Binance Lists Aster as Transparency and Hype Collide

Binance announced Monday that it will list Aster (ASTER) and open spot trading for ASTER/USDT, ASTER/USDC, and ASTER/TRY pairs at 12:00 UTC on October 6. Deposits opened three hours earlier, and withdrawals will follow the next day.

The listing marks Aster’s graduation from Binance Alpha to the primary Spot market. Analysts say Binance’s support could boost confidence and intensify scrutiny of DeFi trading practices.

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Aster Graduates From Alpha to Spot

Aster previously appeared on Binance Alpha, a pre-listing venue for experimental tokens. Binance will move all balances from Alpha to Spot within 24 hours. The exchange applied its Seed Tag, warning that early-stage tokens may be volatile and require a risk quiz renewal every 90 days.

The listing comes amid optimism around Binance’s ecosystem. Binance Coin (BNB) recently hit a new all-time high near $1,223 after a 21 percent weekly gain. Founder Changpeng Zhao’s net worth rose to $87.3 billion, reflecting the exchange’s growing scale as listings expand.

Wash-Trading Claims and Controversies

Their debut follows weeks of scrutiny. Analytics platform DeFiLlama removed Aster’s perpetual-trading data after finding that reported volumes mirrored Binance’s perps almost exactly—suggesting potential wash trading.

DeFiLlama builder 0xngmi said on X, “Aster doesn’t make it possible to get lower-level data such as who is making and filling orders.” He added that until such data confirm whether wash trading occurs, Aster’s volumes will stay delisted.

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Aster announced the end of its Stage 2 “Genesis” phase and the start of “Stage 3 Dawn.” Through a zero-fee campaign, users can now claim $ASTER airdrops or refund trading fees. The team said future airdrops will be distributed evenly across epochs to avoid confusion seen earlier.

Influencer lynk0x said he was offered $250,000 to promote them without disclosure. He alleged that several key opinion leaders accepted similar deals. Some posts compared Aster’s airdrop allocation to a “dark pool” system, where each epoch received 1 percent of the supply, reducing rewards for later participants.

Mooonrock Capital’s Simon Dedic criticized Aster’s insider allocations and hype-driven model, calling it a “crime-Ponzi playbook.” Supra CEO Joshua Tobkin said the exchange “acts more like a CEX than a DEX.”

Whales Are Optimistic

Despite controversy, BeInCrypto reported that whales withdrew more than 118 million ASTER—worth about $270 million—from exchanges ahead of the listing. Supporters see the accumulation and Binance’s endorsement as a sign of renewed confidence that could reignite market attention.

Bitwise analyst Max Shannon told BeInCrypto that decentralized-exchange markets are vast and could grow rapidly as DEXs gain share from centralized platforms.

“CEXs processed about $16 trillion in trades over the past year,” Shannon said. “Because leverage and trading churn boost turnover, perpetual DEX volumes can grow faster than spot. If market share rises from 30 percent to 50 percent, annual DEX volumes could top $20 trillion within five years. At 75 percent, they could reach $30 trillion.”

He added that supportive regulation, stablecoin adoption, upcoming exchange IPOs, and institutional inflows strengthen that outlook.

Whether Aster’s move to Binance Spot rebuilds trust will depend on its ability to validate trading data and sustain liquidity. For now, the token reflects DeFi’s paradox: transparency under question and speculation thriving.