Aster price gains 20% as perps volume surpasses Hyperliquid

Aster price continues to surge as decentralized finance growth pushes perpertual trading volume past Hyperliquid.

The token has climbed 20% in the past 24 hours to trade at $2.04, briefly touching a new all-time high of $2.12 on Sept. 23 before easing back by about 3.8%. The surge lifted its market capitalization to $3.37 billion, with a fully diluted valuation of $16.29 billion.

Aster’s (ASTER) Trading volume reached $2.58 billion, up 32.6% from a day earlier, reflecting a sharp rise in market activity. According to CoinGlass data, open interest increased 28.28% to $1.11 billion, while derivatives volume increased 32.54% to $8.94 billion.

Stronger conviction among traders is suggested by the combination of increased trading volume and open interest, which suggests fresh money entering the market rather than simple position reshuffling.

Aster’s DeFI momentum

On-chain activity has mirrored this growth. DefiLlama data shows Aster leading all perpetual DEXs with $21.89 billion in 24-hour trading, more than double Hyperliquid’s (HYPE) $9.72 billion. Spot DEX trading reached $544 million.

Fees collected hit $7.12 million in one day, showing deeper engagement across its ecosystem. The platform’s total value locked has now crossed $1.79 billion.

The rally has been supported by a mix of fundamentals and speculation. On Sept. 17, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao publicly praised Aster’s launch, which sparked a rush into its pre-swap APX token, convertible 1:1 to ASTER. The token surged 452% within 48 hours. 

In addition, on Sept. 19, Binance launched ASTER perpetuals with 50x leverage, increasing liquidity and igniting rumors of a potential spot listing. This gave rise to further momentum.

Confidence has been further strengthened by utility expansions like governance voting, staking discounts, cross-chain collateral, and a $50 million fee buyback program.

Aster price technical analysis

ASTER is trading close to the upper Bollinger Band on the one-hour chart, indicating that buyers are still in control. The first resistance level is currently the recent high of $2.12, while the immediate support is $1.78. Another important area to keep an eye on is the Bollinger midline, which is at $1.96.

The relative strength index is close to 62, indicating bullish momentum that has not yet reached overbought levels. Overheating may be indicated by a push above 70, while a decline below 55 would weaken the trend. The breakout is supported by rising volume, which adds weight to the bullish scenario.

The next upward targets for ASTER are between $2.20 and $2.30 if it stays above $1.96. If $2.12 is not broken, there may be a pullback, with downside risk of retracing towards $1.78.