Hyperliquid vs Aster
Hyperliquid runs an order book with a 0.045% base taker fee. Aster runs an order book with a 0.04% base taker fee. Hyperliquid requires no KYC, while Aster may ask for identity checks. Both bar the United States.
Our take: Aster charges nothing to make and 0.04% to take, hides orders on request, and lists stocks and commodities, but its Terms allow identity checks, its country list is longer, and its 2025 volume was disputed. Hyperliquid has one schedule, a public book, and a shorter exclusion list. Name the exact market first.
On-chain order-book perpetuals with wallet or email sign-in.
Order-book perpetuals with hidden orders on its own chain. The fee depends on the market group.
| Criterion | Hyperliquid | Aster |
|---|---|---|
| Fee model | Order book | Order book |
| Base fee | 0.045% taker, 0.015% maker | 0.04% taker, 0% maker |
| KYC | No KYC | Checks may apply |
| Restricted countries | United States and Canada (partly) | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and 8 more |
| Leverage | 3x to 40x by asset | Set per market, up to 1001x |
| Markets | 100+ perpetual assets, plus spot | 580+ perpetual markets, plus spot |
| Open interest | $8.21BOne side. DefiLlama, | $1.42BOne side. DefiLlama, |
| 24h volume | $9.44BCoinGecko, | $1.85BCoinGecko, |
| TVL | $7.15BTotal value locked. DefiLlama, | $513MTotal value locked. DefiLlama, |
Should you use Hyperliquid or Aster?
Our assessment from the published documentation.
When Hyperliquid may fit
You want one on-chain order book with one published fee schedule, a transparent book, and the shorter exclusion list: the US, Ontario, and sanctioned jurisdictions. You are fine with crypto-only markets in the validator-run exchange and do not need hidden orders.
When Aster may fit
You want free maker orders, hidden orders that keep your size off the book, or markets Hyperliquid does not list: stocks, ETFs, commodities, and pre-IPO names. You are outside Aster's eleven excluded countries, which include the US, Canada, and the UK, and you accept that the Terms let Aster ask for identity verification and that its volume figures were disputed in 2025.
The difference that matters
Both sign you in with a wallet or an email address. Each base rate has exceptions: Aster's Group B pairs cost 0.1% to take and its VIP tiers need an ASTER balance as well as volume, while Hyperliquid's HIP-3 markets carry their own rates and its discounts come from staking HYPE. Withdrawals differ too: a flat $1 to Arbitrum on Hyperliquid, a gas-based fee from 1 USDT on Aster. Hyperliquid's book is fully public and a stake-weighted validator set runs its chain. Aster Chain's core contracts are closed source, and only Aster runs validators for now.
Our conclusion
If the market you want is a stock, commodity, or pre-IPO name, only Aster has it. For a major crypto pair, compare the fee shown at your tier on each venue, then weigh Aster's hidden orders against Hyperliquid's public book and longer track record. If you would rather not risk an identity request, or you want the exchange's volume to be independently verifiable, that is a reason to look harder at Hyperliquid.
How Hyperliquid and Aster compare
Every fact links to the page it comes from.
| Criterion | Hyperliquid | Aster |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 0.045%Taker fee, 0.015% maker. Base tier, standard perpetuals Tier 0 rates for standard perpetuals. Your tier follows 14-day volume, with spot volume counting double, and the staking and referral discounts multiply on top. HIP-3 markets and some quote assets use different rates, so check the fee shown before you confirm. | 0.04%Taker fee, 0% maker. Crypto General perpetuals at VIP 1 Those are the Crypto General rates at VIP 1, where a new account starts. Maker orders have been free on every order-book market since February 2026. The taker rate falls with VIP tier, and a tier needs both 14-day volume and an average ASTER balance, so volume alone does not lower your fee. Group B pairs pay more, stock and commodity perpetuals pay a flat 0.0125%, and the 1001x and Shield modes have their own fee models. |
| KYC | No KYC There is no identity verification step in the official interface. The Terms require a non-custodial wallet, and the onboarding guide covers wallet or email sign-in, then a deposit. Fiat deposits go through Swapped.com, a separate provider. | Checks may apply You sign in with a wallet (Rabby, MetaMask, Binance Wallet, or anything on WalletConnect) or with an email address, and neither flow includes an identity check. The Terms, last updated February 25, 2026, say Aster may run limited identity verification to comply with regulations and may refuse or limit service to anyone who does not comply, but they do not say what triggers a check. You also warrant that your stated location is accurate and agree not to use any means to get around the location restrictions. |
| Country restrictions | 2+ countries restricted The Terms bar the US, Ontario, and any jurisdiction under applicable sanctions or export controls, including citizens of those jurisdictions wherever they live. The sanctioned jurisdictions are not listed. Outcome markets have a separate exclusion list. | 11+ countries restricted The Terms, last updated February 25, 2026, name eleven prohibited jurisdictions: the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria, plus any territory under comprehensive sanctions or a terrorist-supporting designation and anyone on a US, EU, or UK sanctions list. The test is where you live, are located, or are incorporated. Aster's separate prediction market rejects orders from a longer list of 34 countries that adds Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and others. |
