Aster, formerly known as ApolloX and backed by Binance-linked venture firm YZi Labs, has emerged as the largest decentralized perpetuals exchange by daily trading volume, overtaking incumbent leader Hyperliquid.
According to DefiLlama, Aster processed more than $23.1 billion in trades on September 24, more than double Hyperliquid’s $10 billion. However, on a 30-day basis, it still trails behind Hyperliquid, with $48.2 billion versus Hyperliquid’s $299.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the platform’s ASTER token soared to another all-time high of $2.40 today, implying a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $20 billion.
This surge in activity coincided with a sharp rise in the platform’s total value locked, which jumped from $366 million to over $1.78 billion in a single week, marking a 390% increase.
Messari staff engineer 0xTulipKing noted in a Tuesday X post on Sept. 23 that USDF, a stablecoin issued by Aster with custodial services provided by Ceffu, has more than quadrupled in supply over the past week to 262 million USDF, and at this pace the platform could issue $1 billion worth of the delta-neutral token “within a week.”
The influx of traders also boosted daily revenue, placing Aster in second place with $9 million, behind only Tether’s $22 million, and ahead of USDC issuer Circle.
Fueling the hype, Aster CEO Leonard reportedly told Cointelegraph in a Sept. 22 interview that Aster is going to roll out its own Layer 1 blockchain, which is currently in the process of “internal testing.” Originally, the exchange launched as a multi-chain platform supporting BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana.
The Aster team did not respond to The Defiant’s request for comment.
As The Defiant reported earlier, the rally comes as on-chain perpetuals trading has overall accelerated in 2025, with August volumes reaching $765 billion, nearly 10% higher than the total for all protocols in 2023.
