"Binance founder bought it"... Aster (ASTER), surges 30% in a day

First personal investment disclosed since CEO resignation

Whale investors are betting on short positions

"Technology is a strength, ownership concentration is a risk"

Changpeng Zhao (Changpeng Zhao·CZ), the founder of Binance, revealed he directly purchased tokens of the decentralized derivatives exchange 'Aster (Aster, ASTER)', sending the market into turmoil.

On the 2nd (local time), Zhao disclosed on his X, "I bought Aster with my own money today. I'm not a trader. I tend to buy and hold," and revealed he purchased about $2.5 million (about ₩3.57 billion) worth of Aster. Immediately after the remark, Aster, which had been $0.96 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, surged 33.5% in one day to record an intraday high of $1.26. After returning some of the gains, Aster is trading at around $1.07 as of this report.

Aster has long attracted attention for its links to Binance. Former Binance employees occupy key positions, and Yzi Labs, spun off from Binance's venture investment arm, holds a minority stake. Zhao has also stated, "I serve as a product and technical advisor for Aster."

However, this is the first time he has publicly revealed the purchase of Aster. It is also the first time he has announced a personal investment publicly since buying Binance Coin (BNB) eight years ago. The market interprets this as a move by Zhao to begin fully regaining his influence in the industry after his pardon.

Crypto asset analyst AB Kuai Dong said, "This purchase is only a very small portion of his personal funds. He may expand additional investments into BNB Chain-based infrastructure projects in the future," and added, "He currently holds notable influence in the market, and each of his public statements directly affects market sentiment."

However, opinions on the rally are mixed. According to data from blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, some large investors are taking short positions on Aster, betting on a decline. One trader recently increased Aster short positions to 42.97 million tokens, amounting to about $52.8 million. The liquidation price is around $2. Another trader holds 15.3 million (about $19.1 million) Aster in short positions, with a liquidation price calculated at $2.11.

Aster is a decentralized derivatives exchange that was formed late last year through the merger of Astherus and APX Finance. It is characterized by integrating trading and revenue-generation structures into one within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

Users can use assets that earn yields through staking (deposit) as collateral for perpetual contract trading, which is seen as addressing inefficient capital utilization. Currently, Aster supports major networks such as BNB Chain, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Arbitrum (ARB), and also allows stock-based perpetual contract trading.

Its technical architecture is also cited as a strength. Aster has adopted an 'off-chain orderbook+on-chain settlement' approach, reducing trade finalization speed to 0.3 seconds. This outperforms competitor Hyperliquid's average speed (1.2 seconds). It also supports up to 1001x leverage trading and offers separate 'Simple mode' for beginners and 'Pro mode' for professional traders. Price data is supplied from major oracle networks such as Pyth, Chainlink, and Binance Oracle.

However, the excessive concentration of token ownership in a few wallets is pointed out as a concern. According to global exchange OKX, the top six wallets currently hold 96% of Aster's circulating supply, and Binance is reported to hold about 95% of that. OKX stated, "Such concentration raises concerns about potential market manipulation and erosion of decentralization principles," adding, "While the technology and growth potential are noteworthy, investors should be mindful of ownership concentration and volatility risks."