Aster Delays Stage 2 Airdrop

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Good Morning,

The markets were rocked by one of crypto’s biggest liquidations in years, with $10B wiped out after Trump’s 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across all major tokens. Amid the chaos, Aster hit pause on its highly anticipated Stage 2 airdrop, citing data inconsistencies in user allocations.

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In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Aster Delays Stage 2 Airdrop 👀 

• Product of the Week: Global Banks Explore Joint G7 Stablecoin 🌐 

• Charts: Binance Pays $283M After Depeg Incident, $10B Crypto Wipeout 📉 

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TOGETHER WITH

Ethena Confirms $66M Overcollateralization in USDe Proof of Reserves

In response to community requests after the past 24 hours of market volatility, Ethena has released an additional Proof of Reserves update outside its usual weekly schedule.

• Independent third parties, including Chaos Labs, Chainlink, Llama Risk, and Harris & Trotter, have all verified that USDe remains overcollateralized by ~$66M.

This update reinforces Ethena’s commitment to transparency and accountability, even in uncertain market conditions.

By working with independent auditors, Ethena continues to show that stable assets can remain fully backed and verifiable in real time.

WHAT MATTERS

Aster Delays Stage 2 Airdrop

State of play: Aster, the decentralized exchange backed by CZ’s YZi Labs, has postponed its Stage 2 airdrop from October 14 to October 20 after detecting “potential data inconsistencies.”

• The issue surfaced when users reported unusually low token allocations with some claiming allocations far below expectations despite high trading volumes.

• Aster said certain allocations will be adjusted but reassured most users their rewards will remain consistent with prior snapshots.

• Aster saw $420B in trading last month across Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and BNB Chain.

Why it matters: Airdrop accuracy is crucial for maintaining user confidence, especially with more than 150K wallets involved.

Our take: The decision to delay appears precautionary. Aster is prioritizing data verification before distribution, which may help ensure fairness but could slow short-term momentum.

For builders and investors: This case underlines the importance of reliable data handling in large-scale token events.

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Global Banks Explore Joint G7 Stablecoin

A consortium of major international banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and others is jointly exploring the creation of a reserve-backed digital currency tied to G7 fiat currencies.

• The proposed token, described as a “stable payment asset,” would operate on public blockchains and aim to enhance market competition.

• The group’s goal is to establish an industry-wide stablecoin framework that meets banking-grade risk and compliance requirements.

• This follows growing institutional interest in digital money as the US stablecoin supply nears $290B, a market still led by crypto-native issuers Circle and Tether.

Other cool products:

• tanX, a cross-chain orderbook DEX.

• TermMax, a new borrowing and lending platform.

• Rareboard, an NFT marketplace aggregator and rarity dashboard.

• Unigox, a non-custodial wallet with free gasless stablecoin transfers.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 500 crypto VC individuals 👇

CHARTS OF THE WEEK

Binance Pays $283M After Depeg Incident

State of play: Binance has paid about $283M in compensation after three Binance Earn assets USDe, BNSOL, and WBETH depegged during Friday’s market crash. The payouts covered users affected in futures, margin, loan markets, and Earn redemptions.

• Binance denied claims that the depeg triggered the broader sell-off, stating that market prices collapsed first, with depegs occurring later.

• It attributed the extreme altcoin moves, including ATOM briefly dropping below $0.01, to old limit orders dating back years.

• Binance plans to add redemption prices to index weights and introduce a soft price floor to reduce future volatility.

Our take: Binance handled the fallout quickly, which helps restore confidence. Still, the incident shows how fragile collateral systems can be under stress and how even old orders can trigger chaos in fast-moving markets.

$10B Crypto Wipeout

State of play: Over $9.5B in crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours after President Trump announced 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports, triggering one of the largest drawdowns in crypto history.

• Data from CoinGlass shows $8B in long and $1.55B in short positions were wiped out, with BTC and ETH leading at $1.37B and $1.26B in liquidations.

• Bitcoin plunged from $122K to near $102K before rebounding slightly, while total crypto market capitalization dropped 9% to $3.8T.

• The sell-off was worsened by automated liquidations and market-wide panic.

Our take: The sell-off shows how fast leverage turns fear into chaos.

QUICK BITES

• Securitize eyeing public listing at unicorn valuation.

• Crypto liquidations near $10B in historic drawdown.

• Crypto derivatives funding rates drop to 3-year lows.

• White House reportedly mulling pardon for Binance founder CZ.

• Binance pays $283M in compensation following Friday's depegs.

• Aster delays Stage 2 airdrop citing 'potential data inconsistencies.'

• US gov shutdown enters 3rd week with ETF ‘floodgates’ ready to burst.

• Hyperliquid to activate upgrade enabling permissionless perp market creation.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Cred’s read on On Dynamic Position Sizing

• Nic Carter’s read on The stablecoin duopoly is ending

• Xbt2025’s read on Hyperfinancialization and Game Theory

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.