Overview
Astarter is a Cardano project that offers a beta token exchange and is building new AI products on top of it. People who want to swap Cardano tokens or follow an early Cardano-meets-AI roadmap are the main audience. What sets it apart is the public shift from a pure DeFi hub toward AI hardware and software, layered onto its original Cardano base.
The project started in 2021 as a joint venture incubated by EMURGO, one of the three organizations behind Cardano, and the Adaverse accelerator1. Today, the working product is a beta version of the Astarter exchange at dex.astarter.io, where users can swap Cardano tokens. The team is also marketing a future device called ABOX, described as a small box that connects you to AI helpers. An earlier rewards program (a Cardano Initial Stake Pool Offering, where users earned project tokens by staking their ADA) has wound down. The first stake pool, AA1, is retired, and the second, AA2, is no longer paying rewards2.
Key Features
- Live token swaps on Cardano. The Astarter exchange at dex.astarter.io is a working beta where you can swap Cardano native tokens directly from a connected wallet1.
- EMURGO-backed origin story. Astarter was set up as a joint venture with EMURGO and the Adaverse accelerator, giving the project a direct link to one of the organizations that helped launch Cardano3.
- AI hardware on the roadmap. Astarter has published plans for ABOX, a small device pitched as a personal gateway to AI helpers, and a custom chip called A-Core. Both sit on the roadmap as future launches, not shipping products1.
- Older staking program (wound down). Astarter previously ran a staking rewards program with two pools (AA1 and AA2). Public records on Cexplorer show AA1 is retired and AA2 is no longer paying out, so the program is closed to new delegators2.
- Public usage data. Astarter is listed on the third-party site DefiLlama, where anyone can check how much value is locked in the protocol without relying on the project's own marketing pages4.
What to Expect
A visitor landing on the Astarter homepage will see a Cardano project with a heavy push toward AI messaging. The live product to test is the beta exchange at dex.astarter.io, where token swaps work but the interface is clearly labeled as a beta release1. The older staking program that powered the AA1 and AA2 pools has wound down, so it is no longer a way to earn rewards2.
The site also markets a future product line called ABOX hardware, A-Core chips, AI agents, and a next-generation exchange called ADEX 3.01. Treat that section as a plan, not a list of shipping products. The official documentation lives on a GitBook page that covers the original DeFi platform; newer AI announcements live on the marketing site rather than in the docs1.
A few things to weigh before getting involved. Astarter has no public source code repository, and an independent security review has not been identified. The project token is also pre-launch: third-party tracker CoinGecko lists the Astarter token as unavailable to trade on major exchanges5. Anyone who wants to follow the project can do so through its Medium publication, Discord server, and X account6.
