Pumping the price is the best form of promotion.

In just one week, the Aster platform's new user count has surpassed 710,000. The 24-hour perpetual contract trading volume has reached $21.112 billion, directly surpassing the long-standing DeFi derivatives platform Hyperliquid by more than double. The platform's TVL has reached $1.744 billion, with a 24-hour revenue of $7.12 million, ranking just below stablecoin giants Tether and Circle on the global revenue leaderboard.

Aside from "Can you still buy ASTER?" another common question is "Can you still farm on Aster?"

There are 11 days left in Aster's Season 2 airdrop, with the airdrop pool accounting for 4% of the total supply, approximately 320 million ASTER tokens. This means that as of the time of writing, calculated at a price of $2.3 per ASTER, the Season 2 airdrop is worth over $700 million. In this context, Daptrhythm BlockBeats has compiled the most critical airdrop strategies for Aster at the moment.

1. Aster × Backpack Arbitrage Strategy (Hedging)

This is currently the main farming strategy, with the core step being that two trading platforms (such as Backpack, Aster) simultaneously place orders in opposite directions for the same asset to achieve "farming points + capturing fee spreads."

The key point to note is: Aster uses "market orders" because Aster's maker orders receive double points.

The detailed steps involve going short on ASTER in a "limit order" on Backpack to earn maker points, while using a "market order" on Aster to quickly execute. Additionally, market order execution must be swift; otherwise, if one side is not executed, there may be unilateral exposure.

Furthermore, one should determine the weighting of holding time and opening frequency on their own. The longer the holding time, the higher the points earned, but the point cap is twice the weekly trading volume.

To prevent being front-run, one can try modifying various parameters, such as position opening amount, leverage, opening direction, etc. Avoid using the same set of parameters repeatedly to farm, as high-frequency arbitrage may trigger risk control and front-running. Beginners should start with small-scale farming, gradually increase leverage and amounts once they get the hang of it.

2. Funding Rate Capture

This strategy takes further action based on wash trading between two trading platforms to exploit the funding rate.

The main idea here is to leverage the funding rate mechanism of perpetual contracts. When the funding rate is positive, short the perpetual to earn the funding rate; when the funding rate is negative, long the perpetual to earn the funding rate. The funding rates between two trading platforms usually have a variance. For example, in the tool below, you can see the funding rate difference between various trading platforms, suitable opening directions, and APR.

Continue hedging in spot trading using the previous Backpack (limit order) + Aster (market order) method to earn points. Net income is calculated as Points Value + Funding Rate Income - Transaction Fee Cost - Slippage Loss.

Be sure to consider the trading platform's fee structure. There are usually two types of fees: Taker: for immediate order execution, incurring higher fees; Maker: for orders placed on the order book waiting to be filled, incurring lower fees.

Since real-time monitoring is required, this strategy is suitable for experienced traders or the use of funding rate bots. Pay attention to latency and reconciliation between multiple accounts and trading platforms. Funding rate arbitrage typically has a longer time span than points arbitrage, so do not overlook position management.

3. Swap Deposits to USDF

In addition to the hedging and funding rate strategy mentioned earlier, Aster also offers a relatively "low-risk, passive income" play, based on the USDF and asBNB "Trade & Earn" system. This product continues Aster's previous experience in staking asset liquidity, essentially combining "trading" and "wealth management" to allow users to maintain trading activity while enjoying stable annualized returns.

Currently, USDF offers an annualized return of approximately 16.7% (APY), with two participation methods: deposit rewards, where holding over 1 USDF in your account automatically generates interest; and trading rewards, with slightly higher requirements, necessitating users to be active for a minimum of 2 days per week and have a cumulative trading volume exceeding 2000 USDT. Once the conditions are met, the system will distribute rewards uniformly the following week, depositing them directly into the trading account and automatically compounding the returns.

In addition to USDF, Aster also provides the asset asBNB, which serves a similar purpose and logic as USDF. Users can swap BNB or slisBNB for asBNB to use as collateral while enjoying approximately 9.1% APY.

Furthermore, Aster has incorporated a "Double Points" mechanism into its incentive design. If you choose to use USDF or asBNB as collateral, your trading points will receive a double bonus, and the weekly trading volume points cap will be doubled. This makes using these two assets almost a necessity for players seeking airdrop points or rebate rewards, effectively stacking interest income and point advantages while trading.

Additionally, holding $ASTER provides a 5% fee discount, so it is recommended to have a certain amount of $ASTER in each wallet.

4. Fleet Bonus

Individual players can only earn limited rewards by accumulating points. However, if you can build a "fleet" by expanding your network through invitations, you can leverage the points generated by others' trades. By participating in team rankings, you can further increase your share of the total network. In the long run, the points earned by an individual account through personal trading may be far less than the total contribution of an active team. Therefore, "Invitation + Fleet" will become a key factor in creating disparities among players in the later stages.

The core idea is to integrate the power around you into a team through a dual mechanism of "referral" and "team contribution" to enhance the point rewards for oneself.

Specifically, the referral rewards are divided into two layers: if you invite a first-level user, you can receive 10% of the Rh points they generate; if it is a second-level user (i.e., someone invited by your downline), you can receive a 5% points split. However, it's important to note that this splitting only applies to their transaction points income and does not include referral points and team points themselves to avoid situations of endless loops.

Aster has also introduced the concept of Team Points. This can be understood as a fleet, where each fleet's points are settled on T+1, compared horizontally with other fleets. Before finally distributing the points, the system will make some "fairness adjustments," including restricting whale domination and smoothing out abnormal fluctuations. In other words, the fleet reward is not just about "the more people I invite, the better," but more like a comprehensive evaluation of "team activity" + "overall contribution percentage."

Finally, these scores will be calculated on a weekly basis and converted into your share in the platform-wide points pool, directly determining how much reward you will receive in the upcoming $ASTER airdrop allocation. Put simply: the referral relationship gives you a stable 10% / 5% cut; team points determine whether you can squeeze into the top ranks on the leaderboard to receive additional rewards;

Aster Season 2 airdrop has 11 days left, with the airdrop pool accounting for 4% of the total supply, roughly 320 million ASTER tokens. At the time of writing, the Season 2 airdrop is valued at over $700 million.

Facing such significant user growth and a complex points ecosystem, the Aster team has also made it clear: professional market makers will be excluded from the Rh points system and will not qualify for $ASTER token airdrops. In the current second stage of Rh points calculation, pure spot holding and trading are temporarily not included in the points system, but this does not mean that spot trading is worthless. From the official statement, it is easy to infer that the rules for the third quarter's airdrop are likely to reintegrate spot trading into the points calculation.

Therefore, at present, there are still many opportunities for retail traders. However, it is important to note that the current market is overheated, fueled by FOMO sentiment. With various scripts circulating in the market and the uncertain distribution timing of the Season 2 airdrop, competition remains high, and users need to manage their risks.

Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:

Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia