Aster Token Surges on Buyback Plan Before Fed-Driven Selloff

Aster’s native token, ASTER, experienced sharp price volatility over the past 24 hours as a major tokenomics upgrade fueled a rally that was later reversed by broader cryptocurrency market weakness following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.

The decentralized perpetual futures exchange saw ASTER climb more than 10% to approximately $0.80 on Wednesday, marking its highest price level since January, according to CoinDesk Data. The surge followed Aster’s announcement of a new tokenomics initiative that dedicates 99% of the platform’s daily fees to an automated ASTER buyback program.

Under the new system, tokens purchased through the buyback mechanism will be distributed to veASTER holders. veASTER is a non-transferable governance and rewards token obtained by locking ASTER tokens. Holders receive a share of platform fee revenue, governance voting rights, and trading fee discounts on the Aster decentralized exchange (DEX).

Aster also revealed that every token buyback will be matched by an equivalent token burn from the protocol’s reserves. These burns will occur every two weeks and continue until ASTER’s total supply is reduced to a target of 3 billion tokens. The token currently has a total supply of approximately 7.82 billion.

The updated model replaces Aster’s previous linear vesting structure, which automatically released tokens into circulation regardless of market demand. That vesting program officially concluded in January 2026.

According to the protocol, the new framework aligns token value more closely with platform activity by using protocol-generated revenue to support buybacks and rewards. The project emphasized that rewards are settled entirely on-chain and do not rely on discretionary reserve allocations.

Despite the positive reaction to the announcement, ASTER’s gains proved temporary. A stronger U.S. dollar and a risk-off market environment following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance pressured cryptocurrencies and other risk assets. As a result, ASTER retreated from its daily highs and was trading near $0.68 at the time of writing, down roughly 5% over the past day.

The price action highlights how even strong protocol-specific developments can be overshadowed by broader macroeconomic trends affecting the crypto market.