DefiLlama Reinstates Aster with Historical Data Gaps, Igniting DeFi Transparency Debate

Aster, a decentralized exchange (DEX), has been quietly reinstated on the data analytics platform DefiLlama, weeks after being delisted over disputed on-chain trading data. The reinstatement occurred without public discussion or announcement, as highlighted by Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi, who noted "big gaps" in historical metrics.

DefiLlama founder 0xngmi confirmed that the team still cannot verify Aster's numbers, describing it as a "black box," but Aster's team supplied updated endpoints and internal metrics to facilitate the relisting. While DefiLlama is developing a new system to include additional metrics like order flow and liquidity fragmentation, the missing data leaves longitudinal comparisons fragmented, affecting traders and model builders.

Despite these transparency concerns, Aster has maintained top positions in daily and weekly perpetual futures volume rankings, competing closely with rivals Hyperliquid and Lighter. This situation has renewed debates over data reliability, the power of data providers, and the balance between innovation and transparency in decentralized markets.