| Leverage | 3x to 40x by asset Maximum leverage is set per asset, from 3x to 40x, and you can choose any whole number up to the cap. Cross margin is the default, and isolated margin is available. Caps step down on large positions, for example BTC from 40x to 20x above $150M notional and ETH from 25x to 15x above $100M. Maintenance margin is half the initial margin at maximum leverage. | Set per market, up to 1001x On the order book each market has its own cap, shown in the trading panel, and you can choose any lower level. The docs do not publish the full table, but stock perpetuals go to 50x, pre-IPO markets to 10x or 20x, and new community-listed markets start at 3x. Cross margin is the default and isolated is available, but Multi-Asset Mode is cross only. The separate 1001x mode offers up to 1001x on BTC, 250x on ETH, 75x on other coins, and 200x on forex, with every position isolated and no adding margin at 500x or above. Shield Mode runs from 20x to 1001x. |
| Markets | 100+ perpetual assets, plus spot More than 100 crypto perpetual assets and a spot order book, plus builder-deployed (HIP-3) perpetual markets on other assets that carry their own fees and leverage limits. Order types: market, limit, stop and take-profit in market or limit form, trailing stop, chase, scale, and TWAP, with reduce-only, post-only, and immediate-or-cancel options. | 580+ perpetual markets, plus spot The public market list carried 584 live perpetuals on September 25, 2026: about 450 crypto pairs and about 130 real-world-asset markets, among them 115 US, Hong Kong, and Korean stocks, 14 ETFs and indexes, and 11 commodities such as gold, silver, and oil, plus pre-IPO markets for OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX and a few pre-launch tokens. Most are quoted in USDT, and a handful settle in USD1. Shield Mode adds EUR and GBP forex, and there is a spot order book. Order types: market, limit, stop-limit, stop-market, trailing stop, TWAP, scaled, chase, and grid strategies, with post-only, reduce-only, hidden, and immediate-or-cancel options. |
| Depositing | USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL and more The direct route is USDC on Arbitrum, which needs a little ETH for gas. The deposit screen also accepts USDC sent from Ethereum, Base, or Polygon, and BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, ZEC, and several other tokens through Unit, an independent team, and you then sell those for USDC on the spot market. Fiat deposits go through Swapped.com, also independent. Trading itself is gas-free. | USDT and more from BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana Connect a wallet on BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Solana and deposit into the trading account through Aster's own bridge contracts, which are published along with a Sui address. USDT is the settlement asset and works from every chain. With Multi-Asset Mode on, USDC on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana, SOL and JLP on Solana, and BTC, ETH, BNB, USD1, USDF, asBNB, and ASTER on BNB Chain also count as margin at a haircut. A BNB Chain wallet needs at least 0.001 BNB. Email sign-in accepts only USDT on Arbitrum. Deposits carry no Aster fee and usually land in one to five minutes. The docs do not publish minimums. |
| Withdrawing | $1 fee, about 5 minutes Withdrawing USDC to Arbitrum costs a flat $1, charged in USDC, and takes about five minutes. Validators sign the transfer, so you pay no Arbitrum gas. Other chains and assets use separate routes, and the withdrawal screen shows any gas fee before you confirm. Use Withdraw, not Send: Send only moves funds to another Hyperliquid account. | Gas-based fee, from 1 USDT Choose the network, token, and amount. The destination chain's gas is deducted from the withdrawal, and Aster says the minimum fee can be as low as 1 USDT, and the withdrawal screen shows the exact amount. Withdrawals from Aster Chain are batched, need two of three validators to sign, and take about 30 seconds, longer to Ethereum. Any negative balance must be settled first with Rebalance. Profits older than 24 hours can be withdrawn in full, while same-day profits are capped by a daily limit the docs do not state. |
| Referral program | 4% fee discount Entering a code gives a 4% fee discount on your first $25M of volume, excluding vaults and sub-accounts. Referrers receive 10% of their referred users' fees. No ChainScouter code is active. | Up to 10% of fees back, set by the referrer The referrer earns 10% of a referred user's perpetual trading fees and chooses how much of that to pass back as a discount, from nothing to the full 10%. Only new sign-ups qualify, the relationship lasts 365 days by default, liquidation fees and zero-fee volume do not count, and rebates are paid in the asset the fee was paid in. No ChainScouter code is active. |
| Platform | Web, plus third-party mobile apps The official interface is the website. The onboarding guide lists third-party apps with iOS and Android builds (Based, Dexari, MetaMask, and Phantom) and a QR code flow that links a phone to a desktop wallet extension. | Web, Android app, iOS beta The web app at asterdex.com is the main interface, with Pro, Shield, 1001x, and Spot as separate views. Aster Mobile is on Google Play under the Aster DEX developer account. The iOS build is distributed through TestFlight, and the docs still call the mobile app a beta. There is also a trading API with up to 30 keys per account. |
Rates apply to the accounts and markets in each scope, before discounts. Funding, execution, and transfer costs are separate. A country missing from a restriction list is not confirmed eligible.
