Aster has taken its biggest step yet toward becoming a standalone blockchain.

 

The decentralized trading platform announced that its Layer-1 testnet is now live and open to all users, moving the project out of private testing and into a broader public phase. The launch puts Aster on track for a planned mainnet debut later this quarter and signals a clear shift in strategy, from operating across multiple chains to running its own purpose-built network.

 

For a project that started as a perpetual futures DEX, the move reflects how competitive onchain trading has become. Speed, execution quality, and control over infrastructure are now as important as liquidity.

 

 

From Perp Dex To Full Blockchain

Aster originally gained traction by offering perpetual futures trading across major networks like Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, and Solana. Its pitch was simple but effective: capital-efficient trading, deep liquidity aggregation, and tools designed to limit front-running and MEV.

 

That model worked, but it also came with constraints. Relying on shared blockspace means competing with unrelated activity, dealing with variable fees, and making tradeoffs on latency. As onchain derivatives volumes surged over the past year, those limitations became harder to ignore.

 

The Layer-1 effort is Aster’s answer. Instead of adapting to general-purpose blockchains, the team is building a network optimized from the ground up for trading.

 

 

What Makes Aster Chain Different

Aster Chain is designed specifically for high-frequency, high-volume trading. The focus is on fast finality, high throughput, and predictable execution, features that traders typically associate with centralized venues.

 

Privacy is another core element. The chain integrates zero-knowledge proofs to allow trades to be verified onchain without broadcasting sensitive order details. That matters in derivatives markets, where exposed positions can attract front-running and liquidation pressure.

 

Rather than positioning itself as a broad smart contract platform, Aster is leaning into specialization. The goal is to make the chain feel like trading infrastructure first, DeFi playground second.

 

 

Testnet Goes Public

Until recently, access to the Aster testnet was limited. An early cohort of about 1,000 users, selected from hundreds of thousands of applicants, was invited to test core features like perpetual trading, spot markets, and order execution. Those users received test tokens through a faucet and were encouraged to stress the system and report bugs.

 

Opening the testnet to everyone marks a shift from controlled experimentation to real-world simulation. More users mean more edge cases, more feedback, and a better sense of how the chain performs under load.

 

For Aster, it is also a signaling moment. Public testnets are where projects start to be judged less on vision and more on execution.

 

 

The Road Ahead

The testnet launch feeds directly into Aster’s broader 2026 roadmap. The next major milestone is the Layer-1 mainnet launch, currently targeted for the first quarter of the year.

 

Beyond that, the team plans to roll out developer tooling, staking and governance features tied to the ASTER token, and deeper integrations for fiat on-ramps and off-ramps. There are also plans for advanced order types, expanded real-world asset markets, and additional privacy features aimed at professional traders.

 

If it works, Aster could end up occupying a middle ground that many projects talk about but few achieve: the speed and sophistication of centralized exchanges, delivered through decentralized infrastructure.

 

 

Competitive Pressure And Open Questions

Aster is not alone in betting on custom blockchains for trading. Several derivatives platforms are exploring similar paths, all chasing the same prize: better execution without sacrificing self-custody.

 

The challenge will be adoption. Traders are pragmatic, and loyalty is thin. Aster’s Layer-1 will need to prove not just that it works, but that it works better, consistently, and at scale.

 

There are also the usual caveats. Testnet tokens have no value, timelines can slip, and regulatory uncertainty still hangs over derivatives trading in many regions.

 

Still, the public testnet launch is a meaningful milestone. It shows that Aster is serious about owning its infrastructure and confident enough to put it in front of the wider market.

 

For now, the real test begins.

 

 

Crypto.com is leaning harder into prediction markets, and it is doing so with a clear message: this is no longer a side experiment.

 

The exchange has launched OG, a standalone prediction markets app that pulls event trading out of the main Crypto.com platform and gives it its own dedicated product. The move comes at a moment when prediction markets are not just growing, but accelerating, driven by sports, politics, and a broader appetite for trading real-world outcomes.

