Aster Resolves XPL Perp Glitch with Refunds as Growth Momentum Accelerates

Aster DEX has completed compensation for users affected by abnormal price movements in its XPL perpetual trading pair.

The decentralized exchange rose as an inadvertent market rival against Hyperliquid, championed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, as the DEX runs on BNB Chain.

Aster Compensates Traders After Abnormal XPL Price Fluctuation Incident

Aster reassured the community that all impacted accounts have received direct USDT refunds, compensating users affected by anomalous XPL price movements.

“Compensation for the XPL perp incident has now been fully distributed. All affected users have received reimbursement directly in USDT to their accounts. We appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process,” Aster stated.

Earlier this week, Aster detected unusual behavior in the XPL perpetual contract, prompting the exchange to suspend activity and pledge user protection.

We are aware of abnormal price movements on the XPL perpetual trading pair. Rest assured, all user funds are SAFU. We are conducting a full review and will compensate any affected users for losses.

— Aster (@Aster_DEX) September 25, 2025

Community reports suggest a misconfigured index caused the disruption. According to on-chain analyst Abhi, the index price had been hard-coded to $1, while the mark price was capped around $1.22.

When the cap was lifted without correcting the index, prices on Aster spiked to nearly $4, even as other exchanges held steady around $1.3.

The result was a sudden wick that briefly froze the trading chart before snapping back to more realistic levels.

XPL Price Performance. Source: Abhi on X

Several traders were liquidated during this move, though Aster quickly pledged full reimbursement.

“The issue on the XPL perpetual trading pair has been fully resolved. All users liquidated during this period will have their liquidation losses calculated and reimbursed directly to their wallets in USDT within the upcoming hours,” Aster articulated.

While Aster has moved swiftly to restore confidence, the incident highlights the risks that still exist in decentralized derivatives trading. It shows that configuration errors can spiral into costly disruptions.

Nonetheless, the exchange’s rapid reimbursement has been well-received, with affected users reporting that their funds were restored within hours. However, some still decry losing their trading points.

“Why are my trading points down by over 100,000 points compared to yesterday? Can points still be deducted? What’s the reason?” one user lamented.

The incident reflects how even fast-growing exchanges remain vulnerable to operational glitches.

Aster Market Growth Outpaces Rivals

Despite the technical hiccup, Aster continues to post impressive growth figures. According to Dune Analytics, Aster generated $16.3 million in daily trading fees in the last 24 hours. This is more than three times Hyperliquid’s $4.9 million.

Aster vs Hyperliquid on Market Share Fees Metrics. Source: Dune Analytics

User adoption is also accelerating. Aster now reports more than 2.57 million total traders, with nearly 468,000 new accounts added in the past 24 hours alone.

Such growth suggests that demand for on-chain perpetuals remains strong, even in the face of occasional disruptions.

Adding to the momentum, whale activity in Aster’s native token has been drawing attention. Market analyst Mario Nawfal noted that one large holder recently accumulated 55 million ASTER tokens, worth roughly $115 million over two days.

THIS WHALE HAS BOUGHT 55M $ASTER ($115M) OVER THE PAST 2 DAYSWHAT DOES HE KNOW? pic.twitter.com/EDg0m8pHTr

— 0xMarioNawfal (@RoundtableSpace) September 26, 2025

That level of conviction has fueled speculation about insider confidence in the platform’s trajectory, even as the XPL incident briefly shook trader sentiment.