Partnership

The Soneium Sequencer is operated by Sony Block Solutions Labs (SBSL), a joint venture between Startale Group and Sony Group.

As core operators of Soneium, Sony BSL’s sequencer batches and submits transactions to Ethereum L1 while collecting fees generated by onchain activity. Since Startale is a part of the joint venture, Startale receives revenue from the operation.

Through the Sony BSL partnership, Startale shares in that revenue. What we’re doing now is simple, but powerful: putting that revenue to work to support the broader ecosystem that helped get us here.

How the Ethereum L2 Sequencer Generates Revenue

Here’s how it works: the sequencer collects transactions from users via the Ethereum L2 mempool, then orders, batches, and processes them before submitting the bundled data to Ethereum Layer 1 for settlement.

Once submitted, the sequencer’s smart contract on Ethereum validates the batch using a fault-proof system, such as optimistic proofs. This ensures the integrity of the data before it’s finalized onchain. Once finalized, those transactions are permanent and tamper-proof — true L1 finality.

To make this process work, the sequencer collects fees from users on an Ethereum L2. These fees cover the cost of interacting with Ethereum — including the gas needed to post transaction data and run the settlement contracts. Once expenses are covered, the remaining revenue is shared between the infrastructure operators.

It’s a sustainable system where network usage directly supports network growth.

As activity grows, so does the fee volume. The model is self-sustaining — operating costs are covered first, and any surplus becomes revenue.

That surplus is now being used to support the ecosystems the sequencer helps power.

Soneium is one of the few Layer 2s with consistent onchain revenue. You can follow the data live at GrowThePie.

Why We’re Investing in ASTR

Startale is now using a portion of its sequencer revenue to buy ASTR tokens on the open market.

This decision reflects more than alignment. It reflects belief. Astar has helped grow Soneium through ACS, token expansion, and ecosystem programs. In return, revenue generated by Soneium, which is owned by Startale, is now reinforcing Astar’s token economy. It creates a feedback loop:

This isn’t theory. It’s a working cycle. One that strengthens both networks every time someone builds, mints, or transacts on Soneium.

Long-Term Thinking, Onchain

From the beginning, Startale and Astar have shared the same DNA — builders at the core, ecosystem-first by design.

Now, through Soneium, that alignment is becoming self-reinforcing. As the network expands, so does the economic surface area connecting Soneium and Astar.

Imagine a network where infrastructure doesn’t just power applications; it gives back to the very ecosystem that made it possible. That’s what we’re building. Not just new technology, but a new dynamic, where protocol growth and ecosystem health move forward together.

This is the power of network effect. And it’s already in motion.