The Aster decentralized exchange (DEX) and perpetual futures platform announced its layer-1 blockchain testnet is now live for all users, and signaled a potential Aster layer-1 mainnet rollout in Q1 2026.
According to Aster’s roadmap, several features are planned for Q1, including fiat on-ramps, the public release of Aster’s code for builders and the eventual L1 mainnet launch. The team says its 2026 priorities will emphasize infrastructure, token utility and growing the ecosystem and community.
Aster rebranded as a perpetual futures DEX in March 2025 and positions itself as a direct competitor to Hyperliquid, another perp DEX that operates on its own application-specific layer-1 network. The move to a dedicated L1 mirrors a broader Web3 trend: projects building custom blockchains to handle high-throughput trading volumes rather than relying on general-purpose chains that mix varied traffic.
Perpetual futures differ from traditional futures by having no expiration date; traders pay a funding rate to maintain positions indefinitely, enabling continuous 24/7 markets. The success of Hyperliquid and similar platforms helped propel interest in perp DEXs over 2025.
Perp DEX cumulative trading volume nearly tripled during 2025, rising from roughly $4 trillion to over $12 trillion by year-end, with about $7.9 trillion of that volume occurring in 2025, according to DefiLlama. Monthly trading on perpetual exchanges reached the $1 trillion mark in October, November and December. This surge in volume indicates growing demand for onchain derivatives and wider adoption of decentralized trading infrastructure.
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