ASTER Drops 20% as “Anti-CZ” Investor Gains $21M from Short Positions

Aster (ASTER), a token that has garnered significant attention in decentralized exchange (DEX) discussions recently, experienced a decline of over 20% in the last 24 hours, erasing a substantial portion of the gains that followed the endorsement from Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

This drop resulted in considerable profits for a trader referred to as the “Anti-CZ Whale,” who now possesses more than $21 million in unrealized gains from shorting ASTER across two wallets.

The decrease comes after a period of volatility for ASTER, which saw a surge last week when CZ disclosed that he had personally acquired over $2 million worth of the token.

Changpeng Zhao announced on Sunday that he purchased Aster protocol’s token (ASTER) with his own funds on Binance. #ChangpengZhao #ASTER #Binance https://t.co/uzYZOHcXQD

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) November 3, 2025

CZ’s announcement quickly spurred buying activity, elevating ASTER from approximately $0.91 to a peak of $1.26 before it sharply reversed as whales increased their short positions.

‘Anti-CZ Whale’ Gains $18.4M as ASTER Falls Below $0.90 Following CZ’s Purchase

As per on-chain data gathered by Lookonchain and Hyperliquid, two wallets associated with the so-called Anti-CZ Whale established significant short positions in ASTER shortly after CZ’s announcement.

As the price declines, the Anti-CZ Whale, who expanded his $ASTER shorts following CZ’s buy post, is now sitting on over $21M in unrealized profit across two wallets.
He is also shorting $DOGE, $ETH, $XRP, and $PEPE, all of which are in profit.
His total profit on #Hyperliquid is now nearing $100M!… pic.twitter.com/vfmAPf9ke6

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 4, 2025

Collectively, the wallets manage over $51 million in ASTER shorts, yielding approximately $18.4 million in unrealized profit as the token fell back below $0.90.

One of the wallets, identified as 0xbadb, contains around $24.6 million in equity, with positions concentrated on ASTER and Dogecoin (DOGE).

Source: Hyperliquid

This account reflects an unrealized profit of $8.38 million, primarily attributed to its ASTER short from an entry point of $1.16 to a current price of $0.88, marking a 25% decrease.

The second wallet, 0x9eec9, holds an even larger portfolio valued at $73.7 million across various assets, including ASTER, DOGE, ETH, XRP, and PEPE. It has recorded over $29 million in unrealized gains, with ASTER alone contributing approximately $14 million.

Source: Hyperliquid

Both accounts maintain full short exposure utilizing leverage between 3x and 20x, bringing the trader’s total unrealized profit on Hyperliquid close to $100 million.

CZ Acknowledges “Poor Timing” After Aster’s 57% Monthly Decline; Analysts Anticipate Technical Rebound

Aster’s trading volume over the past 24 hours has sharply decreased to around $1.35 billion, a 47% drop from the previous day, indicating a decline in market activity following the initial rally.

Source: CoinGecko

The token, which once traded as high as $2.41, is now down over 63% from its peak. It has fallen 13.3% in the last day, 17.8% over the week, and nearly 57% in the past 30 days.

Source: DefiLlama

Data from DefiLlama indicates that Aster’s total value locked (TVL) has decreased from $2.5 billion in early October to approximately $1.47 billion.

CZ responded to the market downturn by acknowledging his history of poor timing in cryptocurrency purchases. “Every time I buy coins, I get stuck in a losing position,” he stated on X.

我每次买币都被套，100%的记录。
2014年，均价$600买了BTC，一个月内跌倒$200，持续了18个月。
2017年，买了BNB，也跌了20-30%，持续了几周。
这次。。。还说不准呢。
昨天又加了点仓。所以大家要注意风险啊。以后不再披露了。免得影响大家的行情。 https://t.co/jezvlAbXax

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) November 4, 2025

He recounted purchasing Bitcoin at $600 in 2014 before it dropped to $200 and BNB in 2017 before it fell by 30%. He mentioned that he recently increased his ASTER holdings but cautioned others to “be mindful of risks.”

CZ also suggested he might refrain from publicly disclosing future purchases to prevent influencing market sentiment.

Despite the decline, some analysts believe ASTER may be nearing a short-term recovery.

Technical analysts indicate that the ASTER/USDT pair is forming a falling wedge pattern on the four-hour chart, a technical indicator often associated with potential reversals.

Source: TradingView

The price is currently around $0.95, where selling pressure seems to be diminishing. A breakout above $1.01 could initiate a short-term recovery toward $1.20 or $1.50 if momentum returns.

Conversely, a decline below $0.85 could expose the token to additional losses, with support near $0.76.

The post ASTER Plunges 20% as “Anti-CZ” Whale Scores $21M Profit On Short Bets appeared first on Cryptonews.