Aster has officially launched Aster Open Standards Phase 2, or AOS-2, opening its perpetual futures market to qualifying outside projects while introducing a substantial staking requirement designed to align prospective listings with the platform’s native token. Under the new framework, projects seeking a perpetual contract on Aster must stake 1 million ASTER for four years, with no option to withdraw the tokens early after an approved application enters the program. The requirement is significant at current prices. With ASTER trading around $0.60, the mandatory stake represents approximately $600,000 of tokens, although the dollar value will fluctuate alongside ASTER’s market price.
AOS-2 expands the Aster Open Standards model beyond spot markets and introduces a structured process involving eligibility checks, token staking, an onchain validator vote, risk assessment and market-maker preparation before a new perpetual contract begins trading. Aster says the objective is to replace the private negotiations traditionally associated with exchange listings with a more transparent and publicly governed system.
1 Million ASTER Becomes the Gateway to Perpetual Listings
The staking requirement is the centerpiece of AOS-2. A qualifying project must first commit 1 million ASTER before its proposal proceeds to Aster Chain validators. Those validators then vote on whether the proposed perpetual market should advance. If validators reject the application, Aster says the project’s entire 1 million ASTER stake will be returned. An unsuccessful applicant therefore does not automatically lose its tokens. Approval creates a considerably longer commitment. The 1 million ASTER remains locked for four years, and the project cannot voluntarily exit the arrangement early. That structure gives ASTER an additional source of utility beyond conventional network staking and trading incentives. Every successful AOS-2 listing potentially removes another 1 million tokens from liquid circulation for four years.
With approximately 2.7 billion ASTER currently circulating, according to current market data, each individual listing would lock roughly 0.037% of circulating supply. Ten successful listings would consequently require 10 million ASTER, while 100 would require 100 million tokens. The mechanism could therefore become economically meaningful if AOS-2 attracts a large pipeline of projects. It also creates a financial barrier to low-quality or opportunistic listings. At current prices, projects must be prepared to commit roughly $600,000 in ASTER for four years before gaining access to Aster’s perpetual market.
Validators Approve Listings, but Risk Team Sets Trading Rules
Staking 1 million ASTER does not guarantee that a perpetual contract will launch. Once an eligible proposal receives validator approval, it moves to Aster’s risk team, which determines the parameters under which the market can operate. That includes leverage and other risk controls rather than allowing individual projects to determine their own trading conditions. Approved markets must also secure appropriate market-maker support before launch. After those requirements are completed, Aster is targeting a T+1 listing, potentially allowing approved perpetual contracts to begin trading rapidly after their final configuration. The announcement does not specify whether T+1 refers strictly to the next calendar day or trading day.
The framework therefore attempts to separate listing governance from market-risk management. Validators determine whether a qualifying project should receive access to the platform, while Aster retains control over leverage and other parameters capable of affecting trader and protocol risk. AOS-2 follows AOS-1, which opened Aster’s spot listing process to projects satisfying published eligibility standards. AOS-2 applies the same broader philosophy to perpetual futures, an increasingly important segment of decentralized cryptocurrency trading. The move also places ASTER directly inside Aster’s listing economics.
Instead of functioning solely as a governance or reward asset, the token becomes mandatory infrastructure for projects seeking access to one of the platform’s core products. The four-year lock simultaneously creates long-duration demand and reduces the immediately tradable supply associated with successful applications. There are trade-offs. A high staking requirement could discourage smaller projects from applying, while the dollar cost of entry could become substantially more expensive if ASTER appreciates. Validator governance will also be tested by potentially contentious listing applications. For now, AOS-2 establishes a straightforward bargain for projects seeking a perpetual market: meet the eligibility requirements, commit 1 million ASTER for four years and convince Aster Chain validators that the market deserves to exist.