Aster Dex’s Shield Mode goes live, but bears aren’t giving up yet

Since its launch nearly two months ago, Aster DEX has aggressively pursued significant developments to improve its capabilities.

In its latest move, the team announced the launch of Shield Mode for perpetual traders. 

Aster DEX launches Shield Mode

On the 15th of December, the Aster DEX launched a new trading mode for high-leverage perps, marking a significant milestone.

The new Shield Mode will support up to 1001x leverage, instant execution, zero slippage, and no gas costs. 

All these capabilities will be available through a single seamless interface. This Shield Mode will support one tap long/short, orders will stay off books, and zero slippage on shield pairs, among others. 

This is an early building block for the privacy features expected under the Aster Chain. 

Aster whale losses hit $35 billion!

Surprisingly, despite the Shield Mode getting activated, Aster’s [ASTER] holders have continued to count their losses. 

According to Lookonchain, an Aster whale, famed for a history of buying at higher prices and selling at lows, made another loss-making sale.

The whale sold 13.44 million tokens for $11.67 million after holding them for only six days. Previously, the tokens were purchased for $13.04 million.

Thus, the whale realized $1.37 million after the sale, with the total losses now exceeding $35.8 million. 

Historically, whale loss realization has signaled a lack of confidence in the market, as they anticipate further market dips. Interestingly, this sale is not an isolated case, as sellers have largely dominated the market. 

According to Coinalyze, ASTER recorded negative buy and sell for three consecutive days. Over the period, the altcoin saw 150.82 million in Sell Volume compared to 123.77 million in Buy Volume. 

As a result, the total Buy Sell Delta dropped to negative -27.05 million, a clear sign of aggressive spot selling. Often, increased selling pressure has accelerated downward momentum, a precursor to lower prices.

What’s next for ASTER?

ASTER has traded within a descending channel since it reached $1.5 a few weeks ago, hitting a low of $0.76. At press time, the altcoin traded at $0.815, down 10.8% on the daily charts, reflecting intense bearish pressure.

Additionally, the altcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped to 33, nearing oversold territory, further validating the earlier observation on intense sell pressure.

At the same time, its MACD also dropped further into negative territory, indicating strong downward momentum. These market conditions point towards the continuation of the trend.

Thus, if selling persists, the altcoin could drop to $0.76 again, with $0.70 as the critical support. However, if the dip creates a discount accumulation opportunity, ASTER could bounce back to $0.95.

Final Thoughts

• The Aster DEX launched a new trading mode for high-leverage perps.
• An ASTER whale realized $1.37 million, with total losses exceeding $35 million.