Aster said its layer-1 blockchain testnet has gone live for all users, with a mainnet rollout targeted for the first quarter of 2026.
The decentralised exchange said the testnet launch follows its rebrand into a crypto perpetual futures platform in 2025, as demand for onchain derivatives accelerated sharply.
According to the Aster roadmap, features planned for a Q1 launch include fiat on-ramps, the release of Aster’s codebase for builders and the debut of its layer-1 mainnet.
Aster said its focus for 2026 will be on infrastructure, token utility and ecosystem growth as it builds out its community around the new blockchain.
The project competes directly with Hyperliquid, which also operates a perpetual futures exchange on its own application-specific layer-1 network.
The move reflects a broader shift by Web3 projects toward custom blockchains to handle high-throughput trading, rather than relying on general-purpose networks such as Ethereum or Solana.
Perpetual DEX trading volume nearly tripled in 2025 to more than $12 trillion, with about $7.9 trillion generated during the year alone, according to DefiLlama.
At the time of reporting, Aster price was $0.4922.