Questions about Hyperliquid and Aster
Is Hyperliquid or Aster cheaper?
Aster has the lower published base taker fee, 0.04% against 0.045%. Funding, execution, and transfer costs are separate.
Hyperliquid: Base perpetual fees are 0.045% taker and 0.015% maker. Tier 0 rates for standard perpetuals. Your tier follows 14-day volume, with spot volume counting double, and the staking and referral discounts multiply on top. HIP-3 markets and some quote assets use different rates, so check the fee shown before you confirm.
Aster: Base perpetual fees are 0.04% taker and 0% maker. Those are the Crypto General rates at VIP 1, where a new account starts. Maker orders have been free on every order-book market since February 2026. The taker rate falls with VIP tier, and a tier needs both 14-day volume and an average ASTER balance, so volume alone does not lower your fee. Group B pairs pay more, stock and commodity perpetuals pay a flat 0.0125%, and the 1001x and Shield modes have their own fee models.
Do Hyperliquid and Aster require KYC?
Hyperliquid requires no KYC, while Aster may ask for identity checks.
Hyperliquid: There is no identity verification step in the official interface. The Terms require a non-custodial wallet, and the onboarding guide covers wallet or email sign-in, then a deposit. Fiat deposits go through Swapped.com, a separate provider.
Aster: You sign in with a wallet (Rabby, MetaMask, Binance Wallet, or anything on WalletConnect) or with an email address, and neither flow includes an identity check. The Terms, last updated February 25, 2026, say Aster may run limited identity verification to comply with regulations and may refuse or limit service to anyone who does not comply, but they do not say what triggers a check. You also warrant that your stated location is accurate and agree not to use any means to get around the location restrictions.
Can I use Hyperliquid or Aster in the US?
No. Both name the US as restricted.
Hyperliquid: The Terms bar the US, Ontario, and any jurisdiction under applicable sanctions or export controls, including citizens of those jurisdictions wherever they live. The sanctioned jurisdictions are not listed. Outcome markets have a separate exclusion list.
Aster: The Terms, last updated February 25, 2026, name eleven prohibited jurisdictions: the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria, plus any territory under comprehensive sanctions or a terrorist-supporting designation and anyone on a US, EU, or UK sanctions list. The test is where you live, are located, or are incorporated. Aster's separate prediction market rejects orders from a longer list of 34 countries that adds Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and others.
What leverage do Hyperliquid and Aster offer?
Hyperliquid: Maximum leverage is set per asset, from 3x to 40x, and you can choose any whole number up to the cap. Cross margin is the default, and isolated margin is available. Caps step down on large positions, for example BTC from 40x to 20x above $150M notional and ETH from 25x to 15x above $100M. Maintenance margin is half the initial margin at maximum leverage.
Aster: On the order book each market has its own cap, shown in the trading panel, and you can choose any lower level. The docs do not publish the full table, but stock perpetuals go to 50x, pre-IPO markets to 10x or 20x, and new community-listed markets start at 3x. Cross margin is the default and isolated is available, but Multi-Asset Mode is cross only. The separate 1001x mode offers up to 1001x on BTC, 250x on ETH, 75x on other coins, and 200x on forex, with every position isolated and no adding margin at 500x or above. Shield Mode runs from 20x to 1001x.
What can I trade on Hyperliquid and Aster?
Hyperliquid: More than 100 crypto perpetual assets and a spot order book, plus builder-deployed (HIP-3) perpetual markets on other assets that carry their own fees and leverage limits. Order types: market, limit, stop and take-profit in market or limit form, trailing stop, chase, scale, and TWAP, with reduce-only, post-only, and immediate-or-cancel options.
Aster: The public market list carried 584 live perpetuals on September 25, 2026: about 450 crypto pairs and about 130 real-world-asset markets, among them 115 US, Hong Kong, and Korean stocks, 14 ETFs and indexes, and 11 commodities such as gold, silver, and oil, plus pre-IPO markets for OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX and a few pre-launch tokens. Most are quoted in USDT, and a handful settle in USD1. Shield Mode adds EUR and GBP forex, and there is a spot order book. Order types: market, limit, stop-limit, stop-market, trailing stop, TWAP, scaled, chase, and grid strategies, with post-only, reduce-only, hidden, and immediate-or-cancel options.
Compare other pairs
Highlighted pairs are reviewed. The others show facts without a recommendation.