Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) recently retweeted and confirmed on social media platform X that the perpetual contract DEX Aster has hired "several former Binance employees," and that his family investment fund YZi Labs holds a minority stake in the project.
In the subsequent X Space chat, CZ further clarified the boundaries of his relationship with Aster. He made it clear that he only serves as a "product and technology" advisor for Aster, emphasizing that he is "not a team member, just an advisor."
01 Official Confirmation and Role Definition of CZ
CZ posted on platform X on September 28, confirming the composition of the Aster team’s personnel and the equity relationship between the investment fund and Aster.
He retweeted the relevant content and commented, "The content is completely correct and easy to understand," directly confirming two key pieces of information: there are multiple former Binance employees in the Aster team, and YZi Labs holds a minority stake in Aster.
Regarding the community’s doubts about his role, CZ specifically clarified in the X Spaces conversation: "I am just an advisor, not a team member." He elaborated that he only provides advice on products and technology and does not participate in regulatory matters.
02 Aster’s Ecosystem and Market Performance
Aster, as a decentralized perpetual contract exchange, has recently attracted widespread attention in the market.
Its native token ASTER has surged from $0.45 to a historical high of $2.41 since its launch on September 19, an increase of over 400%.
As of September 28, the price of ASTER has retreated from its peak, reaching a low of $1.65, testing its 7-day average price support of $1.88. Currently, $1.76 is regarded as a key support level.
In terms of business data, Aster has also shown strong momentum. Its daily revenue once approached 13 million USD, surpassing the traditional powerhouse Hyperliquid in this field for the first time.
03 Unique Positioning and Technical Features
Aster has gained attention in the highly competitive Decentralized Finance derivatives market with several unique positions.
Seamless Multi-Chain Trading
Aster supports four major networks: BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum, allowing users to trade spot and perpetual contracts without manual cross-chain transactions. This effectively addresses the current issue of liquidity fragmentation in the Decentralized Finance space.
"Trade and Earn" innovative mechanism
One of Aster’s core innovations is allowing users to earn yields on collateral assets while trading.
For example, users can obtain asBNB by staking BNB, while still earning staking rewards as it serves as trading collateral.
Hide Order Feature
To combat Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) attacks, Aster introduces a hidden order mechanism, making orders invisible before execution. This feature protects traders, especially the interests of large orders.
04 Competition and Symbiosis: The Subtle Relationship Between Aster and Binance
Facing the community’s view that "Aster’s only competitor is Binance," CZ showed an inclusive attitude. He responded, "Few can understand this. Aster competes with Binance, but it also aids in the development of BNB."
This statement reveals CZ’s deeper strategic considerations—despite Aster’s competitive position against Binance in the exchange business, it brings more vitality and users to the entire BNB Chain ecosystem, ultimately having a positive impact on the BNB coin.
05 Controversies and Risks: Questions of Ponzi Scheme Fraud and Market Volatility
Despite the endorsement from CZ and the involvement of former Binance employees, Aster is also facing considerable controversy.
Simon Dedic, the founder of Moonrock Capital, publicly pointed out that the project meets the seven characteristics of a "criminal Ponzi scheme."
These features include a lack of product innovation, a large allocation of tokens to insiders to create hype, and the potential existence of fake trading operations.
At the same time, Supra’s CEO Joshua Tobkin questioned its level of decentralization, suggesting that its operations resemble those of a centralized exchange.
Additionally, the ASTER token itself has shown extreme volatility. In the past 24 hours, the token has dropped by 5.35%, while it astonishingly increased by 2,147% over the past 30 days.
53.5% of the token supply is reserved for airdrops, which may lead to further selling pressure in the market.
06 Token Economics and Future Planning
The token economic model design of $ASTER highlights its emphasis on community-driven initiatives. Out of a total supply of 8 billion tokens, the vast majority (53.5%) is allocated for community rewards and airdrops.
Ecological development accounts for 30%, while the team only accounts for 5%. This highly community-oriented distribution method helps incentivize early adopters and build strong network effects.
Aster CEO Leonard has announced that a token buyback plan will be unveiled in the coming weeks, which is expected to become an important driver for the future increase in token value.
At the same time, the project team plans to launch a dedicated Aster Chain L1 blockchain, aimed at addressing performance and MEV issues to attract institutional users.
Future Outlook
The future development of Aster still faces many challenges. On one hand, it needs to cope with fierce competition from mature protocols such as Hyperliquid and dYdX; on the other hand, it must respond to doubts about the sustainability of its business model with tangible results.
But undoubtedly, CZ’s endorsement and the joining of former Binance employees have provided Aster with a unique starting advantage in the competition within the Decentralized Finance field.
