Chainfeeds Introduction:
This article deeply analyzes Aster's past, present, and future, exploring its evolution from the pragmatic exploration of ApolloX to today's market challenger, and focusing on the severe challenges it faces after the frenzy of inflating its traffic.
Article Source:
https://www.panewslab.com/zh/articles/21711c76-5ff9-4a8c-a995-72bb8c9a901d
Article author:
danny
Viewpoint:
danny: ApolloX was originally launched in 2021 with the goal of bridging the gap between the smooth experience of centralized exchanges (CEXs) and the self-custody of decentralized finance (DeFi). Its V1 version adopted a hybrid architecture of "off-chain matching + on-chain settlement." This design prioritized trading performance and responsiveness, successfully attracting users accustomed to CEX operations while ensuring the non-custodial security of funds through smart contracts. With the maturity of DeFi infrastructure and the rise of GMX, ApolloX V2 shifted to a fully on-chain model, centered around the ALP (ApolloX Liquidity Provider) liquidity pool. This pool of funds, comprised of a variety of mainstream assets (such as stablecoins, BTC, and ETH), serves as the direct counterparty for all traders on the platform. Similar to CEXs, Aster utilizes centralized liquidity and an AMM (Automated Market Maker) model to support more efficient trade matching and lower slippage, addressing the fragmented liquidity issues of traditional DeFi. This shift significantly improves capital efficiency and trading transparency. By integrating Binance Oracle and Chainlink's dual oracle system, it ensures price accuracy and effectively prevents market manipulation. Aster also continues to pursue its innovative trading-as-farming model, transforming funds previously used solely for margin into yield-generating assets, further improving capital utilization and increasing ecosystem stickiness. Aster's architectural design meticulously reflects a deep understanding of market segmentation. By offering two distinct trading modes, it aims to capture the entire user spectrum, from professional traders to high-risk retail investors. This is a classic CEX strategy applied to the DEX space. The Professional Mode (Order Book Perpetual Contract) utilizes a centralized limit order book (CLOB) mechanism, providing a CEX-like trading environment for experienced traders and institutions. It supports advanced order types, offers deep liquidity from a deeply bonded network of professional market makers, and charges highly competitive fees. The Simple Mode (1001x) model, based on an AMM-style ALP liquidity pool, offers retail and thrill-seeking Degen traders a streamlined, one-click trading experience with up to 1001x leverage. It features zero slippage and zero entry fees, but caps profits to manage the risk of the ALP pool. This dual-mode architecture enables Aster to simultaneously serve two distinct user groups, maximizing its total addressable market (TAM). A trader who is liquidated due to 1001x leverage in Simple Mode has vastly different needs and behaviors than a trader who meticulously manages risk in Professional Mode. By catering to both user groups, Aster avoids alienating either by narrowly focusing its product offerings. Aster has integrated an iceberg-like order feature at the protocol level, designed to enhance trading fairness and privacy. This feature addresses two core pain points of on-chain trading: maximum extractable value (MEV) and information leakage. A hidden order is a limit order (similar to an iceberg order) that is completely invisible on the public order book until it is executed. These orders are submitted directly to the core matching engine, sharing liquidity with the visible order book but completely concealing the trader's intentions. This functionality is equivalent to an on-chain dark pool, designed to protect large traders from front-running, sandwich attacks, and malicious liquidation by MEV bots. Simple mode is advertised as MEV-resistant. This is likely achieved through a variety of mechanisms, such as frequent oracle price updates from multiple sources (Python, Chainlink, Binance Oracle), and possible transaction batching or the use of a private memory pool. These measures can prevent MEV bots from exploiting price slippage by inserting trades. Through these technical innovations, Aster not only improves transaction privacy but also effectively protects against MEV attacks, creating a fairer trading environment for users.
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