Aster Sees 33,500% Jump in Open Interest, Leads Hyperliquid in Daily Trading Volumes

Aster, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on BNB Chain, experienced an astonishing increase in open interest of nearly 33,500% within a week, putting pressure on its main competitor, Hyperliquid.

According to data from CoinGlass published on Wednesday, Aster’s open interest soared from $3.72 million on Friday to $1.25 billion at the time of reporting. This surge in active contracts indicated that traders were flocking to the platform, putting it on par with its largest rival, Hyperliquid.

Open interest represents the total number of outstanding contracts that remain unsettled. It serves as a critical metric for assessing liquidity and market confidence in a project. The jump in Aster’s open interest demonstrated that traders are eager to invest capital in the platform.

Alongside open interest, Aster’s total value locked (TVL), another vital metric in decentralized finance (DeFi), also saw a notable rise. As of Wednesday, data from DefiLlama revealed that Aster’s TVL stood at $1.85 billion, reflecting a 196% increase from Friday’s figure of $625 million.

Aster surpasses Hyperliquid in 24-hour volume

Data from DefiLlama also indicated that Aster led daily perpetual trading volumes on Wednesday, with nearly $24.7 billion traded in the last 24 hours.

This performance positioned Aster ahead of its closest competitor, Hyperliquid, which reported a daily volume of about $10 billion on the same day. Other players like edgeX and Lighter trailed closely behind, with volumes of $8.25 billion and $6.18 billion, respectively.

While Aster outperformed Hyperliquid in daily volume, the decentralized exchange (DEX) still maintains deeper liquidity over extended periods.

Hyperliquid continues to lead in seven-day and 30-day perpetual volumes, having recorded $66 billion in the past week and nearly $300 billion over the last 30 days.

Related: Machi Big Brother exits $25M HYPE bet at $4M loss as rivals eat Hyperliquid market share

Support from CoinMarketCap and BNB Chain propels Aster

On Friday, a spokesperson from BNB Chain informed Cointelegraph that Aster has received backing from both BNB Chain and YZi Labs (previously Binance Labs). This support encompassed mentorship, ecosystem visibility, and access to technical and marketing resources.

The crypto data platform CoinMarketCap also elevated Aster’s profile through its CMC Launch program, a launchpad that showcases emerging projects.

CMC Launch lead Jin Choo shared with Cointelegraph that the initiative to promote Aster yielded significant visibility.

This included 400 million homepage banner impressions, over 3 million tweet impressions, and an overall reach exceeding 5 million through newsletters, app notifications, and press coverage.

“The campaign also recorded over 1.5 million views during live events, 1.5 million clicks on the landing page, and more than 500,000 clicks to Aster’s project page,” Choo noted.

Binance acquired CoinMarketCap in April 2020 for an undisclosed sum. However, when inquired whether YZi Labs or Binance influenced Aster’s selection for CMC Launch, Choo clarified that this was not the case.

He stated that the project was chosen exclusively based on its merits, adhering to CMC Launch’s criteria, which focus on innovation, market potential, and community engagement.

“Binance and CoinMarketCap operate independently,” Choo emphasized to Cointelegraph. “Binance does not control or influence the management and operation of CoinMarketCap, including project promotions.”