Key Takeaways
- Binance is supporting APX’s migration to $ASTER
- The new token has pumped aggressively since its launch.
- There is speculation that the surge is just the beginning.
Binance Alpha has supported the switch from APX tokens to $ASTER, marking the start of a new era for Aster.
Upgrades to the decentralized perpetual futures exchange have been well-received by the market, with the platform’s native token surging on a wave of speculative interest.
$ASTER Migration Explained
ApolloX was originally launched in November 2021 as a hybrid derivatives exchange with both DEX and CEX features.
The project team released Version two of the protocol in April 2023, and it quickly became the largest perpetual DEX on BNB Chain, which hosts the biggest share of APX liquidity and trade volume.
The evolution to Aster incorporates yield-generating features previously available via Astherus, a related but distinct protocol.
The newly unified platform combines the best of APX and Astherus, creating a single ecosystem for trading and yield.
The switch from APX to $ASTER has created a lot of buzz. Since the swap contract opened on Sep. 17, APX/$ASTER have pumped more than 600%.
Binance Supports APX–$ASTER Migration
On Sept. 19, the $ASTER migration was executed on Binance’s early-stage token platform, Binance Alpha, which automatically converted on-platform balances on a one-for-one basis.
For APX held in self-custody, users need to manually swap their tokens.
Over the years, Binance has been a major supporter of the project, and in 2024, its venture arm YZi Labs (then Binance Venture) invested in Astherus.
A New Force in Decentralized Perps
Aster’s upgraded DEX is already making waves in the perpetual futures market.
The platform’s total value locked (TVL) jumped from $378 million pre-migration, to more than $677 million as of Sept. 19.
On Wednesday, it received a major boost from Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) on Wednesday, when an X post celebrating the successful migration triggered a surge of interest in AsterDEX.
With CZ and Binance’s backing, some people think Aster could even challenge Hyperliquid, which currently dominates the market for decentralized perp trading.
Speculating that “CZ and Binance are going to pump this so hard,” one X user predicted that $ASTER will approach $10 dollars in October. The token currently trades at around $0.6.
If $ASTER’s market cap catches up with that of Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, it would climb to $11.4 per token, they added.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
