Aster review: fees, memecoins and safety

In short

• USDT perpetuals: 0% maker, 0.04% taker. USD1 perpetuals: 0% maker, 0.005% taker. RWA perpetuals (stocks, gold, oil): 0% maker, 0.009% taker.
• Spot is 0.005% maker and 0.04% taker — unusually cheap, but the spot listing is short and carries no memecoins.
• Paying fees in ASTER earns a 5% fee discount per Aster’s documentation.
• More than 550 perpetual markets, including DOGE, 1000PEPE, 1000BONK, 1000SHIB, 1000FLOKI, WIF, FARTCOIN, SPX, TRUMP and PUMP.
• Degen Mode documents leverage up to 1001x on BTC/USD — a marketing feature, not a strategy.

Overview

Aster is a perpetuals-first on-chain exchange with a spot market attached, and its pitch is price. Maker fees on perpetual contracts are zero across the USDT, USD1 and RWA books; takers pay 0.04% on USDT perps, and only 0.005% on the USD1-margined book, which is roughly an order of magnitude below a typical CEX taker fee. Spot is 0.005% maker and 0.04% taker. Paying fees in ASTER, the platform token, takes another 5% off.

Memecoin coverage is wide: more than 550 perpetual markets, including DOGEUSDT, 1000PEPEUSDT, 1000BONKUSDT, 1000SHIBUSDT, 1000FLOKIUSDT, WIFUSDT, FARTCOINUSDT, SPXUSDT, TRUMPUSDT and PUMPUSDT. As with other venues, the 1000-prefix means one contract represents a thousand tokens, so sizing has to be read off the contract specification rather than guessed from the token price.

What you are underwriting in exchange for the pricing is a young venue with an aggressive product culture. Aster documents a "Degen Mode" offering up to 1001x leverage on BTC/USD; that headline number does not apply to every pair and should not be read as a recommended setting — at 1001x, a fraction of a percent against you is a liquidation. Add the usual on-chain caveats — smart-contract risk, wallet security, thin books on the long tail — and the sensible framing is a cheap execution venue for traders who already know how to manage margin, not a place to learn.

Memecoin coverage

Perpetuals: more than 550 markets, including DOGE, 1000PEPE, 1000BONK, 1000SHIB, 1000FLOKI, WIF, FARTCOIN, SPX, TRUMP and PUMP.

The 1000-prefixed contracts bundle a thousand tokens per contract. Check the specification before sizing; this is the most common sizing mistake on sub-cent perps.

Spot is not the reason to come here: the spot exchange lists fewer than seventy pairs, mostly majors and ASTER itself, with no memecoin markets at all. Aster is a perpetuals venue.

The cheap taker rate is on the USD1-margined book, and no memecoin trades there — it holds majors, gold, oil and a handful of equity perps. Every memecoin perp is USDT-margined and pays the 0.04% taker rate.

New launches are not listed here. Launch-stage exposure still means buying the token on-chain through a terminal or bot.

Key facts

What it costs

• Zero maker fees on all three perpetual books means a patient limit-order strategy costs nothing but funding and gas.
• The taker rate depends on the book: 0.04% on USDT perps, 0.005% on USD1 perps, 0.009% on RWA perps (equities, gold and oil).
• Spot is 0.005% maker / 0.04% taker, cheaper than every CEX in this comparison — but the spot listing is short and carries no memecoins.
• A 5% discount applies when fees are paid in ASTER, per Aster’s fee documentation.
• Funding payments on perpetuals are separate and are usually the largest recurring cost on a memecoin position.
• On-chain gas and any bridging costs sit on top of the trading fee.

How to buy on Aster

1. 1

   Read the terms and check eligibility

   Aster’s terms prohibit users in the US, Canada, the UK, China and several sanctioned jurisdictions. Read the current version before connecting a wallet rather than relying on a review.

2. 2

   Use a dedicated trading wallet

   Connect a wallet funded only with trading capital. Long-term holdings belong in separate, ideally hardware-backed, custody.

3. 3

   Expect the 0.04% taker rate on memecoins

   The 0.005% headline belongs to the USD1-margined book, which lists no memecoins. Budget 0.04% taker, or nothing at all if you can wait on a limit order.

4. 4

   Read the contract specification

   For 1000PEPE or 1000BONK, one contract is a thousand tokens. Confirm contract size, tick size and the maximum leverage for that market.

5. 5

   Set leverage deliberately and ignore Degen Mode

   The documented 1001x on BTC/USD is a headline, not a setting to use. Choose a liquidation distance you can survive and size the position to it.

6. 6

   Take profits off the venue

   Withdraw realised gains rather than leaving them as collateral on a young exchange, and test the withdrawal path with a small amount first.

Safety and risks

• Extreme leverage is the headline risk. On a memecoin perp, even 20x is liquidated by a routine intraday candle.
• Funding costs accrue continuously; a crowded long can bleed out while the thesis is still technically correct.
• Smart-contract risk is unavoidable on an on-chain venue. Only interact through the official interface and only from your own bookmark.
• Thin long-tail books mean market orders can fill far from the last price — use limit orders, which are also the free side of the fee schedule.
• Keep the trading wallet separate from long-term holdings, and never approve a transaction you cannot read.

Nothing here is financial advice. Memecoins are high-risk and can go to zero; only risk what you can afford to lose.

Alternatives to Aster

• Hyperliquid — The deeper on-chain perpetuals order book, with a longer track record and self-custodied collateral.
• Bitunix — A custodial CEX with a comparable memecoin perp list, if you would rather not trade from a wallet.
• MEXC — For buying and holding memecoins spot rather than trading leverage.

Coins to research next

• Dogecoin
• Pepe
• Bonk
• Dogwifhat
• Fartcoin

Frequently asked questions