Is Aster owned by Binance?
Short answer: no public document shows Binance owning or running Aster. What the primary sources do show is a close orbit. Aster is backed by YZi Labs, which was Binance Labs until it renamed itself to stress its independence. Binance Labs invested in Astherus, one of the two projects that became Aster, and Binance lists the ASTER token on both futures and spot.
Aster and CZ: the documented link is YZi Labs, where CZ “will continue to play a pivotal role in investment activities”. No document from Aster or YZi Labs gives him a role at Aster itself.
| Question | What the primary source says | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who operates Aster? | Aster's Terms (updated February 25, 2026) name no company: the counterparty is just “Aster”. Governing law: Hong Kong law, HKIAC arbitration. | Re-read Oct 15, 2026 | Aster Terms |
| Who backs Aster? | Aster's docs describe it as “backed by YZi Labs”. | Read Oct 15, 2026 | Aster docs |
| What is YZi Labs? | YZi Labs is the former Binance Labs, renamed “to reflect its independence” from Binance; YZi Labs says it “operated independently while leveraging on the Binance brand name”. | Undated: yzilabs.com shows June 18, 2025, a site-migration date; the original announcement was earlier | YZi Labs |
| Did Binance Labs invest? | Binance Labs (now YZi Labs) invested in Astherus, one of the two projects that became Aster; amount and stake not disclosed. Aster's changelog: “Astherus & APX have evolved into Aster” (week of March 31, 2025). | Before the end of March 2025, when Astherus became Aster (yzilabs.com’s June 18, 2025 stamp is a site-migration date) | YZi Labs, Aster changelog |
| Where does CZ fit? | CZ “will continue to play a pivotal role in investment activities” at YZi Labs, per the rebrand post. Neither Aster nor YZi Labs documents a role for CZ at Aster itself. | Undated: yzilabs.com shows June 18, 2025, a site-migration date; the original announcement was earlier | YZi Labs |
| Is ASTER listed on Binance? | Yes. Futures first: September 19, 2025 (USDⓈ-M ASTERUSDT perpetual, up to 50x at launch). Spot: October 6, 2025 (spot ASTER/USDT, ASTER/USDC, ASTER/TRY, Seed Tag), listing fee 0 BNB. | Announced Sep 19 and Oct 6, 2025 | Binance futures, Binance spot |
| Any product link? | Binance Wallet is a supported login wallet, and Aster's docs host a claim page for a Binance Wallet Exclusive Reward campaign run with Astherus. | Read Oct 15, 2026 | Aster docs |
What cannot be verified (as of October 15, 2026):
- Who owns Aster, and how much. No cap table, stake size or investment amount is published by Aster, YZi Labs or Binance. Reports that YZi Labs holds a minority stake are not confirmed by either party.
- CZ's own words about Aster. Quotes from a September 2025 X Space (that he advises on “product and tech” and that the team includes “a couple of ex-Binance people”) come from news coverage of a live audio session, not from a published statement.
- Any Binance guarantee. Aster has its own terms, its own custody model and its own fee schedule; nothing makes Binance answerable for an Aster account.
“Binance's DEX” is therefore a label, not a documented fact. If what you want is the trading comparison, it starts below. Aster's background in full: Aster review.
Want to try it? Open Aster with code DTLpLc (5% of fees back, no KYC at sign-up), or for the deepest self-custodial book, Hyperliquid with HOLYGRAIL (4% off fees). Open the link before you first connect a wallet.
1. Aster vs Binance Futures fees
| Aster (order-book perps) | Binance USDⓈ-M futures | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker, entry tier | 0% | 0.020% (0.018% with BNB) |
| Taker, entry tier | 0.040% | 0.050% (0.045% with BNB) |
| Referral | DTLpLc: 5% of fees back, next day, for 365 days | We hold no Binance code |
| Tier requirement | 14-day volume AND ASTER holding | 30-day volume AND BNB balance |
| Second tier | VIP 2: ≥ $5M + 500 ASTER → 0.035% taker | VIP 1: ≥ $5M + 5 BNB → 0.018% maker, taker still 0.050%; VIP 2 (≥ $10M + 25 BNB) → 0.040% taker |
| Top tier (taker) | VIP 6: 0.016% | VIP 9: 0.017% (maker 0%) |
| Small caps | Group B pairs 0.1% taker at VIP 1 | Regular schedule |
| Stocks / commodities | RWA perps 0.0125% taker, every tier | TradFi perps: promotion, 0 maker and up to 50% off taker |
| USDC-margined | — | 0% maker / 0.040% taker |
Aster: docs.asterdex.com fee and VIP pages. Binance: binance.com/en/fee/futureFee, re-read October 15, 2026.
