What it does
Aster is a trading ecosystem with several products under one brand. The main perpetual order book sits alongside Shield, the separate 1001x product and spot trading. Their execution models and charges differ, so the orderbook fee schedule should not be applied to every Aster interface.
Its distinguishing feature is control over trading visibility. Hidden orders keep an unfilled instruction out of the displayed book. Account Privacy adds protection for balances and positions, while selective disclosure lets a user share information through a viewer pass. These controls reduce what is publicly visible; they do not remove market, bridge or operational risk.
Which network does Aster use?
The main orderbook uses the purpose-built Aster Chain L1 with Proof of Staked Authority. Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum and Solana appear as supported bridge networks; they should not all be labelled as the current orderbook settlement chain. Earlier and separate trading modes have different network histories.
Where it stands out
- Hidden orders give traders a way to place limit instructions without advertising their size and price in the public order book.
- Several trading interfaces serve different workflows, with a conventional orderbook available for traders who need more detailed execution control.
- USDT settlement and multi-asset collateral let the account support trading without requiring every eligible asset to be sold first.
What you can do
- 01Orderbook perpetuals support cross margin by default and an isolated-margin option.
- 02Account Privacy is a configurable setting; the documentation separately describes encrypted orders and zero-knowledge verification.
- 03Aster Earn includes products such as asBNB and USDF. Their yield and collateral behaviour need separate assessment from perpetual positions.
- 04Official API documentation covers programmatic trading. The current V3 authentication requirements should be checked before connecting a bot.
Who’s behind it
Aster emerged from Astherus and APX Finance, formerly ApolloX. The March 2025 company announcement documents that history, and a subsequent company release identifies Leonard as CEO. YZi Labs is a disclosed backer; this does not make Aster a Binance-operated exchange.
Funding and investors
Binance Labs, now YZi Labs, announced an investment in predecessor Astherus in November 2024. The amount and precise round stage were not disclosed in the reviewed announcement. The Astherus/APX combination is a product and company history event, not an additional priced financing round.
Supporting sources 2
- 2024-11Undisclosed
Investment in predecessor Astherus
Reported investorsBinance Labs (now YZi Labs)
Announced before the Aster rebrand; no verified dollar amount or valuation is published in the cited announcement.
Supporting sources 1
Referral benefits and conditions
An invitee can receive a fee rebate if the referral-code owner allocates part of the commission to them. A specific ArbuzDAO discount cannot be stated until its code settings are known.
The default 10% referral commission is a pool the referrer can split; it is not an automatic 10% invitee discount. The standard relationship lasts 365 days. New-user eligibility, excluded zero-fee/liquidation trades and anti-abuse rules apply.
Supporting sources 1
Fees & availability
Fees and costs
For the main orderbook, the published base schedule lists zero maker fees and 0.04% taker fees for general crypto markets. Group B markets use a higher 0.10% base taker rate. RWA taker fees are 0.0125%, effective 7 September 2026. VIP tiers, funding and other product schedules must be checked separately.
Supporting sources 1
Eligibility and availability
The terms prohibit users in jurisdictions including the US, UK, Canada, China, Russia and Ukraine and allow identity checks. Aster Chain documentation says the initial validator set is not open to external participants and core chain contracts/RPC are not yet open source. Privacy should not be mistaken for permissionless infrastructure.