ASTER Soars 23% as DEX Funnels 99% Fees to Token Buybacks

Aster DEX Overhauls Tokenomics, Funneling 99% of Fees to Buybacks

Aster DEX, a decentralized exchange ranked 48th by market capitalization, has implemented a significant shift in its tokenomics, directing 99% of its platform fees towards ASTER token buybacks. This new model, which went live on June 17 at 12:00 PM UTC, also includes a one-to-one burn from reserves for every token purchased.

The exchange, supported by YZ Labs, announced the upgrade via a post on X. Under the revised framework, 99% of daily platform fees will be automatically used to repurchase ASTER tokens. These purchases will be executed through time-weighted average price (TWAP) mechanisms throughout the day and settled on the blockchain.

Crucially, each token bought back will trigger an equivalent burn from Aster’s reserves. The team’s allocation of tokens will be the first to be burned, resulting in what the exchange describes as a “198% buyback” – a 99% repurchase of tokens and a 99% burn from reserves.

However, the repurchased tokens will not be permanently removed from circulation. Instead, they will be directed to stakers, added to the protocol’s Loyalty Reward pool, which already distributes 300,000 ASTER per epoch.

The burn target is substantial. Aster DEX launched with a total supply of 8 billion tokens and aims to reduce this to 3 billion, earmarking over 60% of the supply for destruction. According to CoinGecko, the current circulating supply stands at approximately 2.68 billion tokens, with a total supply of 7.82 billion, indicating a considerable path ahead to reach the burn objective.

The announcement of the new tokenomics had an immediate market impact. ASTER’s value surged by 23%, climbing from around $0.64 to $0.79, as reported by CoinGecko. However, the token has since relinquished a portion of these gains, trading near $0.65 at the time of reporting. This price remains nearly 73% below its all-time high of $2.41, reached in September 2025.

This is not the first time Aster DEX has introduced a buyback program. In December 2025, the exchange announced a similar initiative, allocating 80% of daily fees to token repurchases. That plan involved automatic daily buys using 40% of fees, with an additional 20% to 40% held in a discretionary strategic reserve for targeted market purchases.

The December 2025 announcement also coincided with a brief price increase, with ASTER spiking 30% to $1.30, partly fueled by news that former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao held over $2.5 million worth of the cryptocurrency. The current plan eliminates the strategic reserve component entirely, significantly increasing the allocation towards automatic buybacks, with almost all platform fee revenue now directed to this purpose.