Aster DEX completes $214 million in total buybacks

ASTER DEX has executed $214 million in total token buybacks as of November 13. On-chain data showed that the project has initiated $2 million to $3 million daily buybacks since October 28th.

Aster DEX has also repurchased more than 143.38 million ASTER tokens since the launch of its buyback initiative. Those tokens account for 7.11% of the network’s supply. 

Aster DEX funds its buyback program via protocol revenue and treasury

Aster’s current buyback lasted for 35 days until November 9, which allowed for the S3 airdrop to begin after the complete buyback. The tokens from the initiative will be prioritized for distribution, while any shortfall will be unblocked from the airdrop allocation pool to ensure full distribution.

The decentralized exchange has funded its buyback program via its protocol revenue and treasury to ensure continuous value return to holders. It allocated 70-80% of its Season 3 (S3) trading fees to fund the buyback initiative and reward community participants through activities like trading volume and holding duration. The results of the program were released by the team after the conclusion of the S3 phase, with subsequent airdrops and buybacks coming in future seasons.

The record buyback comes as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) purchased over $2 million ASTER tokens, triggering speculative demand. He also revealed that he’s not a trader but buys digital assets and holds.

At the time of publication, ASTER’s price had dropped more than 4.6% in the past 24 hours to $1.09. The digital asset has surged by approximately 6.3% over the past 7 days but is down by about 21.33% over the past 30 days. ASTER had dropped by 11% during the October 10 market crash, with its total value locked also plummeting by nearly 25%.

Crypto expert Peters predicted that the token could rise to $10 in response to the buyback initiative. Aster surged by 15% in response to CZ’s recent presidential pardon.

Crypto analyst, Crypto Patel, compared ASTER’s growth potential to BNB. He argued that the token could become the next BNB within four to five years if its adoption continues climbing at the current pace. The analyst’s projections suggest that the token‘s current buyback program could ignite its next rally.

On-chain data revealed that Aster’s total value locked (TVL) has dropped from its record $2.44 billion on October 10 to around $1.5 billion at the time of publication.

On-chain data showed that the exchange’s average daily fee reached $1.75 million over the past seven days. Aster’s fees in the last 30 days reached $60 million, with its total fees amounting to $732.4 million.

Aster DEX integrates new trading pairs

Aster DEX has also integrated new trading pairs and boosts for tokens like HEMI and AT. The initiative was aimed at enhancing the exchange’s fee-generating activity during Stage 3. Aster DEX is also doubling down on buybacks in response to support token stability amid uncertain market conditions. 

Aster’s buyback amount surged by 50%, burning $7,500 every minute. Aster’s previous buyback campaign distributed $200,000 in ASTER tokens as rewards within days after launch. 

On-chain data shows that the project has also become a leader in DEX trading volume. The recent repurchase program incentivized the project’s users to reach particular trading volume and balance goals for both Spot and Perpetual accounts.

The project had encountered problems after DeFiLlama delisted its trading volume data on October 5, prompting the launch of the buyback program. The analytics platform detected suspicious trading volumes that closely mirrored Binance’s. Co-founder Oxngmi noted that Aster’s data correlated almost perfectly with Binance’s perpetual pairs, including ETH/USDT and XRP/USDT.

Aster’s removal resulted in short-term selling pressure, which caused a 10% drop in a single day. The exchange’s trading volume was relisted after weeks, reigniting concerns over transparency in decentralized markets and the growing influence of data platforms.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.