The biggest gap is on the maker side: a resting limit order is free on Aster and costs 0.020% on Binance. On the taker side the gap is 1 basis point (0.04% vs 0.050%), or $10 per $100,000, and our code DTLpLc returns another 5% of Aster fees. Both venues tie their ladders to a token as well as volume (ASTER on Aster, BNB on Binance), and Binance's VIP 1 lowers only the maker rate.
Two details change the picture. Binance's USDC-margined perps charge 0% maker / 0.040% taker for regular users, matching Aster's taker fee. And Aster's fee depends on the market: Group B small caps cost 0.1% taker at VIP 1, while RWA perps (gold, oil, stocks, forex) cost only 0.0125%. Full schedule: Aster fees explained; the CEX picture: DEX vs CEX fees.
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2. Aster vs Binance at a glance
| Aster | Binance Futures | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Self-custodial perp DEX on its own L1 (Aster Chain) | Centralised exchange (custodial) |
| Perp fees, entry tier | 0% maker / 0.04% taker (5% back with DTLpLc) | 0.020% maker / 0.050% taker (USDⓈ-M) |
| Token discount | None on perps (paying in ASTER takes 5% off spot fees); ASTER holding counts toward VIP | 10% paying in BNB → 0.018% / 0.045% |
| Account / KYC | Wallet or email login, no ID at sign-up | Identity verification required before deposits and trades |
| Markets (October 15, 2026) | 604 perps: crypto, stocks, gold, forex | 789 perps (221 of them TradFi) + quarterlies |
| 24h perp volume | $2.5B | $83.03B (USDⓈ-M) |
| BTC max leverage | 200x up to $400, 150x to $300,000 (+ 1001x mode) | 150x up to $300,000, then 100x, 75x… |
| BTC funding | Every 8h, cap ±0.3% | Every 8 hours, cap ±0.3% |
| Custody | Your wallet signs deposits and withdrawals | Binance holds the assets |
Aster: official docs and public API. Binance: fee page, Leverage & Margin page and public API. Market figures are 24-hour readings to about 04:30 UTC on October 15, 2026.
3. What that means per month
| Trader | Aster fees | Binance USDⓈ-M fees |
|---|---|---|
| Scalper: $1M taker per month | $400 ($380 after DTLpLc) | $500 ($450 with BNB) |
| Limit-order trader: $1M maker per month | $0 | $200 ($180 with BNB) |
| Mixed: $500k maker + $500k taker | $200 | $350 |
| Swing: $10k BTC round trip, market both ways | $8.00 | $10.00 |
| Gold: $50k round trip, market both ways | $12.50 (RWA rate) | Depends on the TradFi promotion shown in the order form |
Entry-tier rates. The more of your volume rests on the book, the more Aster saves: a pure market-order trader saves 20% of fees, a pure limit-order trader all of them. But the fee is only one cost; the next section decides it for larger orders.
4. Liquidity and open interest
| 24h to ~04:30 UTC, October 15, 2026 | Aster | Binance |
|---|---|---|
| All perps, 24h volume | $2.5B (604 perps) | $83.03B (USDⓈ-M) |
| BTCUSDT, 24h volume | $681.6M | $16.09B |
| ETHUSDT, 24h volume | $499.2M | $13.26B |
| BTCUSDT open interest | 5,539 BTC (≈ $449.9M) | 92,278 BTC (≈ $7.53B) |
| ASTERUSDT perp, 24h volume | $36.9M | $55.5M |
Public APIs of both exchanges (ticker/24hr and openInterest). Aster's volume is self-reported.
Binance traded about 24× Aster's BTC volume and held about 17× its BTC open interest. Deeper books mean smaller price impact: saving one basis point on the fee is pointless if a large market order walks the book by more. For typical retail sizes on BTC and ETH, Aster's books are usable; for size or thin altcoins, check the depth first. One quirk: Aster's own token trades more on Binance's perp ($55.5M) than on Aster's ($36.9M). Against other DEXs: perp DEX volume ranking.
