Aster Goes Full Hyperliquid: 99% of Fees Now on ASTER Buyback Duty 🔥

Decentralized perpetuals exchange Aster unveiled a sweeping tokenomics overhaul on June 17, committing 99% of daily platform fees to automated ASTER buybacks through a time-weighted average price mechanism, with all purchased tokens routed to veASTER stakers on top of the protocol's existing 300,000 ASTER base loyalty rewards. Every buyback triggers an equal token burn drawn first from the team allocation before other reserve categories, executed on a biweekly cadence and continuing until ASTER's total supply reaches 3 billion tokens. With the current maximum supply set at 8 billion ASTER, the long-term target implies a reduction of up to 5 billion tokens.

The protocol also folded revenue from permissionless spot listings into the program, charging a 50,000 USDT fee per listing that will be used to purchase additional ASTER for staking rewards. Aster reaffirmed its broader allocation structure, stating that 53.5% of supply is reserved for community rewards and airdrops, 30% for ecosystem growth and partnerships, 7% for the treasury, 5% for team contributors and advisors, and 4.5% for liquidity and exchange listings. The team allocation remains subject to a 12-month cliff followed by 40 months of linear vesting, and Aster said rewards under the new framework are settled on-chain with "no discretionary reserve," framing the upgrade as a shift away from the protocol's previous linear vesting model, which concluded in January 2026.

ASTER's price moved sharply on the announcement, jumping more than 10% from roughly $0.66 to $0.803 on June 17 — a 21% intraday move and the highest level since January, according to CoinDesk Data, with daily trading volume spiking 366%. At one point the token hit $0.82, a 28% rally from $0.63, before momentum reversed. By press time on June 18, ASTER traded near $0.68, down about 5% on the day and roughly 24% below the high, as a hawkish Federal Reserve decision sent the Dollar Index higher and weighed on risk assets. Bitcoin bounced to $67,000 before pulling back, with the $64,000 support zone under pressure.

Technical charts tracked by market analysts showed ASTER retracing from the $0.74–$0.80 supply area, with lower timeframe structures turning bearish and the recent rally flagging a local high sweep that trapped leveraged short positions. Key levels flagged include $0.811 as the swing structure flip point, $0.588 as the recent low, and $0.54 and $0.46 as extension targets on a deeper pullback. On the upside, the 200-day moving average sits near $0.70, a 16% move from the press-time price.

Aster is backed by Binance Labs, and analysts drew comparisons between the new design and Hyperliquid's fee-driven buyback model. ASTER's current total supply stands at 7.82 billion tokens, and the protocol stated that veASTER is a non-transferable governance and reward token obtained by locking native ASTER, granting holders platform fee revenue, voting power, and trading discounts on the Aster DEX.