The native token of decentralized perpetuals exchange Aster (ASTER) climbed more than 30% on Sunday after Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao disclosed that he had bought over $2 million worth of the asset.
Before Zhao’s post, Aster traded at $0.91. Within an hour of his announcement on X, the price rose above $1.20, marking a sharp intraday gain.
“I am not a trader. I buy and hold,” Zhao wrote, signaling his long-term confidence in the project.
Market Reaction
The crypto market responded swiftly to Zhao’s disclosure of his Aster investment. Aster’s token climbed to $1.07, recording double-digit gains shortly after the announcement. Meanwhile, BNB, the native cryptocurrency of Binance Smart Chain, also rose more than 5% to $1,123, reflecting renewed optimism across Zhao-linked assets.
Aster’s Rise Amid Perpetual Exchange Boom
Aster has rapidly gained attention among decentralized perpetual exchanges, a sector that has seen significant expansion in 2025.
According to Defillama, the platform processed over $70 billion in trades during the past week, surpassing that of rival Hyperliquid.
However, some analysts have questioned the reliability of those numbers. 0xngmi, the pseudonymous head of DefiLlama, temporarily removed Aster’s trading data after failing to verify the reported volumes.
DefiLlama later relisted Aster’s statistics while developing a new method to validate perpetual exchange data, leaving the figures under continued review.
Zhao’s Role, Legal Battles, and Renewed Influence
Aster is backed by YZi Labs, a family office managed by Zhao, and his connection to the project is therefore both financial and reputational. His public support and recent return to prominence have significantly shaped market sentiment around Aster.
However, Zhao’s influence follows a turbulent legal chapter. He resigned as Binance CEO after pleading guilty to violations of U.S. banking laws and served a four-month prison sentence.
Following his release, Zhao received a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump on October 23, 2025, as reported by The Crypto Basic.