CZ-Backed Aster Reaches DeFi Top with $25 Million in Revenue

Aster has recently become a prominent name among decentralized derivatives exchanges. According to DefiLlama data, the platform generated over $25 million in trading fees in the last 24 hours, reaching the top of the daily revenue rankings. This performance allowed it to outperform its competitors, Hyperliquid and other perpetual DEXs (decentralized exchanges focused on perpetual futures). Hyperliquid earned around $3.17 million in revenue during the same period, ranking fifth.

Aster Overtakes Hyperliquid

Aster's rise is no coincidence. The platform's token launch, which took place on September 17th, attracted significant attention. Immediately following the launch, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) posted social media posts, further fueling interest in the project. Zhao stated that Aster, despite competing with Binance, contributes to the BNB ecosystem and expressed his support for the project. He also emphasized that YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) holds a minority stake in the company. Data shows that Aster is growing rapidly not only in fee revenue but also in trading volume. With $199.9 million in spot trading volume in the last 24 hours, it ranked 13th. While Hyperliquid is ahead in terms of volume, it's noticeable that Aster is rapidly approaching. The platform, particularly with its "hidden order" feature, allows users to trade invisibly in the market. This distinguishes it from its competitors with transparent order books.

Aster's roots are also noteworthy. Formerly known as APX Finance, the project merged with Astherus in March and rebranded. This merger combined its robust liquidity infrastructure with expertise in derivatives. The platform also offers multi-chain support; while initially focused on BNB Chain, it is expanding into different ecosystems with integrations to Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana.

ASTER token on the rise

Token volatility is noteworthy. The ASTER token quickly gained over 2,000% from its launch price of $0.08, reaching $2.42. Currently trading at $1.95, an 8% increase, the token has reached a fully diluted market capitalization of $15.1 billion.

However, on-chain data raises questions about token distribution. Analysis suggests that the majority of the supply is concentrated in a few wallets. The fact that the largest wallet holds 44.7% of the total supply has sparked discussions about centralization. Although the distribution plan allocates significant resources to ecosystem development and airdrops, such a concentration is attracting investor attention.

With its billions of dollars in volume and user base in a short time, Aster is reshaping the balance of power among derivatives exchanges. The support provided by YZi Labs and the trust instilled by CZ appear to have laid a strong foundation for the project for now. However, whether this momentum will be permanent will become clear with the interest the market will show in the coming months.