Markets Aster's ASTER token saw an increase of over 10% following the announcement of a significant buyback and burn initiative, but the momentum was short-lived.
ASTER experiences volatility as positive protocol news collides with a hawkish Fed.
By Omkar Godbole | Edited by Jamie Crawley Jun 18, 2026, 11:02 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on ASTER's price. (CoinDesk)- The ASTER token surged over 10% on Wednesday due to the announcement of a major buyback and burn initiative.
- However, the increase was reversed as a hawkish Federal Reserve impacted risk assets, resulting in ASTER trading at around 68 cents, which is a decrease of approximately 5% at the time of reporting.
The native token of decentralized perpetuals exchange Aster, ASTER, experienced significant fluctuations within a single day as optimistic protocol-specific news was countered by a hawkish Federal Reserve meeting and overall market decline.
Following the announcement of a new program committing 99% of daily platform fees to an automated buyback system, ASTER's price surged over 10% to 80 cents on Wednesday, marking its highest price since January, according to CoinDesk Data. This initiative can be likened to a company using its revenue to repurchase shares.
The announcement also stated that all tokens acquired through this buyback will be distributed as rewards to holders of veASTER, a non-transferable governance and reward token that can be obtained by locking native ASTER tokens, providing holders with platform fee revenue, voting rights, and trading discounts on the Aster DEX.
Each buyback will prompt a corresponding burn from the protocol's reserve, further decreasing the total supply. These bi-weekly burns will persist until the total supply reaches a target of 3 billion tokens, down from the current total of 7.82 billion tokens.
This update signifies a departure from the previous linear vesting approach, which automatically released tokens into the market regardless of demand, a process that concluded earlier this year in January 2026.
According to the protocol, "Aster's tokenomics upgrade utilizes the platform's own activities," emphasizing that the new rewards are executed on-chain with "no discretionary reserve."
Unfortunately, the token's brief bullish trend was cut short as the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance led to a stronger dollar, exerting pressure on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
At the time of this report, ASTER was trading around 68 cents, reflecting a 5% decline on the day.
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CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
By CoinDesk Research Jun 15, 2026In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
Why it matters:
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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