
Aster (ASTER) is seeing a sharp surge in on-chain activity as 2026 begins. On January 10, its perpetual futures volume reached $6.6B in a single day, overtaking Hyperliquid and giving Aster around 35% of the perpetual DEX market.
This jump was driven by memecoin liquidity rotations and Aster’s competitive fee structure, pushing daily protocol fees close to $1.8M.
At the same time, Aster has outlined an ambitious 2026 strategy as well. This involves the launch of its own L-1 chain, the adoption of staking and governance mechanisms within its chain, and the addition of its “Shield Mode” for high-leverage trading to the chain. Together, these moves position Aster as more than just a derivatives DEX.
What you'll learn 👉
What the ASTER revenue data is showing
Mehul Crypto shared on X that Aster has generated over $7M in fees in a single week, even before broader market excitement returns. At the current pace, that puts the protocol on track for more than $600M in annualized revenue if activity continues to scale.
What stands out is how those fees are used. Roughly 80% of daily revenue is allocated to buybacks. As of early January, over 4.2M ASTER tokens have already been repurchased.
This creates consistent demand for the token, tying its value directly to platform usage rather than speculation alone.
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$ASTER just printed $7M+ in fees in a single week.
— Mv_Crypto (@mehulcrypto) January 11, 2026
And remember: This is before the mania truly begins.
Imagine the numbers when on-chain activity doubles. We are looking at a path to $600M+ in annualized revenue.
With ~80% of that earmarked for buybacks, you are looking at… pic.twitter.com/VGEHg2Hyrh
Why buybacks are becoming a key factor For ASTER
The buyback program runs through February 2026 and reduces circulating supply at an estimated rate of around 0.05% per day at current volumes.
Following earlier buyback announcements, the ASTER price saw short-term rebounds, showing that the market is paying attention to cash-flow-driven demand.
That said, the impact of buybacks depends on one thing: volume staying high. The on-chain perpetuals market remains highly competitive, and Aster will need to defend its position to keep revenue at these levels.
ASTER price outlook and key levels
With ASTER trading around $0.7193, price is still well below levels that would reflect hundreds of millions in annual revenue. Based on the current buyback numbers and the traffic going through, the first level that is going to be tested is going to be $0.80.
Furthermore, the levels of $0.90 and $1.00 have been critical psychological regions that traders may need to take another look at. Breaching the barrier of $1.00 convincingly would likely need testing that fee generation is healthy.
Conversely, the potential loss of the current revenue trend could keep the ASTER price range-bound, with the $0.65 level as a key point of observation. Without any issues in fees and buy-backs, the loss of value could pose less risk compared to previous corrections.
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