5. Leverage and margin
- Binance BTCUSDT (Leverage & Margin table, re-read October 15, 2026): 150x up to $300,000 of position value, 100x to $800,000, 75x to $3M, 50x to $12M, 25x to $70M.
- Aster BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT: 200x, but only up to $400 of notional; up to $300,000 the cap is 150x. Gold (XAUUSDT) goes to 100x up to $50,000. Cross and isolated margin, single- or multi-asset collateral.
- Aster 1001x mode is a separate product: BTC/USD to 1001x, ETH/USD 250x, other crypto 75x, forex 200x. At 500x and above: no opening fee, a PnL-based closing fee, no margin top-ups and net profit capped near 300–500%.
For most traders the headline is irrelevant: at 150x a move of about 0.67% against you wipes out the margin on either venue, and liquidation comes earlier. What matters is the maintenance-margin bracket your size lands in. Walk-through: Aster leverage guide.
6. Funding rates
Both venues use the same design on the majors: BTCUSDT settles every 8 hours with a ±0.3% cap on both, and both run ASTERUSDT on 4-hour intervals with a ±2% cap. Aster runs many smaller perps on 4-hour or 1-hour settlement (352 and 51 of its 604 perps on October 15, 2026).
Over the same 90 intervals (September 15, 08:00 UTC to October 15, 00:00 UTC), BTC funding summed to 0.3695% on Aster and 0.3062% on Binance: $36.95 versus $30.62 on a $10,000 long held throughout. In September's previous window it ran the other way, so the gap flips; neither exchange keeps funding, it moves between traders. Compare live: funding rate tracker.
7. KYC, privacy and who may use each
- Binance: its identity-verification FAQ (updated June 5, 2026, re-read October 15, 2026) says “All new users are required to complete [Verified] to access Binance products and service offerings, including cryptocurrency deposits and trades”. Which products you can use depends on your country.
- Aster: no ID at sign-up. Connect a wallet (Rabby, MetaMask, Binance Wallet, WalletConnect, Solana wallets) or log in with an email address. Its terms still reserve the right to run “limited identity verification procedures”.
- Who may use Aster: the terms prohibit residents of the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Syria, plus sanctioned regions. No KYC does not mean no rules: do not use a VPN to get around them.
- Privacy: Aster encrypts orders before they reach its chain and offers hidden orders, so position sizes and liquidation levels are not public. That hides you from other traders, not from the law: deposits and withdrawals leave on-chain records, and taxes still apply.
More: trading without KYC.
8. Custody and risk
Binance holds your collateral; your balance is a claim against the exchange, which publishes proof-of-reserves reports. Aster keeps you in control: deposits and withdrawals are transactions you sign. The caveats are different, not absent: cross-chain deposits are confirmed by 3 of 4 Aster Chain validators and withdrawals by 2 of 3, so you rely on that validator set and on smart contracts; same-day profits can be withdrawn only up to a daily limit; and an email login means Aster generates the wallet for you.
9. Markets and listings
On October 15, 2026 Aster listed 604 live perps (577 USDT-, 25 USD1- and 2 U-quoted), including US, Hong Kong and Korean stock perps, gold, commodities and forex, plus pre-launch and pre-IPO contracts. Binance's USDⓈ-M exchange listed 789 perps (221 of them TradFi) plus quarterly futures. Aster's US stock perps follow the cash session (9:30–16:00 ET). Aster also runs a permissionless spot listing standard (AOS-1), where projects pay a one-time fee and go live after a validator vote. Full list: Aster trading pairs.
10. API compatibility
Aster's V1 API is modelled on Binance's: the same /fapi/v1/… endpoint paths (we query ticker/24hr, fundingInfo and openInterest on both hosts with identical paths), the X-MBX-APIKEY header, HMAC SHA256 signatures and a 5,000 ms default recvWindow. Rate limits are 2,400 request weight per minute, 1,200 orders per minute and 300 orders per 10 seconds.
