Aster popped over 10% on radical 'buyback and burn' upgrade. But gains were short-lived
CoinDesk 2026-06-18 11:02:57
Context: Aster's native token, ASTER, surged over 10% on Wednesday after the decentralized perpetuals-dedicated exchange announced a massive buyback and burn program, but the gains were short-lived due to a hawkish Federal Reserve decision that pressured risk assets. The token's price jumped to 80 cents, the highest level since January, before dropping to around 68 cents, down about 5% on the day. This price volatility occurred as the protocol's bullish news met broader market weakness.
Key Facts
- Aster's ASTER token surged more than 10% to 80 cents on Wednesday, hitting the highest level since January, following the protocol's announcement of a new initiative committing 99% of daily platform fees to an automated buyback program.
- The buyback program involves purchasing tokens through an automated mechanism, with all purchased tokens distributed as rewards to veASTER holders, who obtain the non-transferable governance and reward token by locking native ASTER tokens.
- The announcement also included a commitment to bi-weekly burns of tokens from the protocol's reserve, which will continue until the total supply reaches a target of 3 billion tokens, down from the current 7.82 billion tokens.
- The token's bullish price action was short-lived as the Federal Reserve's hawkish turn sent the dollar higher and weighed on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, causing ASTER to trade near 68 cents, down 5% on the day.
- The upgrade marks a shift away from the protocol's previous linear vesting model, which concluded earlier this year in January 2026, and highlights the new rewards settled on-chain with "no discretionary reserve," according to the protocol.