 

For Crypto.com, spinning prediction markets into their own app is a signal that this category is starting to matter in a way it did not before.

 

 

Why Crypto.com Is Breaking Prediction Markets Out on Their Own

OG focuses on event contracts that allow users to trade on the outcome of future events, starting with high-profile sports like the Super Bowl. Over time, the company says it plans to expand into financial events, politics, entertainment, and culture.

 

What sets OG apart from many crypto-native prediction platforms is its regulatory structure. The contracts are offered through Crypto.com’s U.S. derivatives arm, which operates under federal oversight. That positioning allows Crypto.com to frame prediction markets as regulated financial products rather than gambling, a distinction that has become increasingly important in the U.S.

 

There is also a product reason for the separation. Prediction markets behave differently than spot crypto trading. They move faster, they are driven by opinion and information flow, and they tend to be more social by nature. OG leans into that with features like leaderboards and community-style engagement, along with aggressive incentives aimed at onboarding early users.

 

Crypto.com has used that playbook before, and it is betting it works again here.

 

 

Prediction Markets Are Booming

Prediction markets are seeing record activity across the industry. Recent data shows combined monthly trading volume on leading platforms Kalshi and Polymarket has climbed for six straight months, rising from roughly $2 billion last August to nearly $17.5 billion in January.

 

That growth has been fueled by a mix of major sports events, political cycles, and growing interest in markets that reflect real-world probabilities rather than token price action. For many users, trading on whether something will happen feels more intuitive than trading whether a coin will go up or down.

 

Sports, in particular, have become an entry point. They are familiar, emotionally charged, and easy to understand. From there, users often branch into macroeconomic events, policy decisions, and cultural moments that attract attention well beyond crypto.

 

 

How Event Trading Actually Works

At its core, prediction markets allow users to buy and sell positions tied to whether an event happens or not. Prices move based on collective belief. A contract trading at 65 cents implies the market sees about a 65 percent chance of that outcome occurring.

 

As new information enters the market, whether it is an injury report, polling data, or an economic release, prices adjust in real time.

 

In regulated environments, these contracts are treated as derivatives. That classification is what allows companies like Crypto.com to operate nationally, rather than navigating a patchwork of state-level gambling rules. It is also what opens the door, at least in theory, to more advanced features like leverage and margin trading on event outcomes.

 

Crypto.com has signaled interest in going down that path, pending regulatory approval.

 

 

Regulation Is Becoming the Real Battleground

As prediction markets grow, regulation has become the defining line between platforms.

 

Some operate entirely outside the U.S. framework, relying on crypto-native liquidity and offshore structures. Others are betting that long-term scale depends on regulatory clarity, even if that means slower iteration and tighter constraints.

 

Crypto.com has clearly chosen the second route. By anchoring OG to a federally regulated derivatives entity, the company gains credibility with regulators and institutions, and potentially access to a much larger user base.

 

That does not eliminate risk. Legal interpretations continue to evolve, and prediction markets still sit in an uncomfortable gray area between finance and betting. But for now, regulation looks less like a constraint and more like a competitive advantage.

 

Kalshi and Polymarket have established themselves as leaders, particularly around political and macro events. Other major exchanges are watching closely, and in some cases preparing their own entries. Prediction markets offer something many crypto products struggle with: relevance to people who do not care about crypto prices.

 

Crypto.com’s advantage is distribution. The company already knows how to onboard millions of users through mobile-first products, and OG is clearly designed to plug into that existing funnel.

 

Whether that is enough to stand out in this crowded field remains an open question.

 

 

The Bottom Line

Prediction markets have moved out of the margins and into the center of the crypto conversation.

 

Crypto.com’s launch of OG reflects a broader shift in how exchanges are thinking about growth. Not everything needs to revolve around tokens. Not every product needs to look like a traditional exchange. The fact that Crypto.com has a huge user base as an traditional exchange definitely makes this latest move smart, and it is certainly following the trend of exchanges becoming more than just a place to buy and sell. They are beginning to offer a full suite of products for an ever-growing customer base.

