The perpetual DEX, Aster, backed by Changpeng Zhao’s family office, YZi Labs, has launched its Layer 1 blockchain called Aster Chain.
Aster confirms mainnet launch
Aster Chain announced on their X the official launch of their Aster Chain Mainnet, announcing the roll out of new features in phases.
Aster is trying to flip the idea of a fully transparent blockchain like Ethereum and Solana by solving what it describes as the “transparency trap” of the modern DeFi. However, it also ensures a “CEX-level performance” using zero-knowledge encryption and something called the stealth address mechanism that hides who is sending or receiving funds.
“Transparency between a protocol and its users is a fundamental feature, but transparency between a trader and their competitors is a critical vulnerability,” Aster CEO Leonard said in a statement.
Aster provides 50 ms block times and 100,000 transactions per second, and zero gas costs, attaining the industry benchmarks set by other leading scalable blockchains as observed and reported by blockchain analytics platform Chainspect.
Benefits and features of Aster Chain’s mainnet
The report affirmed that the Aster Chain’s transactions will remain verifiable on-chain, while sensitive information will remain private, just like privacy chains like ZK-powered ZKcash. The privacy feature on the chain provides traders the ability to route transactions through a one-time stealth address. This way, the user’s wallet can not be traced back to their trades.
Aster Chain is the only architecture that treats privacy as a fundamental requirement for a fair market, neutralizing predatory attacks at the base layer,” said Leonard.
Following the announcement, the ASTER token went up as much as 8% and is now trading at $0.76, holding onto a gain of over 5% on the day.
Aster remains among the top DEX players
On-chain perps futures trades show a decline since reaching a peak late last year. However, according to reports, Aster remained as one of the most used perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXes), with a volume similar to competitors including EdgeX and Lighter.
The largest on-chain perps DEX, Hyperliquid, has seen a boom in oil-linked perps trading volume with the ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.
Concluding observation
While the previous spikes in trading activity were driven by macroeconomic events, the market has now entered a phase of uncertainty, with participants waiting for fresh catalysts.
The Aster team is reportedly coming with new features and partnerships in phases. Beginning with the genesis block on Tuesday, followed by public staking for ASTER holders and a future Aster Code partners program.
Aster Chain is expected to support cross-chain deposits between BNB Chain, Arbitrum, and Ethereum networks, all of which are EVM compatible.
