DeFi’s New Vanguard: Aster Rises With Fair Airdrop and $350M TVL Momentum

Aster, a decentralized exchange (DEX) offering perpetual and spot trading, has announced the launch of the second phase of its Aster Genesis points airdrop and confirmed the schedule for the upcoming Token Generation Event (TGE). This follows the success of the first phase, where 527,224 independent wallets collectively generated a trading volume of over $37.7 billion over 20 weeks. The event contributed to Aster securing nearly 20% of the monthly transaction volume share in the decentralized contract market within a few months. Aster’s CEO, Leonard, emphasized that Phase 1 demonstrated strong demand for speed, composability, privacy, and capital efficiency in trading.

Phase 2 of Aster Genesis introduces a revised points system designed based on community feedback, enhancing transparency and fairness. Users will earn points through trading volume, collateral usage, holding duration, referrals, and profit and loss during the promotion period. These changes aim to create a more equitable participation framework ahead of the TGE. The rules are structured to allow all traders to start on an equal footing and accumulate rewards before the token distribution in Q4 2025.

The airdrop program is a major component of Aster’s community-driven model. Over 50% of the total $ASTER supply is reserved for community airdrops, with 8.8%—equivalent to 704 million $ASTER—set to be unlocked and distributed during the TGE. Users who earned loyalty points in the first phase and those who participated in prior community or partner programs will also be eligible for the airdrop. Any unclaimed tokens will be redistributed through the “Airdrop” pool to ensure fair community engagement. The TGE, scheduled for September 17, 2025, marks a critical milestone in Aster’s roadmap and is expected to coincide with the listing of $ASTER on multiple major exchanges.

The platform has been making strides toward its privacy-focused trading vision, introducing features such as Hidden Orders, the Aster L1 public blockchain, and 24/7 on-chain trading of U.S. stock perpetuals. With the recent launch of its Spot market, Aster has become a one-stop on-chain trading platform, further solidifying its position in the decentralized ecosystem. The TGE will serve as a catalyst for the next phase of Aster’s growth, including the launch of decentralized governance mechanisms.

Aster’s token, $ASTER, is positioned to compete directly with decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid and centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. The platform’s unique features—such as the use of liquid staking tokens (asBNB) and interest-bearing stablecoins (USDF) as collateral—enhance capital efficiency and attract a wide range of traders. Leonard highlighted that Aster’s future growth will be driven by strategic distribution and collaboration with emerging platforms, including PancakeSwap, Trust Wallet, SafePal, and Four.meme. As of now, Aster’s total value locked (TVL) across 7 EVM chains and Solana exceeds $350 million, with annualized fee income surpassing $30 million and a growth rate of 87.5% in 2025.

The platform’s progress underscores its commitment to building a fast, flexible, and community-centric DeFi ecosystem. As it approaches the TGE, Aster is positioning itself as a key player in the evolving landscape of decentralized finance.

Source: [1] Phase 2 of the points airdrop is online, and the TGE ... (https://www.odaily.news/en/post/5206160)