Mandala chooses Astar for NFT drop, leveraging a myriad of features only available on Polkadot

Mandala Metaverse Ready to go Cross-Chain thanks to Polkadot’s powerful interoperability benefits.

Mandala, the cross-platform game and interoperable metaverse, will introduce its cross-chain metaverse on Polkadot, the full-stack multi-chain ecosystem and community powering the movement to build a better web. To mark its entry into the Polkadot ecosystem, Mandala will be launching the Cryptonauts NFT collection on April 28th, created by concept artist and illustrator Bruce Zick (Pixar, Disney, Marvel, Dark Horse) on Astar Network. Mandala chose Polkadot because much of the NFT functionality Mandala required was unavailable on other chains, namely nesting, staking, and the ability to send NFTs over bridges.

Mandala Metaverse is a cross-chain, cross-media franchise, utilizing NFTs with an AAA Unreal Engine MMO RPG + location-based AR mobile game. Kevin J Foxe, a director, producer, writer, and storyteller best known for the 1999 cult horror movie The Blair Witch Project, is involved in the project, which brings together television, graphic novels, and gaming. It establishes the world’s first Enlightenment Simulator powered by SingularityNet’s decentralized AGI and interoperable with SingularityNet’s metaverse, Sophiaverse. Integrating tech across platforms through story, Mandala invites players into the narrative, weaving many of the world’s mythologies into a truly immersive story that opens the path to self-sovereignty and enlightenment, and turns the world into a game board.

Jon Shanker, CEO at Mandala, said: “Polkadot has real future-proof NFT applications, such as nesting, staking and the ability to send NFTs over bridges - plus many other innovative ways to use NFT assets. The overall cooperative and collaborative flow opens up our imagination for gaming and the mass adoption of blockchain capabilities. We are now able to do things we didn’t think possible. By joining Polkadot’s burgeoning ecosystem, we’re also able to take advantage of the best-in-class secure interoperability the network offers.”

The new collaboration gives Mandala access to dozens of parachains, sovereign blockchains built on Polkadot’s Relay Chain. These parachains enable high-level shared security and scalability, alongside the ability to collaborate with other projects due to Polkadot’s unmatched interoperability.

Mandala has selected multiple parachain partners to form a foundation for a Web3 ‘rebel alliance’ to help it safely navigate the cross-chain open sea:

• Astar Network - infrastructure supporting NFTs developed with EVM smart contracts and WASM smart contracts
• Unique Network - an NFT-specific blockchain offering sponsored transactions, bundling fungible tokens with non-fungibles, and splitting NFTs into fungible tokens for partial ownership
• Talisman - a multichain wallet for Web3 explorers
  

Maarten Henskens, Head of Astar Foundation says: "The Mandala launch combines entertainment and blockchain innovation to showcase Astar Network's potential. The team has created an immersive experience for collectors and aims to engage new users and explore NFT interoperability. It’s exciting to see blockchain and NFT adoption in entertainment and beyond."

Omar Elassar, Head of Ecosystem Growth & Business Development at Parity Technologies, a leading contributor to the Polkadot network, said: “Innovative projects like Mandala Metaverse are realizing the unique strengths of Polkadot. Access to advanced NFT capabilities, smart contracts and DeFi - all on the same infrastructure - enables Polkadot partners to deliver enhanced outcomes. It’s something that can only be achieved in a secure and seamless way on Polkadot.”

The Cryptonauts NFT collection launches on the 28th of April. Check out full details on the Mandala Cryptonauts NFT collection on Astar Network.

About Mandala Metaverse

Mandala Metaverse is a cross-chain, cross-media franchise, utilizing NFTs with a AAA Unreal Engine MMO RPG + location-based AR mobile game. ​​Mandala leverages and promotes the intersection of technology, spirituality, sustainability and entertainment via web3, gaming, graphic novels, TV and digital content, all in creative convergence with the real world and the Metaverse.

About Astar Network

Astar Network is The Future of Multichain Smart Contracts. Astar Network supports the building of dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts and offers developers true interoperability, with cross-consensus messaging (XCM). We are made by developers and for developers. Astar’s unique Build2Earn model empowers developers to get paid through a dApp staking mechanism for the code they write and dApps they build.

Astar’s vibrant ecosystem has become one of Polkadot’s leading parachains globally, supported by major exchanges and tier 1 VCs. Astar offers the flexibility of all Ethereum and WASM toolings for developers to start building their dApps.

About Polkadot

Polkadot provides the technical advances necessary to make blockchain technology practical, accessible, scalable, interoperable, and future-proof, removing limitations and barriers to entry, and thereby fueling innovation, growing the decentralized technology space, and bringing the Web3 vision to life. It connects private and consortium chains, public and permissionless networks, oracles, and future technologies that are yet to be created.

About Parity Technologies

Staffed by some of the world’s leading blockchain innovators, core engineers, Rust developers, and solutions architects, Parity Technologies has offices in Berlin, London and Lisbon. It launched Polkadot in tandem with Web3 Foundation in May 2020 and continues to support and develop the network.

Media inquiries: press@parity.io