Pusaka Upgrade: Ethereum’s $10K Catalyst or Just Another Crypto Pipe Dream?

Ethereum's much-hyped Pusaka upgrade has traders buzzing about five-figure price targets.

The Technical Transformation

Network upgrades typically trigger volatility—but Pusaka's proposed changes could fundamentally reshape Ethereum's value proposition. Core developers promise enhanced scalability and reduced gas fees, two pain points that have historically limited institutional adoption.

The $10K Question

Analysts point to previous major upgrades like The Merge as precedent for sustained price appreciation. Yet skeptics note Ethereum has flirted with five figures before—only to retreat when real-world adoption failed to match the hype. The upgrade's timing coincides with renewed institutional interest in blockchain infrastructure, creating perfect conditions for either a breakout or another classic crypto disappointment.

Market Realities vs. Moon Math

While true believers see Pusaka as Ethereum's ticket to joining Bitcoin in the five-figure club, traditional finance veterans can't help but chuckle at how crypto markets treat every technical update like the second coming of sliced bread—until the next shiny object appears.

Aster checks all user data and opens the refund option

Aster said that some of its users have complained that the amount of tokens they received does not match the work, trading, or staking they had done on the platform, so the company’s team is reviewing the data again to address this issue. 

The process will take some time because there are many users and large amounts of data to compare, but once the checks are over, the company will share new and corrected allocation numbers for all users to see. Everyone will have 48 hours to review their updated results and decide whether they are satisfied with them or if they WOULD prefer a USDT refund instead.

The exchange said the refund options will make things fair for users who may have been affected by the data mistakes and will make sure they get the money one day after the final airdrop is completed.

The exchange noted that its approach will demonstrate to users that it values their time, effort, and loyalty, which will also enable the project to continue growing with the support of its community. Aster stated that it will keep users updated on progress, respond to questions, and make sure that the airdrop will be done in a way that is accurate, fair, and fully transparent for everyone involved.

Community questions fairness as Aster promises transparency

Aster’s airdrop was delayed because some users said they received much less than they expected after inviting many new users, trading often, or holding large amounts of tokens. Others said they compared their results with their friends and found that people who did less somehow received more tokens. Social media platforms like X were flooded with messages from users sharing screenshots, spreadsheets, and explanations of what they believed had gone wrong. These posts pushed the Aster team to explain the problem. 

Quinten (048.eth), a well-known community member who had been promoting Aster for a long time, said he generated more than $100 million in referral trading volume and attracted around 250 new users to the platform. However, he explained that he only received 338 ASTER tokens as a reward, which he felt was far too little compared to his contributions. Quinten accused both Aster and Binance of unfairly rewarding certain insiders instead of regular users, claiming that insiders or people close to the project had received almost 95% of the total rewards.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) replied to Quinten’s post and asked if the numbers that Quinten had shared were correct and if the data could be verified. Quinten responded that the numbers were accurate based on Aster’s publicly shared data and that the problem was with the reward formula and not the math. 

He said that the reward system gave too much importance to referral-based points while ignoring other ways users had contributed, such as trading, staking, or supporting the community. Users who focused only on referrals earned much more, while those who had been active in many ways received much less.

Aster released a statement, stating that its technical team had already begun checking every allocation record to ensure all numbers were correct. The exchange plans to complete the revised token drop by October 20.

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