Supported by YZi Labs, Aster, a transaction ecosystem focused on privacy protection, today announced the official launch of the Aster Chain mainnet. This Layer 1 blockchain, specifically built for trading, aims to break the "transparency trap" of modern decentralized finance, providing institutional-grade privacy protection and performance comparable to centralized exchanges for global professional and retail traders.
Ending the Era of On-Chain "Position Hunting"
Transparency is one of the core advantages of DeFi: public ledgers, verifiable transactions, open protocols. However, the transparency "between the protocol and the user" is fundamentally different from the transparency "between the trader and their competitors." When every order, position size, and liquidation price is public to the market, this information can be exploited against the trader.
Position hunting, where traders identify large positions and their liquidation prices and collaborate to trigger forced liquidations, has cost traders millions of dollars on fully transparent platforms. The most famous case occurred in March 2025, when a trader opened a $375 million 40x short position on BTC on a fully transparent platform; other traders quickly organized a public fundraising effort on Twitter (now X) to collectively hunt the position.
Aster's default privacy mechanism completely eliminates this attack vector.
Aster's Core Thesis: Privacy is a Fundamental Right
Unlike existing solutions that treat privacy as an "optional feature" or a "third-party wrapping layer," Aster Chain embeds encryption technology directly into the execution layer. On Aster, privacy is the default option, not a privilege.
The Aster privacy stack employs a zero-knowledge verifiable encryption architecture: ● Zero-Knowledge Verifiable Encryption + Stealth Address Mechanism: Every order is encrypted with zero-knowledge verifiable encryption before being placed on-chain; once account privacy is enabled, orders are routed through unique stealth addresses, ensuring no link between the user's wallet and trading activity, while preventing any third party from tracking, correlating, or reconstructing transactions.
● Selective Disclosure: Although asset transfers can still be traced to meet compliance requirements, the execution layer protects the user's strategic intent. Users who wish for their activity to be public can choose to disclose transaction information. With account privacy enabled, users can generate a "Viewer Pass" to share with specific parties—only those holding the pass can view their private orders.
● Zero Performance Compromise: The Aster chain can achieve a peak throughput of over 100,000 TPS, a median block time of 50ms, and requires no Gas fees—performance that rivals the speed traders expect from centralized exchanges.
Leonard, CEO of Aster, stated: "Transparency between the protocol and the user is a foundational feature, but transparency between the trader and their competitors is a critical vulnerability. Aster Chain is the only architecture that treats privacy as a fundamental requirement for a fair market, neutralizing predatory attacks from the ground up."
CEX Speed Meets DEX Principles
Aster Chain offers sub-second transaction finality and a high-leverage experience, while adhering to the core principles of decentralization: self-custody, verifiability, and permissionless access. The realization of trading privacy removes the last reason for users to remain on centralized exchanges. The network currently supports a native cross-chain bridge connected to BNB Chain and ensures high-precision price data through a proprietary oracle.
Driving the Next Wave of Innovation
The mainnet launch marks the beginning of a phased expansion. Beyond the flagship Aster trading interface, the ecosystem is inviting developers to create specialized vaults and collaborative DeFi products through Aster Code. To coincide with this release, Aster will launch the Aster Chain staking program within a week to reward early supporters and liquidity providers.
About Aster
Aster is a privacy-first on-chain trading platform supported by YZi Labs, featuring innovative functions like "Hidden Orders" to protect user trading activity. It offers perpetual contracts covering cryptocurrency, stock, and commodity markets, as well as cryptocurrency spot trading. Aster is powered by Aster Chain, a Layer 1 blockchain built for the future of decentralized finance.
For more information, please visit the official Aster website or follow Aster on X.
