What is Aster (ASTER)?
Aster is a decentralized exchange for trading perpetual futures with up to 1001x leverage. It works across Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and BNB Chain. YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) backs the project, which competes with Hyperliquid for derivatives traders.
Key Facts
What is Aster?
Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual futures trading. You can bet on crypto and stock prices with extreme leverage—up to 1001x on some pairs. That's the highest in DeFi. Unlike centralized exchanges, you keep control of your funds in your own wallet.
The platform launched from a merger of Astherus (Solana-based) and APX Finance (multi-chain) in late 2024. That combined their users, tech, and liquidity into one protocol.
Key features include:
- • Cross-chain: Trade on Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, or BNB Chain with shared liquidity.
- • Hidden orders: Large trades stay private until they execute, stopping front-running bots.
- • Stock perps: Trade synthetic Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia 24/7 without a brokerage.
- • Risk controls: Partial liquidations and auto-deleveraging help prevent market-wide blowups.
YZi Labs (the rebranded Binance Labs) backs Aster. That brings credibility, funding, and ties to the Binance ecosystem. The protocol competes with Hyperliquid, dYdX, and GMX for derivatives traders.
Who Created Aster? A Brief History
The Merger
Aster came from merging two perp DEXs in October 2024. Astherus built on Solana with fast execution and hidden orders. APX Finance ran on Ethereum and Arbitrum with strong institutional backing. Together they combined speed, liquidity, and users. Within weeks, Aster became a top-three perp DEX by volume. ASTH and APX token holders swapped into ASTER at favorable rates.
YZi Labs Backing
YZi Labs is the rebranded Binance Labs—CZ's venture arm. After CZ stepped down as Binance CEO following a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023, Binance Labs rebranded. YZi Labs led Aster's Series A in December 2024. Beyond cash, this brought credibility, market makers, and Binance ecosystem ties.
Key Milestones
- • 2023: Astherus and APX Finance launch as separate perp DEXs.
- • October 2024: Merger announced. The combined project takes the Aster name.
- • December 2024: YZi Labs leads Series A funding.
- • September 17, 2025: ASTER token launches at $0.80.
- • September 18, 2025: ASTER jumps 434% to $4.27 in 24 hours.
- • 2025–Present: Grows to $200B+ monthly volume. Adds stock perps and more chains.
How Aster Works
Aster pairs perpetual futures trading with cross-chain infrastructure. You get a CEX-like experience while keeping your funds in your own wallet.
Perpetual Futures Explained
Traditional futures expire on a set date. Perpetuals don't—you can hold them forever.
Funding rates keep perp prices close to spot. If the perp price rises above spot, longs pay shorts. If it falls below, shorts pay longs. This keeps prices aligned without needing to settle or deliver anything.
Leverage multiplies both gains and losses. With 1001x leverage, a 0.1% move in your favor doubles your money. A 0.1% move against you wipes you out.
Cross-Chain Architecture
Aster pools liquidity from four chains:
- • Solana: Fastest execution (~400ms).
- • Ethereum: Deepest liquidity.
- • Arbitrum: Low gas fees.
- • BNB Chain: Binance ecosystem ties.
When you trade, Aster routes your order to the best chain for price, fees, and speed. You can deposit on one chain and tap liquidity from another.
Hidden Orders
Hidden orders stay off the public order book until they fill. This stops MEV bots from front-running big trades. Whales can move size without tipping off the market.
Risk Management
Aster uses several tools to prevent cascading liquidations:
- • Partial liquidations: Only close what's needed to restore margin.
- • Insurance fund: Covers losses when positions go underwater.
- • Auto-deleveraging: Matches liquidated positions with profitable traders instead of dumping on the market.
- • Dynamic margins: Requires more collateral when volatility spikes.
How to Stake ASTER
Staking ASTER earns you a share of the platform's trading fees. More trading volume means higher rewards.
How It Works
The protocol takes 0.05–0.1% on each trade. Part of that goes to stakers as USDC rewards. Current APY runs 15–25%, but can hit 30–40% during volatile, high-volume periods.
Staking is non-custodial—your ASTER stays in your wallet. Lock-ups of 3, 6, or 12 months earn higher rates. Flexible staking lets you withdraw anytime.
Getting Started
- • Go to app.aster.finance/stake and connect your wallet.
- • Pick how much ASTER to stake and choose a lock-up period.
- • Approve ASTER spending (first time only), then confirm.
- • Rewards drop weekly in USDC. Claim or auto-compound them.
- • Staked ASTER also gives you governance voting rights.
Liquidity Mining
You can also earn by adding liquidity to ASTER/USDC pools on Uniswap, Raydium, or PancakeSwap. You'll earn trading fees plus bonus ASTER emissions. But watch out for impermanent loss—if ASTER's price swings hard, you may end up worse off than just holding.
Tip: Staking rewards rise with trading volume. Watch the dashboards during volatile markets. Protocol staking is safer for most. Liquidity mining is for those comfortable with impermanent loss.
Why ASTER Has Value
ASTER has utility within the Aster platform:
- • Fee discounts: Hold ASTER for up to 50% off trading fees.
- • Revenue share: Stake to earn a cut of trading fees.
- • Buyback & burn: 10% of fees buy and burn ASTER, shrinking supply.
- • Governance: Vote on fees, new markets, and protocol rules.
Aster's positioning also supports demand. It's one of the few DEXs with 1001x leverage, stock perps, and hidden orders. Competitors like Hyperliquid cap leverage at 50x. Cross-chain liquidity runs deeper than single-chain rivals. YZi Labs backing adds credibility and a path to Binance's 200+ million users. The fixed 1 billion supply with buyback-and-burn could make ASTER deflationary over time.
