Aster has come under heavy selling pressure after a sharp price rise triggered by Changpeng Zhao’s comment on Sunday, in which the Binance founder publicly stated that he bought ASTER with his personal funds. The comment initially sent the token up sharply as traders reacted to the endorsement, but the rally was short-lived. As broader market weakness intensified and Bitcoin and Ethereum led a broad-based slowdown, ASTER pulled back aggressively, erasing most of its post-announcement gains.
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The reversal has fueled speculation that speculative flows are unwinding just as risk appetite evaporates in cryptocurrencies. Major assets are under pressure, with BTC losing key support zones and ETH sliding alongside broader altcoins, creating a challenging environment for any token trying to maintain bullish momentum.
At the same time, on-chain data from Lookonchain reveals a surprising development: Anti-CZ Whale, a trader who aggressively shorted ASTER immediately after the CZ release, now has over $21 million in unrealized profits across two wallets.
The whale continued to increase its position as retail enthusiasm peaked, and with the price now markedly lower, the trade is paying off dramatically. The momentum highlights elevated volatility and uncertainty, reinforcing that market sentiment remains fragile despite isolated bullish triggers.
Whale expands its winning bid among major companies as market tension deepens
According to Lookonchain, the Anti-CZ whale’s aggressive positioning extends far beyond Aster. The same trader who created a huge short sale on ASTER immediately after Changpeng Zhao’s post is also shorting DOGE, ETH, XRP, and PEPE, and each and every one of them. position currently has profits.
On Hyperliquid, their combined unrealized profits are now approaching $100 million, making it one of the most profitable orchestrated short campaigns of the cycle. The scale and precision of these trades highlight a sophisticated strategy that targets momentum swings across major assets, not just isolated tokens reacting to social sentiment.
This development comes at a fragile time for the broader crypto market. Bitcoin has broken below key support zones, Ethereum continues to slide and altcoins are selling off aggressively as liquidity retreats and sentiment turns defensive. In this environment, leveraged traders and forced sellers are adding fuel to the downside volatility, creating an environment in which large short positions can thrive.
The whale’s gains underscore the critical phase of the market: a period in which speculative excess is being eliminated and only disciplined positioning is rewarded. Whether this marks the prelude to a deeper capitulation or the final shakeout before the recovery will depend on how quickly market demand returns to absorb the selling pressure.
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ASTER Price Analysis: Weak structure persists as sellers remain in control
Aster continues to trade under heavy pressure and the 8-hour chart reinforces a clear bearish structure despite brief spikes in volatility. Following CZ’s comment and the initial price reaction, ASTER saw a sharp rise, but that move quickly faded as sellers regained control. The token failed to break above the short-term moving average trend line, indicating that momentum remains firmly to the downside.
The rejection near the $1.20 region and the subsequent sell-off towards the $0.90 area highlights how fragile the bullish attempts currently are. Each bounce faces a distribution, suggesting that short-term participants are using strength to exit rather than accumulate. The volume also confirms this narrative: the strongest bars appear on the red candles, showing aggressive selling dominance.
The price now sits just above a key support area formed in late September. Losing this level could open the door for a deeper pullback towards the $0.80 and potentially $0.70 support zones if market weakness persists. For ASTER to regain any bullish structure, it needs to recover above the 50-period moving average and set higher lows, something it has failed to do for weeks.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
