FAQ On Astar/Shiden Network

Toga Mamora

Jul 15·9 min read

I am Toga Mamora, the Ambassador of Astar Network. Over the last few weeks, I have encountered that many community members have similar repetitive questions about the issues that they are experiencing. So I am writing this to provide you with answers that could potentially solve your problems.

I participated in Shiden Crowdloan, how can I see my SDN rewards?

If you want to access your wallet, follow these steps.

1. The SDN rewards are sent to the same KSM wallet that you used to contribute during the crowdloan.
2. Go to https://polkadot.js.org/extension/ and download the browser extension wallet.
3. Restore your Kusama wallet using seed phrase or .json file, whichever you have.

4. After restoring the wallet, click on the 3 dots on the right, and select “Allow use on any chain”.

5. Open the Polkadot.js web app: https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts

6. You should be able to see the accounts there.

7. On the top left corner of the page, click Kusama & Parachains to expand the menu, select Shiden, and then click “Switch” on the top.

8. You shall see your Shiden account and the SDN rewards. The rewards are now locked but it will be unlocked based on the vesting schedule which starts around 6th August.

9. If you happen to see a notification that asks you to update metadata, please update.

If all you want to do is just to view your balance:

1. Go to https://sub.id/#/
2. Paste your KSM wallet address. All the available balances will be displayed.
3. The is the one stop shop for all your substrate addresses and balances.

I participated in Shiden Crowdloan, when can I claim the special NFT?

1. You can only claim the NFT if you participated using your private wallet (Polkadot.js, Fearless etc). Participation via exchanges is excluded.
2. Before the claim is possible, we have to activate smart contract feature on Shiden and Mochi Market have to deploy on Shiden, as they are the one who will issue the NFT. This process will take some time, so lets be patient.

I participated in ETH lockdrop 1 & 2 and I would like to unlock my ETH.

1. With your Metamask on Ethereum Network (not Matic or BSC or Fantom) and the same ETH wallet you used to lock ETH, go to https://lockdrop.astar.network/#/lock-form.
2. See the "Lock Address".
3. Copy that address
4. Manually send 0 ETH to that address.
5. If you cannot access the lockdrop page, use VPN.

I participated in Lockdrop 1 & 2 but I cannot access my PLM wallet.

First, you need to RECALL where did you claim your PLM to. There were 2 options.

• Case 1: Default wallet
• Case 2: Self-created wallet.

If you can’t recall, this is going to be very difficult and time consuming.

Case 1 — Default Wallet

1. The default PLM wallet was derived from your ETH public key
2. Go to https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts
3. Click “Add account”
4. Select “Raw Seed” instead of “Mnemonic”
5. Replace the default seed with your ETH private key, with additional 0x before the private key. e.g 0x116a2b23441280724176f0xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. Select ECDSA (Non BTC/ETH compatible).
7. Tick the box “I have save my mnemonic seed safely”.
8. Click “Next”.

1. Give your wallet a name and password and click next.
2. Make sure to save this password safely. If you don’t save it, you will get REKT. Please remember, crypto is not a bank. All seed phrases and passwords are your own responsibility. Do not be a fool!

1. The next page will take you to save the json file.
2. .json file is the encryption of your seed phrase + password. This file can be used to restore the same wallet on various apps e.g Polkadot.js browser extension, Math wallet etc.
3. Click “next” and a window will pop up prompting you where to save the .json file.
4. Save the .json file in a secure location. I recommend you to save this file in multiple devices e.g flash drives.

5. Now you will be able to see your wallet that you restored from the ETH private key.

This part is about restoring the .json file to the Polkadot.js browser extension. If you do not restore .json to the browser extension, your wallet will not be automatically injected on the Polkadot.js web app, making it troublesome to restore .json everytime you switch to different network.

1. Now that you have the json file, go to https://polkadot.js.org/extension/
2. Download and install the browser extension.
3. Click on the extension and click “+” on the top right corner.
4. Click “Restore account from backup .json file”
5. You will be asked to upload the .json file that you recently saved.
6. Use the password that you used to encrypt your wallet earlier on, and click “restore”.
7. Your wallet is now added to the browser extension.

1. The next step is click on the 3 dots on the right and select allow to use on any chain.
2. Now go back to https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts and you will be able to see your account as “injected”, means it is injected from the browser extension wallet.

3. On the top left corner, switch the network to Plasm and you will be able to see your PLM tokens.

4. To see you SDN tokens, switch the network to Shiden.

This should be all good for you now. Please buy me a beer!

You also need to know that the same wallet can be used for other networks; DOT, KSM, ACA, KAR etc. To get the address of other networks:

1. Click the browser extension
2. Click the “gear” icon on the top left corner
3. Click on “Display address format for” and select whichever network.

Case 2 — Self Created Wallet

1. If you claimed your PLM to a self-created wallet, you need to find the seed/json file of that wallet.
2. Use the same browser extension restore method as I discussed earlier.
3. Go to https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts
4. Top left corner, switch network to Plasm or Shiden, and you will be able to see your tokens.
5. If you cannot find your seed/json file, then I am very sorry for you. You are REKT! And since you are REKT and have lost access to your tokens, you do not have to buy me a beer.

I hope the above methods are good enough to solve your problems.

There are also other repetitive questions such as:

I participated in Lockdrop 1 / 2. How can I claim SDN?

You don’t have to claim. SDN is already distributed. Please check your wallet, make sure you switch network to Shiden to see your tokens.

I previously used https://apps.plasmnet.io/#/accounts to access my wallet but now I can’t.

That site is shutdown. Please use https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts, restore your wallet using the method up on this article.

I participated in Shiden crowdloan, how many SDN will I get and when will I be able to get my rewards?

Please follow the roadmap here: https://www.notion.so/dc65264053e84b9d97967b0ca364f8dd?v=f57049408c4047ce83509445eb7050cd

The reward distribution will take place soon and you also need to be aware of the vesting period which is 1 month lock and 10 months linear vesting.

The amount of SDN you get per KSM depends on which stage you joined. The early birds get more SDN compared to the late birds. This should be a rough yet precise indicator.

I missed the ETH Lockdrop and Shiden Crowdloan but I would still like to be part of Astar because I finally realize that Astar is the only way to the STAR, which is further than the moon. How is this possible?

1. You can join the Astar crowdloan to earn ASTA tokens. This will require you to lock DOT for about 2 years. When will this happen? We do not have an exact date yet. We will have to wait for Web3 Foundation to make the announcement and we will release the guidelines when the time comes.
2. You can join the Ambassador program; https://github.com/PlasmNetwork/ambassador-program. Please check the requirements and if you think you have the skills, passion and qualification, feel free to apply.
3. If you are a developer and want to showcase your talents, please check out the Builders’ Program; https://github.com/PlasmNetwork/Builders-Program
4. Be a validator/collator. Join our discord room for details; https://discord.gg/4GeK3KXS

Plasm has been rebranded to Astar. Do I have to do anything with my PLM tokens?

You do not have to do anything. The ticker might be changed to ASTA but that will be automatic. Also, you need to take note that PLM tokens will be redenominated. If you have 1000 PLM now, it will be become 1 PLM later.

Wen exchange? Wen will SDN get listed? The bullrun is coming to an end and I need to secure my profit as soon as possible!!

1. If you are worried about the outlook of your investment, means you have not done enough research in the first place.
2. Astar is not a pump and dump project. It is a project that started building since mid 2019, when the bull wasn’t even there.
3. Astar has received seven (7) Web3 grants and have delivered 5. Which other projects received this much? None!
4. Astar is supported by prominent VCs such as Binance Labs, Blockdream and Fenbushi. VCs like these won’t just throw around money on shitcoins.
5. You are invested on a project that could change and shape the future of Web3. Astar is a Dapp hub, an infrastructure that is needed for the Polkadot ecosystem. If you are in today, you are the earliest investors.
6. Exchange listing is not a rush. Building is more important. We do not want to list a token with no utility. A token without utility has ZERO value. That is why you see so many shitcoins have dipped in price by >95%.
7. As the team is building, they are adding more value to the tokens and indirectly pumping your bags. You should be happy that the team is focused so much on building before listing. Compare this to the whitepaper projects in 2018 where tokens get listed when there is zero product at all.
8. Please be patient! I do not want to hear anymore wen exchange question on TG. You are fortunate that you own tokens. I don’t even have one because I am in only for the tech.

I hope the above answers all your questions. We all know waiting is pain in the ass but while waiting, you can choose to do something productive such as:

1. Read the docs at https://docs.astar.network/. Learn and understand what Astar Network is all about. By reading, you enhance your knowledge. The knowledge you have might be useful one day.
2. Go to the forum, be creative and come up with ideas of how you want Astar network to be. Write your proposal https://forum.astar.network/c/proposal/10
3. If you know any developers or any projects, introduce Astar to them. Preach about Dapp staking and X-VM, and get them to build on Astar. Don’t just sit there do nothing and hope someone will pump your bags. You are the token holder and you are responsible for the value of your tokens. The more projects get to build on Astar, the higher the value of your tokens will be.

Thank you!