 

By turning real-world events into tradable markets, prediction platforms tap directly into attention, opinion, and information flow. If OG succeeds, it could help push prediction markets...and Crypto.com even more in to the mainstream.

Bitcoin Heads Into a Day That Feels Set Up for Volatility

 

Bitcoin is waking up to a market that feels unusually fragile.

Price itself looks calm enough. The range has been tight, daily swings have been muted, and nothing on the surface screams urgency. But anyone paying attention to today’s calendar knows this kind of calm can disappear quickly.

Several macro events are stacked into the U.S. session, all tied to interest rates, inflation, and risk appetite. When those forces collide, Bitcoin rarely sits still.

This is shaping up to be one of those days where volatility does not need a single dramatic headline. It just needs friction.

 

A Morning That Rarely Stays Quiet

The first real test arrives early, when U.S. jobs data hits the tape around the start of the New York session.

Employment numbers still carry outsized influence over markets. They shape expectations around how tight financial conditions will remain and how much flexibility the Federal Reserve really has. Bitcoin has become increasingly sensitive to these shifts, especially when liquidity is thin.

The initial reaction is often fast and emotional. Sometimes it sticks. Sometimes it fades within minutes. Either way, it tends to wake the market up.

From there, the morning does not get any simpler.

As the session develops, attention turns to Washington. A Supreme Court ruling related to tariffs is expected during the late morning hours. While not crypto-specific, tariff decisions feed directly into inflation assumptions, and inflation is still one of the most important variables in global markets.

Around the same window, a Federal Reserve official is scheduled to speak. That overlap matters. When legal decisions, inflation narratives, and Fed messaging collide, markets can struggle to find a clean interpretation. Bitcoin often reflects that confusion in real time.

 

Why This Timing Matters for Bitcoin

What makes today feel different is not just the events themselves, but how close together they land.

Bitcoin thrives on liquidity and clear narratives. Days like this offer neither. Instead, traders are forced to process multiple signals that may not point in the same direction.

That is when volatility tends to rise.

A strong jobs report followed by cautious Fed language. A soft report paired with inflation concerns. Even outcomes that are mostly expected can trigger sharp moves if positioning is wrong.

Bitcoin does not need certainty to move. It needs imbalance.

 

The Quiet Role of Liquidity

Another reason this day feels risky is what has been happening quietly in the background.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen periods of outflows recently, reducing a layer of steady demand that helped stabilize price during previous pullbacks. With that cushion thinner, price reacts more aggressively to macro headlines.

That cuts both ways. Breakouts can extend faster. Pullbacks can feel heavier. The same headline that barely moved Bitcoin a month ago can suddenly matter a lot more.

 

Midday Calm Can Be Misleading

If Bitcoin survives the morning without a major break, it would not be surprising to see price settle into a narrow range through the middle of the day.

That lull can be deceptive.

Often, midday calm simply reflects traders waiting for confirmation, not confidence that the danger has passed. Volatility can resurface later as markets digest positioning data and prepare for the next global session.

Bitcoin has a habit of making its real move when attention starts to drift.

 

A Market That Feels Coiled

Recent price action tells a familiar story. Bitcoin has struggled to push decisively higher, but sellers have not taken control either. The result is a compressed range that feels increasingly unstable.

Historically, these conditions do not resolve gently.

When volatility returns after a long period of compression, it tends to overshoot. Direction is still uncertain, but movement feels inevitable.

 

The Bigger Picture

This is not about predicting whether Bitcoin goes up or down today. It is about recognizing the environment.

Macro pressure is building. Liquidity is thinner. Volatility has been suppressed for too long. And the calendar is packed with catalysts that can disrupt the balance.

