ASTER Whale Adds $1M Long As Stage 4 Airdrop Ignites Trading

TLDR

Table of Contents

Whale wallet 0x6834 added $1M USDC, growing its $ASTER long to 2.3M tokens.
$ASTER price surged 7.66% as daily DEX volume approached $1.9B.
Whale’s average entry dropped after 38 days of $ASTER accumulation.
Aster DEX airdrop campaign is distributing $10M across six trading stages.

A major whale wallet has shaken up the crypto market by injecting $1 million USDC into its $ASTER long position, just hours before the launch of Stage 4 of Aster DEX’s $10 million airdrop. This move boosts the whale’s total position to $2.86 million and comes amid a surge in trading volume nearing $2 billion, sparking intense speculation about market direction and investor strategy.

Whale Increases $ASTER Exposure With $1M USDC Deposit

A whale wallet identified as 0x6834 has added $1 million in USDC to its $ASTER long position. This move increases the total position to 2.3 million $ASTER tokens, valued at around $2.86 million. The deposit was confirmed through HypurrScan and posted by Lookonchain.

The wallet has been active over the past 38 days, accumulating positions during various market cycles. Earlier, the same address purchased 100,000 $ASTER at $1.5886, suggesting a strategy of averaging down. The wallet has now deposited a total of $1.42 million USDC across multiple transactions.

Surge in Trading Volume as Stage 4 Airdrop Launches

The timing of the whale’s deposit aligns with the launch of Stage 4 of Aster DEX’s $10 million airdrop event. Named “Harvest,” this stage incentivizes high trading volumes, and the DEX has now reached almost $1.9 billion in daily trading.

$ASTER has gained 7.66% over the last 24 hours, reaching $1.24. Traders are actively increasing volume to earn a share of the 1.5% token supply distributed across all six airdrop stages. The Stage 4 campaign is expected to run for five weeks.

Leverage and Market Risk in a Volatile Environment

According to on-chain data, the whale is using 2x leverage with a liquidation level at $1.45. This gives room for market fluctuations, though it also introduces risk, especially amid a wider downturn in Bitcoin, now trading below $92,000.

Long positions opened by the whale after the latest deposit include batches of 4,747, 2,366, and 138,666 tokens, with an average entry price near $1.22. These moves suggest strategic placement ahead of potential price swings influenced by the airdrop event.

Diverging Reactions and Market Sentiment

On social media, user opinions remain divided. Some praised the whale’s conviction and predicted a move toward $3 if current volume persists. Others raised concerns about market manipulation or unsustainable leverage in a volatile space.

Technical charts shared by traders show support around $1.18 and resistance near $1.29. A decisive move beyond resistance may lead to targets of $1.80 or even $2.00 by year-end if broader market conditions stabilize.

Broader Activity and Shifting Whale Positions

Across the broader decentralized exchange ecosystem, whale behavior is shifting. One major wallet, 0x9ee, holds long positions in ETH and XRP while maintaining a leveraged short on $ASTER. That short currently has over $8 million in unrealized gains.

Meanwhile, Abraxas Capital has shifted from short to long $ASTER exposure, recording $750,000 in unrealized profits. The firm’s total $ASTER exposure is now over $8 million, reflecting a change in outlook as trading incentives drive demand.

At the same time, Hyperliquid is facing pressure. Its token HYPE has dropped below the 200-day EMA, and a recent $5 million market maker loss linked to POPCAT manipulation has raised liquidity concerns.