Aster’s TVL on BNB Chain Doubles Amidrumors of CZ’s Participation

The decentralized perpetual exchange Aster, built on BNB Chain, briefly surpassed $2 billion in total value locked (TVL) on Thursday following the launch of its native token. However, this surge was short-lived, as it closed the day at $545 million TVL, according to DefiLlama data. As of Friday, the exchange’s TVL had rebounded to $655 million, significantly higher than its typical range of $300 million–$400 million prior to the token introduction.

The token launch led to increased trading activity, with Aster recording $434 million in trading volume over 24 hours, making it one of the most active decentralized finance (DeFi) derivatives platforms. However, it still has a long way to go to compete with its main rival, Hyperliquid.

Hyperliquid currently boasts $670 million in TVL, $800 million in daily trading volume, and $15 billion in open interest, compared to Aster’s mere $3.72 million.

Community speculates on Binance founder’s involvement in Aster

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, co-founder of Binance, celebrated Aster’s success on X, stating “keep building.” His comment raised speculation regarding his potential involvement in the project, especially as users noted updates to his profile, suggesting Aster was created as a response to Hyperliquid’s expansion.

One community member remarked that Zhao may have recognized a competitive threat and initiated Aster as a countermeasure.

Another user on X went further, stating Zhao was “obviously upset about Hyperliquid” and claimed he is “back in charge” after removing the ex-Binance tag from his profile.

Despite these speculations, CZ is under a lifetime ban preventing him from managing Binance, imposed by US authorities in 2024 as part of his plea deal. Last year, Binance CEO Richard Teng confirmed this restriction. Since then, Zhao has described himself as “just a community member and a BNB holder.”

When BNB first hit $1,000 on Thursday, Zhao reiterated this point in a celebratory post on X.

Related: CZ raises concerns as ‘SEAL’ team uncovers 60 fake IT workers linked to North Korea

Aster’s real connection to CZ

Despite Zhao’s distance from the project, Aster’s links to the Binance ecosystem are notable.

Binance Labs, which was previously the venture capital arm of the exchange, rebranded to YZi Labs in January. An announcement stated that Zhao will actively participate in coaching and mentoring the startups under the incubator’s wing.

In November 2024, YZi Labs announced an investment in Aster’s predecessor, Astherus. A representative from BNB Chain informed Cointelegraph that Aster received backing from both BNB Chain and YZi Labs.

The representative indicated that Aster benefited from mentorship, ecosystem exposure, and access to technical and marketing resources through the program. It remains unclear if Zhao directly mentored Aster.

“Additionally, Aster received investment from YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) as part of their incubation initiative,” the BNB Chain representative told Cointelegraph.

They also asserted that Aster is currently the leading perpetual DEX on the blockchain and showed their commitment to supporting the project.

“Derivatives are a fundamental component of any DeFi ecosystem. We will continue to support Aster and anticipate the emergence and growth of more perpetual protocols to enhance the BNB Chain ecosystem.”

While Aster achieved considerable milestones at its launch, some members of the community voiced criticisms of the platform. One X user even claimed they lost their funds during a withdrawal attempt, while another complained about the platform’s functionality.

Cointelegraph reached out to Binance, CoinMarketCap, Aster, and YZi Labs but did not receive a response prior to publication.