Decentralized perpetual exchange Aster saw its native token $ASTER jump more than 10% to 80 cents on Wednesday, hitting its highest level since January. This spike came after the protocol announced a new initiative committing 99% of the platform’s daily fees to an automated buyback program. Think of it like using your business income to buy back stock in your own company.
Under this plan, all tokens purchased through this mechanism are distributed as rewards to veASTER holders. veASTER is a non-transferable governance token obtained by locking $ASTER, which gives holders access to fee income, voting power, and trading discounts on the Aster DEX.
How the burn works
Each buyback also triggers an equal consumption of the protocol’s reserve, further reducing supply. These bi-weekly burns will continue until the total supply reaches 3 billion tokens. Currently, the total supply of $ASTER stands at 7.82 billion tokens. The upgrade marks a change from the previous linear vesting model, which automatically brought tokens to market regardless of demand. This model ended in January 2026.
“Aster’s tokenomics upgrade leverages the platform’s own business,” the protocol states. He emphasized that the new rewards are settled on-chain without “any discretionary reservation.”
Headwinds in the market
But the bullish price action was short-lived. The Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance sent the dollar higher and weighed on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, $ASTER was trading near 68 cents, down 5% on the day. Broader market weakness erased what could have been a more sustained rally, leaving traders wondering whether the symbolic change is enough to attract long-term demand.
