Aster reimburses traders after XPL contract glitch
Decentralized derivatives exchange Aster, backed by YZi Labs (linked to Changpeng Zhao), has compensated traders for losses caused by a trading glitch in the new Plasma network token XPL.
The incident occurred on the evening of September 25, when the XPL price on Aster suddenly jumped from $1.30 to over $4, while trading remained stable on other exchanges. This surge triggered mass liquidations in XPL perpetual contracts.
Community reports suggest the glitch occurred during XPL’s transition from the test phase to full market launch. During testing, the index price was fixed at $1, and the market price capped at $1.22. When these restrictions were lifted without syncing to the real price, the system reacted with a spike.
Although Aster did not confirm the technical details, the exchange stated it is conducting an internal investigation. The total amount of compensation has not been disclosed, but users estimate losses at “several million dollars.”
Aster has seen rapid growth: its ASTER token surged in market cap from $560M to over $15B within a week, while DEX trading volumes already surpassed Hyperliquid.
The incident highlighted the risks of rapid scaling in new networks and perpetual markets, where even short-lived glitches can lead to multimillion-dollar losses.
XPL price chart on Aster exchange. Source: asterdex.com
Within an hour, the Aster team confirmed that all affected users would be reimbursed. Compensation in USDT, including trading and liquidation fees, was distributed to wallets within three hours.
Community reports suggest the glitch occurred during XPL’s transition from the test phase to full market launch. During testing, the index price was fixed at $1, and the market price capped at $1.22. When these restrictions were lifted without syncing to the real price, the system reacted with a spike.
Although Aster did not confirm the technical details, the exchange stated it is conducting an internal investigation. The total amount of compensation has not been disclosed, but users estimate losses at “several million dollars.”
The glitch coincided with Plasma’s mainnet launch and XPL token listing, which debuted with over $2B in stablecoin TVL and reached a $12B fully diluted valuation.
Aster has seen rapid growth: its ASTER token surged in market cap from $560M to over $15B within a week, while DEX trading volumes already surpassed Hyperliquid.
The incident highlighted the risks of rapid scaling in new networks and perpetual markets, where even short-lived glitches can lead to multimillion-dollar losses.
Recommended