Aster launches Aster Chain mainnet: 100,000 TPS, zero gas, default security

Aster — a derivatives (perps) DEX built on a Layer 1 blockchain with privacy features, backed by Changpeng Zhao’s family office through YZi Labs — officially launched its mainnet on Tuesday, announced on X.

This blockchain aims to “break the transparency trap” in modern DeFi while achieving performance comparable to centralized exchanges by applying zero-knowledge encryption technology and the “Stealth Address” mechanism.

According to the announcement, Aster Chain supports a block creation time of 50ms, a throughput of up to 100,000 transactions per second, and zero gas fees — placing it on par with leading scalable blockchains on the market. For comparison, Solana currently handles about 65,000 transactions per second with a block time of approximately 0.39 seconds.

Similar to privacy-focused blockchains like Zcash, transactions on Aster Chain are still confirmed and verified on-chain but offer optional anonymity through the default-enabled Account Privacy feature.

Leonard, CEO of Aster, stated that transparency between the protocol and users is fundamental, but transparency among traders is a major weakness. He believes Aster Chain is one of the few architectures that considers privacy a core condition to ensure a fair market, thereby limiting “predatory” trading behaviors from the infrastructure layer.

Although on-chain perp trading volume has decreased from its peak at the end of last year, Aster remains among the most used derivatives DEXs, with a scale comparable to competitors like Lighter and EdgeX. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid — the largest on-chain perp DEX platform — is experiencing a surge in trading volume related to oil products amid Middle East tensions.

The ASTER token rose up to 8% following the mainnet launch announcement and is currently trading around $0.75, up more than 5% for the day.

Thanks to its security features, traders on Aster Chain can perform transactions using one-time “stealth” addresses, making wallet linkages to trading activities nearly impossible. According to the development team, no one can trace, analyze, or reconstruct user trading behaviors.

Additionally, the system introduces a “viewer pass” mechanism, allowing users to share decryption rights for on-chain transactions when needed. Aster also continues to pursue a multi-chain strategy with native integration with BNB Chain.

Since the genesis block, the Aster team will roll out features and partnerships in phases, including public staking for ASTER holders this week and the Aster Code partnership program in the future.

At launch, Aster Chain supports cross-chain asset deposits between EVM-compatible networks such as BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Solana.