For traders, today is about staying alert, not getting comfortable.
For long-term holders, it is another reminder that Bitcoin often chooses moments like this to reassert its personality.

The market may look calm right now, but we'll see how the day plays out. Jobs reports, Supreme Court decisions, and Fed Talks should make it very interesting either way.

 

 

Stay Connected

You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening  July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

BTC ETH ADA

AAVE UNI ZEC SUI TAO

 

Decentralized perpetual futures have gone from niche to normal this year. Volumes keep rising, traders keep rotating on chain, and perps are now one of the few crypto products seeing consistent usage. Lighter’s launch of its native token, LIT, on December 30 fits squarely into that trend.

For Lighter, the token launch was not a sudden pivot. It followed months of points programs, trading incentives, and gradual onboarding of users who were effectively SOL being asked to prove they would stick around. With LIT now live, those points have turned into tokens, and the protocol has taken a step toward formalizing ownership.

 

How the Launch Was Structured

The LIT token generation event took place on December 30, alongside the initial airdrop. About 25 percent of the total one billion token supply was distributed directly to users who qualified through earlier activity on the platform.

The airdrop was ADA designed to be simple. Tokens were sent automatically to wallets, with no separate claim process and no vesting on that portion. According to the team, the goal was to avoid friction and make sure users actually received what they earned, rather than navigating another multi-step process.

In the days leading up to the launch, large on-chain transfers tied to Lighter hinted that the rollout was imminent. That activity sparked plenty of speculation, but once the token went live, the mechanics turned out to be largely in line with what the team had been signaling.

 

Token Supply and Incentive Design

LIT has a fixed supply of one billion tokens. Half of that supply is allocated to the community and ecosystem, while the other half is split between the team and early investors.

The team’s allocation accounts for roughly 26 percent of the total supply. Investors hold around 24 percent. Those tokens are locked for the first year and then vest gradually over several years. The structure reflects an effort to balance internal incentives with the expectations of a user base that is increasingly sensitive to future supply.

The community share goes beyond the initial airdrop. It also funds ongoing trading incentives, staking rewards, and future programs aimed at keeping activity on the platform as competition among perps exchanges intensifies.

 

 

Early Trading and First Reactions

LIT did not wait until launch day to attract attention. Pre-market trading had already been active, with centralized and decentralized venues offering early exposure through synthetic markets and limited listings.

That early price discovery set expectations, though liquidity was thin and pricing uneven. Since the launch, focus has shifted to how LIT trades with real circulation, as airdropped tokens begin to move and broader markets form. Volatility has been expected, especially in the first few sessions, as supply and demand work themselves out. The LIT token is currently trading at $2.74 with a market cap just shy of $700M.

 

What Lighter Is Building Under the Hood

At its core, Lighter runs a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Ethereum. The platform uses a Layer-2 design built around zero-knowledge technology to keep trades fast and fees predictable, while still settling activity on chain.

The team has been clear that LIT is not meant to exist in isolation. The token is expected to play a role in staking, incentives, and access to certain platform features over time. Lighter has also pointed to future products, including options and tokenized assets, as part of a broader roadmap that extends beyond perps alone.

Another point emphasized in the launch messaging is alignment. The protocol generates revenue through trading activity, and the intent is for token holders to benefit as the platform grows, whether through reinvestment, incentives, or other value-sharing mechanisms.

 

Part of a Larger Shift in Perps

Lighter’s token launch comes at a moment when decentralized perpetuals are no longer trying to prove they work. That question has largely been answered. Instead, the focus has moved to scale, retention, and differentiation.

Platforms like Hyperliquid and dYdX have shown that traders will stay on chain if execution is good enough. Tokens, in that context, are becoming tools for locking in users rather than just raising capital.

By distributing a large share of LIT to active participants and keeping insider tokens locked, Lighter is betting that ownership and incentives can help it compete in an increasingly crowded market. Whether that holds up will depend less on launch-day excitement and more on what happens next.

