ASTER plunged 78% as whales sent millions to exchanges, with on-chain data tying sell-offs to volatility and manipulation fears.
The $ASTER token recorded a sharp decline between September and January, drawing attention across the digital asset market.
Price data and on-chain records show repeated large transfers that coincided with heavy selling periods and rapid price drops.
$ASTER Price Decline Follows Early Trading Surge
$ASTER traded at $2.42 on September 24 and later fell to $0.54 by January 31. This move represented a decline of about 78% over four months.
Market data shows that early trading activity was marked by extreme volume levels.
Between September 25 and September 29, $ASTER rose from $1.62 to $1.86. Daily trading volume reportedly reached $20 billion during this period.
The rise followed launch-related interest and exchange listings.
The token $ASTER collapsed 🚨
From $2.42 on Sep 24 to $0.54 on Jan 31 (~78% down)
And all the signs point to manipulation:
Timeline of the crash:
– Sep 25–29 – $1.62 → $1.86 (+15%) after launch hype, $20B daily volume
– Sep 30–Oct 5 – $1.86 → $2.41 (ATH) → $1.73 as whales… pic.twitter.com/nI8teogSbC
— StarPlatinum (@StarPlatinum_) January 31, 2026
From September 30 to October 5, the token climbed to an all-time high near $2.41. It later dropped to $1.73 within days.
On-chain data indicates that large holders added roughly $61 million worth of tokens during this window.
Whale Activity and Supply Concentration
Blockchain records show that a small group of wallets controlled most of the token supply.
Estimates place their holdings between 88% and 96% of total circulating tokens. Such concentration often allows large holders to influence market prices.
On October 18, a total of 17,857,000 ASTER tokens were sold through Binance and Bybit. The combined value of these transfers was about $22.88 million.
Price movement data shows increased volatility during this time.
On October 9, traders sold more than 7.5 million ASTER tokens, valuing the transaction at about $12 million.Market prices fell around 16% and moved close to the $1.00 level.
Related Reading:Â ASTER Crashes to All-Time Low: Why Sell Pressure May Persist
Exchange Transfers and On-Chain Signals
Additional transfers occurred on October 15, when three new wallets withdrew 4,660,000 ASTER from Binance.
These tokens were valued at about $4.79 million at the time. Another wallet withdrew 5,010,000 ASTER worth roughly $7.65 million that same day.
One frequently referenced address was 0xFB3BF33Ba8E5d08D87B0db0e46952144DF822833. Blockchain data links this wallet to withdrawals totaling $114.5 million from Gate.
The address has been associated with Galaxy Digital activity.
Earlier market pressure also followed platform actions. From October 6 to October 12, $ASTER fell from $1.73 to $1.20.
During this period, DeFiLlama removed Aster DEX from its listings due to reported wash trading concerns.
The sequence of price movements and wallet transfers suggests that the $ASTER decline aligned with repeated large-scale sales.
Market data shows that these events occurred alongside major unlocks and heavy exchange deposits.
The trading pattern has raised manipulation concerns within the digital asset market.