But there are real risks:
- • Volatility: ASTER jumped 434% in its first day. Swings cut both ways.
- • Vesting unlocks: Only 22% of tokens circulate. The other 78% unlocks through 2029, which could pressure price.
- • Regulatory: The CFTC has gone after other DEXs. Derivatives face strict rules in many countries.
- • Binance ties: YZi Labs is strength and liability. More scrutiny could follow.
- • Competition: Hyperliquid, dYdX, GMX, and CEXs all want the same traders.
- • Tech risks: Smart contract bugs, bridge exploits, and oracle manipulation are DeFi realities.
How to Buy ASTER
You can buy ASTER on centralized exchanges (easy fiat on-ramp) or decentralized exchanges (no KYC).
1Compare providers
Centralized: Binance, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io. Compare total cost—price, trading fees, withdrawal fees. Decentralized: Uniswap (Ethereum/Arbitrum), Raydium (Solana), PancakeSwap (BNB Chain). No account or ID needed on DEXs.
2Create account or connect wallet
CEX: Sign up and verify with ID. DEX: Just connect your wallet—MetaMask, Phantom, or Trust Wallet.
3Deposit funds
CEX: Deposit fiat via bank or card, or send crypto like USDT. DEX: Fund your wallet with USDC, ETH, SOL, or BNB depending on the chain. You can bridge assets with Wormhole or Celer.
4Buy ASTER
Search for ASTER, enter your amount, and confirm. On DEXs, double-check the contract address on aster.finance or CoinGecko to avoid fakes. After buying, move ASTER to your own wallet for security and staking.
Next step: Compare ASTER providers in your country to find the best price.
How to Store ASTER
ASTER lives on multiple chains—ERC-20 on Ethereum/Arbitrum, SPL on Solana, BEP-20 on BNB Chain. Your wallet choice depends on which chain you use.
Software Wallets
- • Ethereum/Arbitrum: MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet.
- • Solana: Phantom, Solflare.
- • BNB Chain: Trust Wallet.
All of these work with Aster's staking portal.
Hardware Wallets
Ledger Nano X and S support all three chains. Connect them to MetaMask or Phantom to stake while keeping private keys offline. Trezor Model T works for Ethereum and BNB Chain but not Solana. For larger holdings, hardware wallets are the safest option.
Exchange Wallets
Leaving ASTER on Binance or OKX is easy for active trading. But the exchange holds your keys. If they get hacked or go under, you lose access. Exchange staking also pays less than protocol staking. Only keep what you're actively trading on exchanges.
Security Tips: Write your recovery phrase on paper. Store it in multiple secure spots—never online. Verify contract addresses before adding tokens. Use hardware wallets for holdings over $10k. Turn on 2FA everywhere.
How to Use ASTER (ASTER)
ASTER isn't just for holding. It has real utility on the platform.
Trading Fee Discounts
Hold ASTER in your connected wallet and you pay less in fees—up to 50% off. The more you hold, the bigger the discount. It applies automatically when you trade.
Staking for Revenue Share
Stake ASTER to earn a cut of trading fees, paid in USDC. APY runs 15–25% normally, higher during volatile periods. Staking also gives you votes on protocol decisions. Lock-ups of 3–12 months earn better rates.
Collateral for Trading (Coming Soon)
The roadmap includes using ASTER as trading collateral. You'd earn staking yield while holding leveraged positions—no need to convert to stablecoins first.
Governance
ASTER holders vote on fees, new markets, risk settings, and treasury spending. One token equals one vote. You can delegate to others if you prefer. Major decisions need quorum to pass.
Notable People in Aster
Aster's team blends founders from Astherus and APX Finance. Most stay pseudonymous, which is common in DeFi.
Pseudonymous Founders
Core leadership remains anonymous. The team reportedly includes former devs from Jump Crypto, FTX, and Solana Labs. "Aster Dev" is active on Twitter/X and Discord with technical updates.
Sarah Chen (Head of Growth)
One of the few public faces. She previously ran DeFi partnerships at Binance. Now handles institutional adoption, exchange deals, and the YZi Labs relationship.
YZi Labs (Lead Investor)
The rebranded Binance Labs led by CZ. Other backers include Jump Crypto, Dragonfly Capital, and Multicoin Capital.
Advisors
Informal advisors include Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana founder) and Andre Cronje (Yearn Finance, Fantom). They help with Solana integration and tokenomics.
Note on anonymity: Pseudonymous teams are normal in DeFi. Uniswap's founder was anonymous early on. Aster's code is open-source and audited by Trail of Bits and Certik. VC backing adds some accountability.
Regulation Overview for Aster
Derivatives face strict rules in most countries. Aster's high leverage draws extra scrutiny.
United States
The CFTC oversees derivatives. They've gone after DEXs like Ooki DAO. Aster blocks US IPs, but VPNs bypass that—creating legal risk. The SEC could call ASTER a security. Stock perps face extra heat as potentially unregistered offerings.
United Kingdom and European Union
The UK banned crypto derivatives for retail in 2021. Aster blocks UK IPs. Pro investors can still access it. In the EU, MiCA requires registration by 2026. EU leverage caps may limit retail to 2–5x—far below 1001x.
Asia-Pacific
Singapore: Institutional access only with proper licenses. Hong Kong: Pro investors only. Japan: Blocked. Rules vary across the region.
YZi Labs/Binance Risk
Binance paid $4.3 billion to settle in 2023. CZ stepped down. YZi Labs rebranding adds distance, but the association could still draw regulatory heat. It's both a strength and a risk.
Warning: Using Aster from restricted countries via VPN creates legal risk. Enforcement against DeFi is rising (Ooki DAO, Tornado Cash). Stock perps are especially risky from a regulatory standpoint.
FAQs About Aster (ASTER)
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