Aster CEO Reveals for the First Time the "Token Concentration Controversy": The Truth Behind 96% Token Distribution and Full Analysis of the Airdrop Mechanism

Aster DEX CEO Leonard made an authoritative response to the market's concern about the "token concentration" issue, clarifying that most of the concentrated holding of ASTER tokens are actually user deposits or unallocated shares that have not yet been released. At the same time, the platform announced that Liquidity Providers will be excluded from the Rh token activities to ensure that the Airdrop is fairly distributed to real users, strengthening the community governance structure.

Aster CEO responds to token concentration concerns: "96% token distribution has been clearly stated in the whitepaper"

In an interview on September 29 with Mable (@Mable_Jiang), the founder of the social protocol Trends, Aster CEO Leonard provided a comprehensive response to the concerns circulating in the market about "96% of ASTER Tokens being concentrated in a few addresses." Leonard explained that these seemingly concentrated addresses mainly include the platform's spot deposit addresses, unreleased token pools, and user shares converted from APX.

"Currently, only about 10% of the ASTER tokens are in circulation, which includes approximately 8% from user conversion coming from APX," Leonard stated, "Subsequent linear releases, including all allocation plans that involve marketing budgets, are clearly outlined in our documentation and can be verified on-chain."

This response directly addresses concerns within the crypto community regarding the overly concentrated distribution of the Aster Token. Leonard emphasized that most of these concentrated holding addresses are user tokens stored in platform addresses, "possibly to facilitate selling at any time, after all, the token price has already risen significantly."

Aster Token Economics: Community Rewards Account for Up to 53.5%

According to the tokenomics model published by Aster, 53.5% (4.28 billion pieces) of the total supply of ASTER tokens will be allocated for community rewards, a percentage that is significantly higher than the industry average. The specific allocation plan includes:

· 704 million Tokens (8.8%) will be unlocked immediately after the Token Generation Event (TGE) on September 17, 2025.

· The unlock target is users participating in the first and second phases of the Aster Spectra project.

· The remaining tokens will be released in phases over 80 months, with the specific timetable subject to adjustment based on governance decisions.

In addition, token economics also includes the following distribution:

· 30% (2.4 billion Tokens) for ecosystem allocation, marketing, and Liquidity provisioning.

· 7% (560 million coins) allocated to the Ministry of Finance for strategic development plans

· 5% (400 million coins) allocated to the team, following a four-year linear vesting schedule.

· 4.5% (360 million coins) for exchange listing

Revolutionary Decision: Market Makers Will Be Excluded from the Rh Token Activities

On the same day, Aster announced a significant decision: Liquidity Providers (market makers) will not be allowed to participate in the Rh token activities linked to its Airdrop program. This strategic move aims to prevent centralized risks and ensure that Airdrops can be fairly distributed to real users.

"By canceling the eligibility for Liquidity Providers to earn Rh points, we can effectively reduce the potential risk of trading indicator manipulation," the Aster team stated in a declaration, "This aligns with our core vision – to build a decentralized ecosystem driven by community contributions to protocol development."

Rh Points Program: Multi-Dimensional Scoring System Rewarding Real Trading Behavior

Aster's second phase of the Rh points program adopts an innovative multi-dimensional scoring system, focusing on rewarding trading quality rather than sheer quantity. Key scoring factors include:

· Recipients' trading volume earns 2x points (compared to order trading)

· The duration of holding positions will directly affect the acquisition of points.

· The usage of yield collateral is also included in the scoring system.

It is worth noting that in the second phase, spot trading and holding are not counted towards Rh points, highlighting the platform's emphasis on perpetual contract trading activities.

Airdrop mechanism design ensures long-term participation and fair distribution

Aster's airdrop program includes multiple innovative mechanisms designed to ensure that tokens are fairly distributed to truly active community members:

· Take a snapshot once a week to ensure continuous participation

· Set a 70-day claiming period (from September 17, 2025 to October 17, 2025)

· Unclaimed tokens will be transferred to the Airdrop and Community Reward Pool for future distribution.

"This mechanism ensures that inactive accounts do not dilute the value of the airdrop, while encouraging users to continuously participate in the platform ecosystem," Leonard explained.

The multi-chain support of the Aster platform (including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana) further enhances its appeal to traders seeking capital efficiency and accessibility. With the rapid development of the decentralized perpetual contract market, Aster's innovative Airdrop strategy and transparent Token economics model allow it to stand out in the competitive DeFi space.