Aster DEX has recently issued a statement to address misunderstandings surrounding its token unlock schedule, following an update to its tokenomics displayed on CoinMarketCap (CMC). The update led to confusion among users, who believed that major unlock events for the decentralized perpetual exchange had been postponed by as much as a decade.
The platform confirmed that its tokenomics had not changed, attributing the confusion to the manner in which circulating supply data was presented on the popular crypto-market tracker. Initially, the data displayed a significant unlock of 200 million ASTER tokens scheduled for December 15, 2025, followed by additional unlocks of 3.86 billion and 1.6 billion tokens slated for 2035. Such figures suggested that approximately 75% of the total supply was still locked, leaving just 24% in circulation.
Following the release of this data, columnist AB Kuai Dong, via the X platform under the handle @_FORAB, reported that the derivatives exchange had acknowledged changes to its token economics. He claimed that multiple unlocks originally planned for 2025 had been either canceled or rescheduled for the summer of 2026 and even later in 2035. Kuai Dong”s statement suggested that the Aster team had not proceeded with the unlocks due to a lack of operational use for the tokens.
In response to these claims, Aster DEX clarified through a post on X that its tokenomics have “remained unchanged” and apologized for any “miscommunication” stemming from the CMC update. The exchange elaborated that since the token-generation event (TGE), ecosystem allocations have been unlocking on a monthly basis but have remained in a locked address due to the absence of an immediate use case for them.
The Aster team expressed that the update was meant to accurately reflect the circulating supply of the token while addressing concerns about the monthly unlocks for community and ecosystem allocations. They clarified that unlocked tokens had not contributed to circulating supply figures, although their presence within the same wallet as other locked funds led to misinterpretation. To alleviate any further confusion, the exchange plans to transfer the unlocked tokens to a separate public unlock address but stated that it has “no plans to spend from this address” in the near future.
