Aster Price Plunge Meets DEX Innovation: Private Trading Feature Launches As Token Nears Yearly Low

A decentralized exchange just rolled out a feature that lets big players trade in the shadows—right as its native token teeters on the edge of a yearly abyss.

Stealth Mode, Activated

The new private trading function bypasses public order books entirely. It's a direct counter to the front-running and slippage that plague transparent pools, offering institutions and whales a way to move size without moving the market. Think of it as a dark pool, but without the Wall Street suits—or the regulatory oversight, for that matter.

Token on the Brink

This launch isn't happening in a vacuum. The platform's Aster token is sliding, inching closer to a price point it hasn't seen in over a year. The timing raises eyebrows: is this a strategic lifeline to attract capital, or a desperate feature drop to staunch the bleeding? In crypto, innovation and survival often wear the same mask.

A Calculated Gamble

The move targets a specific, capital-rich niche: traders who value discretion over everything. By catering to them, the DEX isn't just adding a tool—it's betting its future on a segment that traditional finance has coddled for decades, all while its own valuation crumbles. It's the ultimate crypto flex, building a VIP room while the house might be on fire.

For the Aster token, this is the critical test. Will privacy prove to be the killer app that reverses the slide, or just another feature on the road to obscurity? In a market obsessed with transparency, betting on opacity is a bold—or brilliantly cynical—play. After all, nothing attracts money like the promise of hiding it.

TLDR

• Aster DEX launched Shield Mode allowing traders to execute high-leverage perpetual trades privately without broadcasting positions to public order books
• The feature offers up to 1,001x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum with instant execution and zero slippage
• Aster is waiving all gas costs and trading fees until December 31, though Shield Mode trades won’t count toward airdrop rewards
• Aster currently leads Hyperliquid in perpetuals volume with $4.95 billion in 24 hours and $219.85 billion in 30-day volume
• Aster price has fallen below the $0.91 support level and is approaching its yearly low of $0.81

Decentralized perpetual exchange Aster has launched Shield Mode, a new feature that lets traders execute high-leverage perpetual trades without revealing their positions to the market. The platform now offers leverage of up to 1,001 times on Bitcoin and Ether pairs with instant execution and zero slippage.

Introducing Shield Mode

A new protected trading mode for high-leverage perps: up to 1001x leverage, instant execution, zero slippage, no gas costs—all under one seamless interface.

What's in the shield:
One-tap LONG/SHORT
No public order book—your orders stay off the… pic.twitter.com/XAPCLY79Zo

— Aster (@Aster_DEX) December 15, 2025

Shield Mode keeps orders off public order books. This addresses a common problem in decentralized finance where transaction transparency can lead to maximal extractable value attacks.

MEV attacks happen when bots and validators profit by reordering or censoring transactions. Frontrunning occurs when traders see pending large orders and execute their own trades first. Sandwich attacks place orders immediately before and after a target transaction to profit from price movements.

As part of a promotional launch running until December 31, Aster has waived all gas costs and trading fees. However, trades executed in Shield Mode will not count toward Aster’s airdrop rewards program.

The platform previously introduced Hidden Orders in June 2025. This made Aster the first perpetual decentralized exchange to offer integrated hidden order functionality that conceals both price and size from other market participants.

Privacy Features Set Aster Apart

In its announcement on X, Aster wrote that Shield Mode is “for traders who want performance without broadcasting their next move.” The company described it as an early building block for privacy features planned for Aster Chain.

Shield Mode includes isolated margin for precise risk control. This allows traders to limit potential losses to their position size while maintaining high leverage ratios. The feature includes one-tap long and short execution with zero slippage guaranteed on supported trading pairs during launch.

Aster is working to establish itself as a major player in the perpetual trading market. The platform briefly overtook Hyperliquid as the largest decentralized perpetuals exchange protocol in September 2025.

Currently, Aster leads Hyperliquid in terms of perpetuals volume. The platform processed over $4.95 billion in the last 24 hours compared to Hyperliquid’s $3.17 billion. The 30-day perpetual volume on Aster reached $219.85 billion while Hyperliquid saw $204.35 billion.

Hyperliquid still leads in overall DEX volume with over $6.59 billion in the past 30 days. Aster has seen over $2.72 billion in the same period.

Price Action Shows Weakness

Aster price has lost the $0.91 support level on a closing basis. This confirms structural weakness and increases downside pressure. The token is now at risk of moving toward the $0.81 yearly low.

I remain fully convicted in $ASTER.

I will keep buying the dips, because our trust is in @Aster_DEX, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.

Sometimes generational wealth is accumulating as much supply % through dips. pic.twitter.com/uNL5ITW1gd

— 0xMo.eth (@MoEthWhale) December 16, 2025

The $0.91 level served as a long-term floor for Aster’s price over recent months. The breakdown below this level represents a structural failure rather than a temporary dip. When price loses a key support level on a closing basis, it often signals a transition to a more bearish phase.

Aster is now trading below its prior swing low. This invalidates any remaining bullish structure and suggests the market is rotating lower in search of fresh liquidity.

The next major area of interest lies at the $0.81 yearly low. This level has not been tested since its formation, which increases its importance from both a technical and psychological standpoint. Recent declines have not been met with strong buying responses, suggesting demand remains weak.

Aster plans to introduce a Flexible Fee Model soon with a fixed percentage per trade in commission mode and a profit-and-loss mode that allows users to pay only when they profit.