The catch: Aster's API docs list V1 as “Legacy”, and since March 25, 2026 no new V1 keys can be created. A banner on its trading screen (seen September 25, 2026) announced a V1 deprecation on October 10, 2026; the docs do not say what happened to existing V1 keys on that date (checked October 14, 2026), so build nothing new on V1. The V3 “Pro API” authenticates with an agent wallet and an EIP-712 signature, and since September 1, 2026 needs a completed main-wallet deposit. Setup: Aster API trading guide.
11. Which should you use?
- Choose Aster if you trade with limit orders (0% vs 0.020%), want self-custody and no ID at sign-up, value private order flow, want stock and commodity perps at 0.0125% taker, or run Binance-style bots and can move to V3. Code
DTLpLc: Aster referral code. - Choose Binance if you move large size, trade thin altcoins, need fiat on-ramps in the same account, or want spot, futures and earn products in one regulated-entity account where it is available to you.
- Want DEX self-custody with deeper books than Aster? Hyperliquid is the largest perp DEX ($4–8B a day) at 0.045% / 0.015% base, 4% less with
HOLYGRAIL. See Aster vs Hyperliquid and Hyperliquid vs Binance.
Many traders run both: a DEX for maker-heavy and self-custodial flow, a CEX for size and fiat. The best DEX comparison and our ranking of Binance alternatives cover the wider choice.
FAQ
Is Aster owned by Binance?
No public document says so. Aster's Terms name no company at all, only “Aster”, and Aster's docs say it is backed by YZi Labs, the investment firm formerly called Binance Labs, which renamed itself “to reflect its independence” from Binance. Binance lists the ASTER token on futures (since September 19, 2025) and spot (since October 6, 2025), and Binance Wallet is a login option. How much of Aster, if any, YZi Labs owns is not disclosed.
What is the connection between Aster and CZ?
It runs through YZi Labs. YZi Labs' rebrand post says CZ “will continue to play a pivotal role in investment activities” there, and Binance Labs (now YZi Labs) invested in Astherus, one of the two projects that merged into Aster in March 2025. CZ's spoken comments about Aster in a September 2025 X Space are known only from news reports; neither Aster nor YZi Labs has published a role for him at Aster.
Is Aster cheaper than Binance Futures?
At the entry tier, yes. Aster charges 0% maker and 0.04% taker on crypto perps; Binance USDⓈ-M charges 0.020% maker and 0.050% taker for regular users (re-read October 15, 2026). A $10,000 market round trip costs $8.00 on Aster and $10.00 on Binance; with resting limit orders it is $0.00 versus $4.00. Binance's USDC-margined perps (0% / 0.040%) match Aster's taker rate.
Does Aster require KYC?
Not at sign-up: you connect a wallet or log in with an email address. Aster's terms do reserve the right to run “limited identity verification procedures” where regulations require, and they prohibit residents of the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Syria, plus sanctioned regions. Binance requires identity verification from every new user before deposits and trades (Binance FAQ, updated June 5, 2026).
Which has deeper liquidity, Aster or Binance?
Binance, by a wide margin. In the 24 hours to about 04:30 UTC on October 15, 2026, Binance BTCUSDT perps traded $16.09B versus $681.6M on Aster (about 24×), and Binance held about 17× Aster's BTC open interest. For large market orders that depth matters more than the fee gap.
Can I use my Binance API code on Aster?
Partly. Aster's V1 API copies Binance's design (the same /fapi/v1 paths, the X-MBX-APIKEY header, HMAC SHA256 signing), but Aster lists V1 as “Legacy”, no new V1 keys can be created since March 25, 2026, and a banner seen September 25, 2026 announced a V1 deprecation on October 10, 2026. New bots should use Aster's V3 API, which signs requests with an agent wallet (EIP-712).
Who holds my funds on Aster?
You do, through your wallet: deposits and withdrawals are transactions you sign, and cross-chain transfers are confirmed by Aster Chain validators (3 of 4 for deposits, 2 of 3 for withdrawals). On Binance the exchange holds your collateral. Aster removes exchange custody risk but adds smart-contract and bridge-validator risk; Binance does not guarantee Aster accounts.
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Disclosure: DTLpLc (Aster) and HOLYGRAIL (Hyperliquid) are our referral codes; we receive a share of referred accounts' fees. We have no relationship with Binance or YZi Labs. Fees, volumes, open interest, leverage brackets and funding were checked on October 15, 2026 from official docs, fee pages and public APIs; they change constantly. Not financial advice.