Aster Ramps Up Fair Airdrop as TGE Nears, Redefining DeFi Engagement

Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange emphasizing privacy and capital efficiency, has launched Aster Genesis: Stage 2 of its airdrop points campaign, coinciding with the confirmation of its Token Generation Event (TGE) date set for September 17, 2025. Stage 1 of the airdrop saw 527,224 unique wallets generate over $37.7B in trading volume across 20 weeks. During this period, Aster captured nearly 20% of the perpetual DEX market share in monthly trading volume, demonstrating strong traction in the decentralized exchange (DEX) space.

Stage 2 introduces a refined points system informed by community feedback, aiming to enhance fairness and transparency in rewarding user engagement. Traders can accumulate points based on trading volume, position holding time, referral activities, margin usage of Aster’s asBNB and USDF, and profit or loss realization. The updated structure is designed to align engagement more closely with rewards, encouraging broad participation across the platform. Over 50% of $ASTER’s total token supply is reserved for community airdrops, with 8.8% (704,000,000 $ASTER) immediately available upon TGE for users who have earned Rh or Au points.

Leonard, CEO of Aster, emphasized that the platform is pioneering a new category in trading, where users can leverage yield-generating assets—such as liquid-staking tokens or stablecoins—as collateral for perpetuals trading. This approach enhances capital efficiency, allowing traders to maintain positions while earning yield simultaneously. Additionally, any unclaimed tokens will be reallocated to future community rewards, ensuring continued engagement after TGE.

In the months leading up to TGE, Aster has launched multiple features to enhance its trading infrastructure. These include Hidden Orders, Aster L1 Chain for private execution, and 24/7 stock perpetuals, expanding the platform’s offerings beyond perpetuals into spot markets. These developments position Aster as a comprehensive on-chain trading venue, supporting a wide range of assets across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The $ASTER token is expected to be listed on major exchanges, including Aster’s own spot markets, with coordinated promotional efforts to follow. The airdrop is set to launch alongside the TGE, rewarding users who participated in the platform’s engagement programs. According to Leonard, the design of the airdrop prioritizes authenticity and long-term community participation over spectacle, ensuring generous and fair distribution.

Looking ahead, Aster aims to compete with both decentralized and centralized exchanges, leveraging its focus on privacy, speed, and capital efficiency. The platform plans to expand its liquidity layer by partnering with wallets and DEXs such as PancakeSwap, Trust Wallet, SafePal, and emerging platforms like Four.meme. These partnerships are intended to compound liquidity and make on-chain trading seamless and accessible.

At the time of the announcement, Aster had attracted over $350M in total value locked (TVL) across seven EVM chains and Solana, with an annualized fee run-rate exceeding $30 million. This represents an 87.5% year-to-date growth in 2025, highlighting the platform’s rapid adoption and expanding user base.

Aster operates as a next-generation decentralized exchange offering both perpetual and spot trading, supported by its high-performance, privacy-focused L1 chain. It is backed by YZi Labs and has integrated features such as one-click execution, Hidden Orders, and grid trading across major blockchains including BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum. The platform’s unique ability to use liquid-staking tokens and yield-generating stablecoins as margin collateral further distinguishes it in the competitive DeFi landscape.

Source: [1] Aster's Next Era Begins: Airdrop Points Stage 2 Live, TGE (https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/asters-next-era-begins-airdrop-points-stage-2-live-tge-countdown-begins-4229367)