Aster (ASTER) experienced a sharp price decline of over 10% to $1.92 following DeFiLlama's decision to delist its perpetual futures data due to suspicions of wash trading and inflated volumes. The token slid 16% intraday, hitting a low of $1.80 from a high of $2.09 before partially recovering, and is now down 21% from its September 24 peak of $2.09.
On October 5, DeFiLlama co-founder 0xngmi announced on X that Aster's trading volumes had begun mirroring Binance's perpetual volumes almost exactly, with a 1:1 correlation on pairs like XRP/USDT and ETH/USDT—a statistically improbable pattern in decentralized markets that raised red flags about data authenticity. DeFiLlama cited the inability to verify lower-level order data, such as market maker or filler addresses, as a key reason for the delisting, though Aster's spot and total value locked data remain listed.
Aster, a decentralized perpetual exchange built on BNB Chain and backed by YZi Labs, has not issued an official statement. The delisting comes after a surge in reported activity, with daily perpetual volumes reaching $60 billion in late September, briefly outpacing competitor Hyperliquid (HYPE). Open interest surged over 33,500% in less than a week during September, signaling high demand.
Despite the sell-off, trading volume over the last day increased 15.5% to $1.06 billion, and derivatives volume rose 1.85% to $4.83 billion, while open interest held steady at $1.45 billion, indicating increased activity but trader caution. Technical analysis shows Aster testing the lower Bollinger Band at $1.75, with RSI at 47.3 reflecting neutral momentum. Key resistance is at $1.92, and a break could lead to a retest of $2.01–$2.05; if support at $1.75 fails, prices may drop to $1.65.
Community reactions on X were mixed, with some supporting DeFiLlama's move for data integrity and others accusing bias. 0xngmi denied any conflicts of interest, stating no financial exposure to Aster or Hyperliquid. Prior to the news, analysts had predicted potential growth, with Marcell forecasting a 480% rise to $10 and others expecting up to 35% rallies in October, but current events have dampened optimism.
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