On February 6, it was announced that the decentralized derivatives project Aster has officially launched its Layer 1 blockchain testnet, marking the team's move from application layer to underlying infrastructure development. The network is not designed for general-purpose scenarios but focuses on perpetual contract decentralized trading as its core goal, aiming to address the long-term bottlenecks in speed, stability, and capital efficiency of current on-chain derivatives trading.

Over the past year, Perp DEX trading volume has surpassed spot markets in multiple timeframes, becoming one of the most important traffic sources in DeFi. However, high-frequency and leveraged operations place higher demands on the underlying chain's performance. Many public chains experience congestion, delays, and soaring fees during market volatility, directly impacting liquidation safety and trading experience. Aster Layer 1 incorporates a "derivatives-first" design at the protocol level, attempting to provide stable support for this high-intensity scenario.