Aster (ASTER), a multi-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) that aims to bring together perpetual contracts trading and spot trading, is witnessing a surge in interest from both retail investors and whales.
Aster whale doubles down on its long position
According to an X post by blockchain whale movement tracking account Lookonchain, an Aster whale address, starting with 0x6834, recently deposited another $1 million worth of USDC stablecoin to its ASTER long position. The whale’s total long position is now worth $2.86 million.
In another X post, crypto analyst Chen BNB shared the following analysis, predicting that ASTER price could surge to as high as $4 if the current bullish momentum continues. At press time, ASTER trades at $1.26, holding a total market cap of $2.5 billion.
Aster launches Stage 4 of its airdrop program
For the uninitiated, Aster initially launched on the BNB Chain (Binance Chain), but also operates across Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ethereum Layer-2, Arbitrum (ARB). Aster calls itself a DEX that brings together yield optimization with advanced derivatives trading infrastructure.
Today, Aster initiated Stage 4 of its airdrop, along with a trading competition with a total reward pool of $10 million. Notably, Stage 4 of its airdrop represents approximately 1.5% (120 million) of the total ASTER supply, which is 8 billion.
While Aster currently runs across several smart contract platforms, it plans to launch a native Layer-1 blockchain called Aster Chain. The chain will use zero-knowledge proofs to enable private yet verifiable transactions, helping to reduce MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) attacks.
To explain, MEV attacks typically occur when bots or validators reorder, forcefully insert, or copy transactions in a block to profit from someone else’s trade. Such MEV attacks usually lead to users facing failed transactions or incurring extremely high costs without realizing it.
According to sources close to the matter, Aster is aiming for a Q4 2025 public testnet launch, while the mainnet launch is projected to happen sometime in Q1 2026.
