Aster launches first USD1-denominated RWA perpetual markets with $28M liquidity fund
Aster DEX just went live with something the perpetuals market hasn’t seen before: real-world asset contracts settled entirely in USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial. Five new perpetual markets launched on August 20, covering tokenized equities and commodities, with a liquidity fund worth roughly $28 million standing behind them.
The contracts, listed under Aster’s AOS-2 open listing standard, include SPCXUSD1, CLUSD1, XAUUSD1, SNDKUSD1, and SKHYNIXUSD1. If those tickers look like alphabet soup, think of them as perpetual futures on assets like gold and major equity indices, but denominated and settled in USD1 instead of the usual USDT.
What the liquidity fund actually looks like
Backing these new markets is a combined growth fund of 250 million WLFI tokens from World Liberty Financial and 12.5 million USD1 contributed by Aster. At current market prices, the total package comes to approximately $28 million.
USD1 itself has grown into a meaningful stablecoin, with roughly $4.4 billion in circulation as of early 2026. It’s now the exclusive settlement asset for all of Aster’s RWA and commodity perpetual contracts, a deliberate move to deepen the relationship between the two platforms.
From crypto perps to tokenized stocks and gold
This isn’t Aster’s first rodeo with USD1. Earlier phases of the partnership with World Liberty Financial brought USD1-denominated contracts for major crypto assets like BTC and ETH, complete with trading incentives to drive volume. The RWA expansion is the next logical step, and arguably the more interesting one.
Aster’s trajectory here has been building for a while. The platform, which emerged from a merger in 2025, operates as a multi-chain perpetual DEX with both simple and pro trading modes. It offers high-leverage options and has been supported by YZi Labs, with its own Aster Chain Layer 1 serving as the underlying infrastructure. The platform previously listed tokenized stocks and commodities pegged to USDT, so the shift to USD1 denomination represents a strategic pivot rather than a cold start.
The five newly listed contracts span what appears to be a mix of equity proxies and commodity exposure. XAUUSD1 is the clearest, tracking gold. The background research indicates the markets cover assets including SpaceX valuations and crude oil.
Why the stablecoin choice matters
By exclusively using USD1 for its RWA vertical, Aster is placing a bet that World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin can carve out a niche in trading infrastructure rather than just competing for generic stablecoin market share.
For World Liberty Financial, the arrangement drives real utility for USD1 beyond simple transfers and DeFi lending. Every open position on these contracts represents locked USD1 collateral. Every trade generates settlement volume.
The WLFI token allocation in the liquidity fund adds another layer. Those 250 million tokens give the fund exposure to the broader World Liberty Financial ecosystem, meaning the health of the liquidity backstop is partially tied to how WLFI performs.
Since March 2026, Aster DEX and World Liberty Financial have been strengthening their partnership by integrating USD1 as collateral and as a settlement asset for perpetual contracts, starting with major cryptocurrencies. By April, the collaboration focused exclusively on using USD1 for RWA and commodity perpetuals.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Uber Technologies stock closes 3.43% lower; 15-minute RSI sits at 27.11
Counter-terrorism forces take to the streets, Louvre closes! France erupts in a new wave of protests over the weekend, with turmoil threatening to spread across Europe
France is engulfed in a new wave of violent protests, with 70,000 security personnel deployed urgently and curfews imposed in multiple cities. Macron admits to mishandling the response. Financial markets have sounded the alarm early — the spread between French and German government bonds has surged to its highest level since the European debt crisis, PMI has fallen below the threshold for expansion, luxury shops have boarded up windows, the Louvre Museum has closed, and Paris City Hall estimates losses of tens of millions of euros. The turmoil also threatens to spread across Europe.
Bitcoin Miners Are Fleeing to AI: So Why Is the Hash Rate Surging?
Once frenzied buying, now the "ammunition warehouse" shrinks by 51 trillion KRW! Korean retail investors can no longer afford to buy
In four months, Korean retail investors' "ammunition stockpile" has dropped by 36.5%, returning to levels seen at the beginning of the year. Although retail investors have collectively made net purchases exceeding 75 trillion won, they are still absorbing the sell-off, but the influx of new funds has dried up, and the replenishment rate lags far behind the consumption rate. Combined with the KOSPI plunging nearly 20% this month, continued net selling by foreign investors, and concerns over AI-related credit risks, the Korean stock market may find it difficult to see a sustained rebound in the short term without support from private investors' funds.
Crypto prices
More
