Aster Makes a Strong Comeback in the Perp DEX Market

Decentralized exchange Aster has made a strong return to the perpetual DEX market, overtaking Lightchain in daily trading volume. This comeback marks a big turnaround for Aster, which recently faced questions about the accuracy of its trading data and activity.

DeFiLlama Reinstates Aster After Data Concerns

Recent data from DeFiLlama shows that Aster recorded over $10.6 billion in 24-hour trading volume. This puts it slightly ahead of Lightchain’s $10.1 billion and well above Hyperliquid’s $8 billion.

Aster, backed by YZi Labs, CZ Zhao’s family office that supports projects comeback story, is closely tied to its relationship with DeFiLlama, the popular DeFi analytics platform. A few weeks ago, DeFiLlama removed Aster’s trading data from its dashboard. 

The decision came after analysts saw that Aster’s reported trading volume looked almost identical to Binance’s numbers. This raised doubts about whether the activity was real or inflated. 

Recently, DeFiLlama quietly brought back Aster’s data on its site without any public announcement. This reinstatement has sparked new talks in the decentralized finance (DeFi) community about transparency and data accuracy, and verification processes

In response, Aster’s pseudonymous founder admitted that the numbers were “still a black box.” He also confirmed that the Aster team requested the relisting. They are now building a better system to check and confirm data more accurately in the future.

Wintermute Returns as Aster Gains Fresh Momentum

While there are still some doubts about Aster’s data, interest from big investors is starting to return. Market maker Wintermute, which had been selling ASTER tokens for several weeks, now seems to have changed its approach. 

Blockchain records show that earlier this month, Wintermute moved over $4.8 million worth of ASTER to exchanges like Bybit and Gate. However, new data suggests the firm has started buying again. 

Its holdings have grown to about 2.7 million tokens, compared to just 5,400 after its last big sell-off. This shift suggests that Wintermute may be betting on a recovery in Aster’s token price and trading activity. This is especially since prices are still near recent lows.

Aster’s recent progress also got a lift from Robinhood’s decision to list ASTER for spot trading. The listing boosted the token’s price and improved market sentiment. This comes even as the broader crypto market continues to face pressure.

Aster Faces Setback During Token Airdrop

Despite its recent progress, Aster’s team ran into problems during its token airdrop event. After users spotted errors in their token allocations, the platform paused the distribution. Some people got the wrong amounts, while others received the correct ones.

The Aster team quickly explained that a technical error caused the issue and promised to fix it. They assured users that everyone would get the full amount they were supposed to receive.