Aster, the perps DEX backed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, is switching to a staking-only emission model in an attempt to reduce the amount of (ASTER) tokens entering into circulation, according to an announcement on Monday.

The move comes in response to community feedback about reducing dilution of the platform’s native token. Together with a previously announced token buyback program, the tokenomics update could make ASTER a deflationary asset.

"Previously, 78.4M $ASTER (~1% of max supply) was unlocked monthly on a linear schedule," Aster wrote on X. "This mechanism has now been replaced: Ecosystem tokens will only be released as staking rewards, currently at a rate of 450K $ASTER per epoch (weekly), equivalent to 1.8M–2.25M $ASTER per month."

That is equivalent to a 97% reduction in the number of new tokens circulated each month. The total number of tokens is capped at 8 billion.

ASTER tokenomics

According to ASTER's tokenomics page, over 80% of the total token supply was allocated to the community, largely in the form of an airdrop bracket (of 53.5% of the ASTER supply) and ecosystem fund (30%). The dev team was allocated just 5%.

Aster's token generation event immediately unlocked and distributed 704 million tokens (8.8%) in the airdrop, with the plan to gradually introduce the remaining allocated supply over an 80-month period. Unclaimed tokens are redirected toward future community distributions.

Likewise, the 30% supply set aside in the Ecosystem & Community category originally vested over 20 months on a linear distribution model, which has been replaced by the staking emission model. The Aster Foundation’s 7% allocation will remain "fully locked until utilized via governance-approved mechanisms," the tokenomics page notes.

"For reference, all Ecosystem & Community tokens unlocked since TGE (Sep 17, 2025) have remained untouched beyond staking rewards," Aster said on X.

Aster operates a "dual reward" staking model, including its 150,000 ASTER Base APY and 300,000 ASTER Loyalty Rewards program that increases payouts based on a staker’s lock duration and trading activity. Last December, Aster implemented a buyback program that allocated up to 80% of its daily platform fees toward token purchases.

Aster rolled out its ZK-powered, privacy-preserving scalable Layer 1 earlier this month, in a bid to more directly compete with rivals like Hyperliquid and Lighter, which also both operate on custom blockchains. 

Onchain perps trading soared late last year and has since cooled. Aster remains one of the top onchain perps platforms by volume, according to The Block’s data.

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