Aster Launches Privacy-First L1 for Untraceable Trading

• Aster launched Aster Chain, a privacy-first Layer 1 blockchain for traders.
• Uses zero-knowledge encryption and stealth addresses to hide wallet activity and trades.
• The network supports 100,000 TPS, 50ms block times, and zero gas fees.

Aster, currently the second-largest perpetual decentralised exchange by volume, has launched its own Layer 1 blockchain designed around a single principle: your trades should be nobody else’s business.

The mainnet, called Aster Chain, went live with privacy switched on by default, a technical architecture built around zero-knowledge encryption, and performance specifications that challenge the assumption that privacy and speed cannot coexist on-chain.

What Aster Chain Actually Does

Every order placed on Aster Chain is encrypted through zero-knowledge cryptography and routed through a one-time stealth address. The result is that no external party can link a wallet to its trading activity, correlate transaction patterns, or reconstruct trading behaviour across sessions.

The network processes up to 100,000 transactions per second with 50-millisecond block times and zero gas fees, specifications designed to match centralised exchange performance while keeping settlement fully on-chain and verifiable.

For traders who need to selectively disclose activity, whether to an auditor, counterparty, or regulator, Aster has introduced a viewer pass mechanism. 

Why Position Hunting Is the Problem This Solves

In decentralised finance, large positions are visible. Sophisticated actors read public order books and on-chain data to identify where significant trades are being built and trade against them before they execute. 

This practice, known as position hunting, has been a persistent structural disadvantage for retail and institutional traders in DeFi compared with centralised venues. Aster Chain’s architecture eliminates the data that enables position hunting.

The Rollout and the Numbers

Aster Chain is launching in phases. Chain Genesis is live. Public staking for ASTER token holders opens later this week, followed by an ecosystem expansion and Aster Code partners programme.

The platform is already operating at a significant scale. In the past 24 hours, Aster recorded $2.96 billion in perp trading volume. Over the past week, that figure reached $18.6 billion, placing it firmly behind only Hyperliquid in the perpetual DEX rankings.

At press time, ASTER token is up 2.36% to $0.745 in the past 24 hours. The immediate resistance to watch is $0.75. A sustained close above that level opens a path toward $0.80 to $0.82. Support at $0.70 is the level that must hold for the bullish structure to remain intact.

Related: Aster Launches Its Own Layer 1 Blockchain, Aster Chain