ASTER Jumps 15% As Rocket Launch Campaign Boosts Investor Optimism

ASTER rallied 15% after launching its Rocket Launch campaign for early crypto projects.

Whale activity fueled the price surge, signaling strong investor confidence.

Trump’s CZ pardon and Aster’s hybrid exchange model boosted overall market optimism.

Aster — ASTER, pulled off an impressive rally, gaining 15% on October 23. The token climbed from just below $1.00 to an intraday high of $1.11, pushing its market capitalization past $2.2 billion. The surge followed the launch of Aster’s new Rocket Launch campaign, a program designed to connect traders with early-stage crypto projects. This bold move has captured investor attention and reignited excitement around the fast-growing hybrid exchange.

Rocket Launch Program Sparks Buying Momentum

The Rocket Launch program gives users access to promising projects before they debut on major exchanges. Each event features a reward pool funded by Aster tokens and the native tokens of participating projects. Contributing projects provide both funds and tokens, which Aster uses to buy back its own tokens. The repurchased tokens, combined with project rewards, are then distributed to qualified traders. To qualify, users must maintain a required Aster balance in both Spot and Perpetual accounts.

They also need to meet designated trading volumes across eligible pairs. Top performers will share $200,000 worth of Aster rewards, creating strong incentives for active traders. Interestingly, trading volume fell by 5% during the October 23 rally. This decline suggests that large whale buyers fueled the surge rather than retail participants. Data from CoinMarketCap supports this observation, showing concentrated accumulation by a few major players.

CZ Pardon Adds Extra Fuel to ASTER’s Rally

The market received an additional boost after Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao shortly after the campaign launch. The timing amplified bullish momentum across the crypto space, particularly for projects linked to the BNB ecosystem. Aster quickly became one of the top trending tokens during the session.

Zhao has repeatedly praised Aster’s infrastructure on social media, citing its liquidity routing and hybrid exchange model. Market watchers have also speculated about his advisory involvement with the project, though this remains unconfirmed. His public endorsements have strengthened market confidence and drawn attention to Aster as a potential leader among next-generation decentralized exchanges.

The Rocket Launch program is now being viewed as a creative way to merge early project exposure with real trading activity. By turning token launches into ongoing campaigns, Aster provides both liquidity growth and community engagement. CEO Leonard stated that the platform helps price high-quality assets efficiently while promoting transparent market participation.

Aster’s hybrid structure, which supports both spot and perpetual markets, continues to set it apart from competitors. The design aligns incentives among traders, token holders, and new projects, encouraging sustainable ecosystem growth. On October 23, Aster reclaimed a multi-week high above $1.10, signaling renewed bullish sentiment and growing investor optimism about the platform’s future potential.