Aster Launches Three USDC Perpetual Markets for Bitcoin, Ether and Solana

Aster launched three USD Coin (USDC)-denominated perpetual markets for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) on Oct. 23. The contracts are BTCUSDC, ETHUSDC and SOLUSDC, adding markets priced in the stablecoin to Aster's platform.

Aster tied the rollout to work with Arc and Circle to expand USDC use in onchain trading. On Sept. 16, the exchange added support for USDC deposits and withdrawals through Arc.

Circle launched Arc's public mainnet on Sept. 16. Arc is a Layer 1 network designed for financial-market activity and real-time payments, and users pay its network fees in USDC.

Aster's Oct. 23 announcement did not say whether the new contracts settle on Arc or describe their collateral mechanics. A perpetual contract is a derivative without a fixed expiration date; recurring funding payments help keep its price near the underlying asset.