Aster’s native token soared more than 30% on Sunday after Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao revealed he holds over $2.5 million worth of the asset.
In a post on X, CZ shared his wallet details and said he had “bought some Aster today, using my own money on Binance.”
“I am not a trader. I buy and hold,” he wrote.
The disclosure sent Aster’s price climbing from $0.91 to a peak of $1.26, according to CoinGecko. At the time of writing, it was trading around $1.22..
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash saw a comparable surge last week, jumping 30% within hours after crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes predicted it could one day hit $10,000.
Traders Follow CZ Into Aster
CZ’s revelation triggered a sharp rise in Aster’s trading activity over the past 24 hours. Data from analytics platform DefiLlama shows trading volume spiked from $224 million to more than $2 billion.
Aster’s market capitalization climbed alongside, increasing from $1.8 billion to over $2.5 billion.
One trader, known as “Gold” on X, announced they had taken a position in Aster following CZ’s disclosure, noting it was the first time CZ had publicly revealed buying a token other than BNB.
“CZ, the most influential figure in crypto and the founder of its largest exchange, just bought ASTER with his personal funds. That’s it. Don’t overthink it,” the trader wrote.
Following the surge, CZ commented on the situation, saying, “Damn, I was hoping to buy some more at low prices.” He added that he doesn’t “buy tokens often,” noting that aside from Aster, the last token he purchased was BNB eight years ago — which he still holds.
Whales Begin Shorting Aster
Not everyone believes the rally will hold. Two large holders are reportedly betting against CZ’s move, shorting Aster in anticipation of a price drop.
According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, one trader built up a short position of 42.97 million Aster tokens — worth roughly $52.8 million — with a liquidation price set at $2.
Another trader also took a bearish stance, expanding their short position to 15.3 million Aster tokens — valued at $19.1 million — with a liquidation price of $2.11.
CZ’s Connection to Aster
CZ’s ties to Aster aren’t entirely new. In September, he congratulated the project on X, saying it was “off to a good start” and urging the team to “keep building.” The post sparked speculation about how closely he was connected to the protocol.
What is known is that CZ’s family office, YZi Labs — formerly Binance Labs — invested in Aster’s predecessor, Astherus, last year. Aster itself emerged from a late-2024 merger between Astherus and the decentralized perpetuals protocol APX Finance.
At the time, a BNB Chain representative confirmed that Aster had received backing from both BNB Chain and YZi Labs but declined to comment on CZ’s direct involvement.
