Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on the BNB Chain, briefly surpassed $2 billion in total value locked (TVL) after launching its native token, Aster (APX), before quickly dropping back to $545 million TVL. Despite this sharp decline, the exchange saw increased trading activity with a 24-hour volume of $434 million, making it one of the most active DeFi derivatives platforms. However, Aster's TVL still lags behind its main competitor, Hyperliquid, which has a TVL of $670 million and significantly higher trading metrics. Speculation arose regarding Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao's potential involvement in Aster, especially after his supportive message on X. Despite these speculations, Zhao is legally barred from managing Binance until 2024 as part of a plea deal. Both Aster and its predecessor, Astherus, received backing from YZi Labs, which has ties to Binance Labs. Although Aster started strong, user complaints highlight issues with fund withdrawals and platform functionality, indicating challenges ahead for the newly launched exchange.

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