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Aster combines trading and asset management on BNB Chain, working to deliver smoother liquidity, simplify derivatives access and strengthen defenses against slippage and MEV risks.
Decentralized perpetual exchanges (perp DEXs) have surged in activity, handling nearly $1.5 trillion in trades in 2024 alone. These platforms let traders buy and sell perpetual futures — contracts with no expiry date — directly onchain through their own wallets, avoiding centralized intermediaries.
Still, even with all that growth, challenges remain: liquidity is scattered across platforms, newcomers often face steep entry barriers, and security concerns continue to hang over the sector. On the BNB Chain in particular — home to a retail community that rivals any other major network — perpetual trading remains an area with room to grow in terms of depth, efficiency and integration.
A new contender steps into the perp DEX race
Aster came onto the scene in March 2025, formed when Astherus and APX Finance combined their efforts. The project positions itself as tackling areas where BNB Chain’s perpetual markets are still evolving, including integration with other protocols and market depth. It aims to give traders on the chain better liquidity, more practical ways to put their capital to work, and safeguards against problems such as slippage, contract bugs, or miner extractable value (MEV) exploits.
For users, that means lower gas costs, deeper liquidity pools within the BNB ecosystem, and smoother integration with wallets and decentralized applications (DApps) they already use.
In Aster, users can manage assets and trade derivatives in one place, as the combined platform brings together return-focused products of Astherus with APX Finance’s perpetual trading infrastructure.
Depending on their needs, users can enter the market in different ways. Experienced traders can operate through an order book interface with deeper liquidity and lower fees, while those who want a simpler path can use a one-click mode that executes trades directly onchain with safeguards against unfair ordering and manipulation.
Users can put their assets to work in more than one way. Tokens like asBNB and USDF are not limited to sitting idle — they can generate value while also serving as collateral for perpetual contracts. Beyond crypto, stock perpetuals provide round-the-clock access to traditional markets through the blockchain.
Competition sharpens
By late 2024, Hyperliquid had captured more than half the market while dYdX slid to 7% — a swing that shows how quickly traders shift platforms in search of lower fees and smoother execution. Aster is building the foundation for deeper perpetual markets across multiple chains, with strong support on BNB Chain as well as ETH, SOL and ARB, ensuring both depth and accessibility within its ecosystem.
For BNB Chain traders, the focus is on providing a single venue for both execution and collateral management, with access extended through integrations like Trust Wallet and SafePal.
To deliver on that positioning, the project leans on a team with experience in building perpetual trading engines and decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure, supported by partners across the crypto ecosystem. Backing from established firms and links to infrastructure providers give the team a foundation to keep growing as competition heats up.
Data from Aster shows that more than half a million unique wallets connected to the platform in its first 20 weeks, generating over $37 billion in trading volume. The next milestone was the token generation event (TGE) on Sept. 17, which marked a key step in community governance.
Looking ahead, the project’s stated ambition is to become more than just a trading venue. By building out infrastructure for capital efficiency and perpetual markets on BNB Chain, Aster is positioning itself to fill a long-missing piece in the chain’s DeFi stack. If adoption continues, it could establish itself not only as a contender in the perp DEX space but also as a core liquidity layer in the broader BNB Chain ecosystem.
Disclaimer.This content is part of a paid partnership. The text below is a sponsored article that is not part of Cointelegraph.com editorial content. The material is written by our advertorial team and has undergone editorial review to ensure clarity and relevance, it may not reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.com. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Disclosure.
