Aster tops 200,000 on-chain token holders after Shield Mode launch

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Aster tops 200,000 on-chain token holders after Shield Mode launch Original Link:

Overview

Aster, an on-chain trading platform, is celebrating over 200k on-chain holders of its native token. This follows the launch of Shield Mode, a protected trading feature that allows users to execute high-leverage perpetual trades without broadcasting their positions to the market.

The decentralized perpetual exchange reached a new milestone with 200,642 on-chain holders as of January 5, 2026. This translates to a 0.24% daily gain, with a total of 24.9 million transfers. The platform’s multichain perpetual futures trading, featuring up to 1001x leverage and MEV-free execution, drove this growth.

Shield Mode Expansion to Commodities

Aster DEX has announced the expansion of Shield Mode to XAUUSDT (gold) and XAGUSDT (silver) perpetual futures. This enables up to 100x leverage for on-chain trading of these commodities.

With the new pairs, Shield Mode continues to emphasize privacy with orders executed off public books, one-tap long/short positions, instant fills, and a PnL-sharing fee model. Trading is live and operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) in UTC, with markets closed on weekends.

The platform introduced Shield Mode in mid-December, initially with leverage of up to 1,001 times on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) pairs. The mode enables instant execution and zero slippage while keeping orders off public order books.

“Shield Mode reflects our belief that the future of on-chain trading isn’t just about leverage or speed—it’s also about control, discretion, and protection,” said Leonard, CEO of Aster. *“We’re building a trading platform that allows traders to perform at the highest level without being forced to broadcast their strategies to the market.”

Market Performance and Risks

This update attracts interest in private high-leverage trades but highlights risks. Previous whale losses have exceeded $35 million on the platform. Some investors have also withdrawn from the project due to communication concerns.

Still, Aster is leading in overall trading volume with approximately $38.8 billion in the last 24 hours. Another major DEX follows closely with a trading volume of approximately $34.8 billion. However, the open interest of the competing platform is notably higher at $81.7 billion, compared to Aster’s $26 billion.

Strategic Initiatives and Technical Outlook

Besides perpetual volumes, Aster has remained active through strategic initiatives. The platform announced its fifth token buyback programme in December. Aster’s repurchases and burns finance daily fees of up to 80%.

Aster also published the first half of 2026 roadmap, which includes plans for the Layer One AsterChain mainnet launch, staking and on-chain governance for ASTER, and fiat on- and off-ramps.

As a result, Aster began the year with strong momentum. The token is up 11.44% in the last week. On January 5, Aster broke past the $0.78 resistance level, signaling bullish momentum. According to analysts, this triggered a rally toward $0.91–$1.39.

However, technical indicators show potential bearish pressure. Failure to hold the $0.78 level risks a retracement to $0.70–$0.75. Currently, the token is trading at $0.77 with a modest 0.07% gain in the last 24 hours.