Is Aster said to be "controlled by CZ"? The CEO responds directly: Fully independent in governance, operations, and decision-making.

Discussions surrounding Aster’s token supply, internal airdrops, and project independence continue to intensify. Aster CEO Leonard recently published a lengthy response denying that the project is controlled by CZ or any of his affiliates. He stated that, although an investment firm associated with CZ, Yzi Labs, holds equity in Aster, the project is fully independent in governance, operations, and decision-making, “Aster is not directly managed by CZ or any platform.”

Addressing the community’s most concerned issue of token economics, Leonard revealed that the team has repurchased approximately 254 million tokens, with 78 million already burned and another 98 million pending burn. The buyback and burn mechanisms are now automated and publicly displayed through the community control panel, aiming to enhance transparency and verifiability.

However, some users remain unconvinced. X user @StrongHedge pointed out that continuous airdrops objectively create “delayed selling,” as price charts show clear selling pressure after each round of airdrops. He believes that the effect of buybacks is being continually diluted.

Regarding the project’s direction, Leonard admitted that the current price performance is disappointing but emphasized that development is ongoing. The team plans to launch a privacy-focused Layer 1, staking system, and interface upgrades in March, and has paused the 1% monthly unlock rewards until staking is officially open. Additionally, Season 6 will be the final airdrop, with subsequent supply growth expected to slow significantly.

The comparison with competing project HYPE has also heightened external scrutiny. HYPE’s current market cap is about six times that of Aster, and early high expectations fueled by “flip” rumors have not been realized, making market sentiment more cautious. Nevertheless, Leonard stated that the team remains focused on product development and encourages community participation in project governance via Discord.

Amid multiple doubts, Aster is trying to rebuild confidence with more transparent mechanisms and a clearer roadmap. The market will next focus on whether the implementation of features can change the token’s supply and demand dynamics.