Aster

Arkham

A crypto investor who bought $226,000 worth of APX two years ago is now sitting on more than $7 million, thanks to APX’s explosive rally this week.
According to <a href="https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/address/0x9d226d67815C4E0fD4025f1015FF124787b1b02B" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a> from Arkham Intelligence, wallet 0x9d22 accumulated 3.62 million APX tokens in 2022 through a series of swaps and transfers. At the time, the token was trading below $0.07. With APX now hovering around $1.95, that same stash is worth $7.07 million.
APX surged over 120% in the past 24 hours, briefly touching an all-time high of $1.98 on Sunday, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The rally pushed its market cap to $827 million, with daily volume hitting $79 million. The token is now up nearly 8,000% from its all-time low in 2022.
APX is the native token of APX Finance, a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-are-decentralized-exchanges-and-how-do-dexs-work" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">decentralized exchange</a> for <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/crypto-derivatives" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">crypto derivatives</a> on BNB Chain and Arbitrum, offering order book and onchain perpetual trading with up to 1001x leverage. It also provides high-yield opportunities for liquidity providers through stablecoin-heavy LP pools.
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 <img alt="‘Diamond hand’ APX holder turns $226K into $7M amid ASTER swap rally" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-09/01996c80-a811-703e-a415-3db864afb1b4" title="">
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 APX holder turns $220,000 investment into $7 million. Source: <a href="https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1969661689705668665" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Lookonchain</a>
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Related:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cz-crypto-seal-60-north-korean-hackers" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CZ sounds alarm as ‘SEAL’ team uncovers 60 fake IT workers linked to North Korea</a>
<h2 id="apx-surges-after-token-swap-to-aster-goes-live">APX surges after token swap to ASTER goes live</h2>
The recent price spike follows the launch of a highly anticipated token upgrade. APX holders are now able to swap their tokens for ASTER, the native token of the Aster protocol.
The exchange window opened on Wednesday, with early participants rewarded with better swap rates. The exchange ratio declines across five time periods, incentivizing immediate action.
According to Aster’s <a href="https://docs.asterdex.com/usdaster/apx-token-exchange" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announcement</a>, APX DAO stakers were able to unlock their positions penalty-free starting Tuesday and swap their recovered tokens under the same terms. All DAO rewards ended last week.
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 <img alt="‘Diamond hand’ APX holder turns $226K into $7M amid ASTER swap rally" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-09/01996c81-6e11-7390-90eb-375e4bdaae1a" title="">
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 APX up more than 120% over the past day. Source: CoinMarketCap
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Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bnb-investor-turns-1k-into-1m" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">‘Diamond hand’ investor turns $1K into $1M as BNB tops $1,000</a>
<h2 id="aster-s-tvl-spikes-to-2-billion">Aster’s TVL spikes to $2 billion</h2>
As Cointelegraph reported, Aster briefly <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aster-tvl-bnb-chain-cz-speculation" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crossed $2 billion in total value locked (TVL)</a> after launching its native token, APX, before sharply falling back to $545 million.
The token debut fueled a surge in trading volume, with Aster logging $434 million in 24 hours, making it one of the most active DeFi derivatives platforms. However, it still trails rival Hyperliquid, which boasts higher volume and open interest.
Binance-linked YZi Labs previously <a href="https://x.com/yzilabs/status/1862134457433755872" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">incubated</a> Aster and invested in its predecessor, Astherus. A BNB Chain spokesperson confirmed Aster received mentorship, exposure and technical support through the program, and called it the top perpetual DEX on the chain.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/?p=46542&amp;preview=true&amp;_thumbnail_id=46743" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Can Robinhood or Kraken’s tokenized stocks ever be truly decentralized?</a>

‘Diamond hand’ APX holder turns $226K into $7M amid ASTER swap rally

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