 

As volumes continue to rise and on-chain perps become a permanent part of crypto trading, Lighter’s challenge will be turning early momentum into something durable. The LIT launch is an important step, but it is only the beginning.

 

Stay Connected

You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening  July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

FalconX, a leading institutional digital-assets brokerage and trading platform, has agreed to acquire 21Shares, a prominent issuer of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) and ETFs. The deal was announced in late October 2025, though the specific terms have not been publicly disclosed.

This acquisition brings together FalconX’s strength in execution, trading infrastructure and institutional client base with 21Shares’ deep experience in product development, distribution and listed crypto investment vehicles.

---

Who Are the Players?

FalconX was founded in 2018 and has grown into a major player in crypto asset brokerage, serving over 2,000 institutional clients and facilitating more than $2 trillion in trading volume. The company also has a valuation of about $8 billion as of its 2022 funding round.

21Shares, headquartered in Switzerland (with operations in New York and London), was founded in 2018 and is known for building one of the world’s largest suites of crypto ETPs. As of September 2025, it managed assets in excess of $11 billion across 50-plus listed products. The firm had also begun filing for U.S. crypto index ETFs and liquidated certain futures-based ETFs earlier in the year.

---

Why This Acquisition Matters

Expansion into Regulated Investment Products

The deal enables FalconX to move beyond its core services—market making, liquidity supply and institutional trading—into the realm of regulated investment vehicles. With 21Shares’ expertise in ETP/ETF structuring and listings, FalconX can offer crypto exposure via familiar formats to institutional and retail investors alike.

Convergence of Traditional Finance and Crypto

This transaction highlights the deepening overlap between traditional financial markets and digital asset markets. Asset managers, custodians and broker-dealers increasingly view crypto investment products as mainstream opportunities, not just niche plays. The acquisition positions FalconX and 21Shares to capitalize on that shift.

Synergies in Product Development and Distribution

FalconX brings its institutional trading infrastructure, global client base, and risk/credit management framework to the table. Meanwhile, 21Shares contributes product architecture, index methodology, listing track record and global distribution channels. Combined, this creates a platform capable of launching structured crypto products at scale.

Strategic Timing

The acquisition comes at a time of regulatory clarity and product expansion in the crypto investment space. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other global regulators have recently approved or streamlined exchange-traded crypto product filings. By securing 21Shares now, FalconX gains immediate access to a market moving fast toward regulated crypto exposure.

---

Implications and What to Watch

For Investors

Investors may benefit from a broader array of crypto investment vehicles—especially those who prefer regulated formats over direct asset ownership. This could mean increased product choice, improved liquidity and potentially deeper institutional participation in crypto markets.

For the Crypto Industry

The deal may spur further consolidation in digital assets infrastructure. Firms with strong product capabilities, regulated distribution and institutional access will increasingly dominate. Smaller players may struggle unless they carve out niche specialties.

Regulatory and Geographical Considerations

As FalconX and 21Shares expand into various jurisdictions, regulatory compliance becomes critical. How well the enlarged entity navigates regulatory regimes in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific will influence its long-term success.

Product Pipeline

What comes next? Potential areas include U.S. crypto index ETFs, altcoin-focused ETFs, structured products (synthetics, derivatives), and possibly tokenized asset offerings. The product pipeline will likely be watched closely by investors and market watchers.

---

Final Thoughts

FalconX’s acquisition of 21Shares represents a bold strategic move in the evolution of crypto investment infrastructure. By combining trading and brokerage operations with product development and listing expertise, the two firms together are poised to accelerate the shift of digital assets into regulated investment frameworks.

For investors, this means more familiar and accessible ways to participate in crypto markets. For the industry, it’s a clear sign that consolidation and institutionalization are accelerating. The ultimate success will hinge on execution—product launches, regulatory navigations and global distribution.

 

If FalconX and 21Shares deliver on their promise, the acquisition could mark a pivotal moment in crypto’s transition from speculative to institutional-grade investment.