Crypto investor flips $226K into $7M amid ASTER swap rally
TL;DR Breakdown
- A crypto investor is sitting on a gain of $7 million after his APX investment experienced a 120% rally.
- The wallet bought 3.6 million APX tokens for $226K in 2022 at $0.07 per token.
- Market participants are speculating that CZ may have launched Aster as a rival to Hyperliquid.
A crypto investor is sitting on a gain of about $7 million presently, thanks to an investment that he made two years ago. According to records, the trader bought $226,000 worth of APX tokens in 2022, and thanks to the token’s explosive rally this week, the trader has been able to make a profit on their investment.
According to data 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 around $0.07. With the token now worth around $1.95, the purchase is now worth $7.07 million. APX surged over 120% in the past day, touching an all-time high of $1.98 in the early hours of Sunday.
Crypto investor profits $7 million from APX investment
APX is the native crypto of APX Finance, a decentralized exchange for crypto derivatives on BNB Chain and Arbitrum, offering order book and on-chain perpetual trading with up to 1001x leverage. The platform also provides high-yield opportunities for liquidity providers through stablecoin-heavy LP pools. The rally pushed the token’s market cap to $827 million, with its daily volume hitting $79 million. The token is now up about 8,000% from its all-time low in 2022.
The recent price surge is coming after the launch of the highly anticipated token upgrade. APX holders are now allowed to swap their crypto for ASTER, the native token of the Aster protocol. The exchange window opened on Wednesday, with early participants rewarded with the best swap rates. The exchange ratio was expected to decline across five time periods, calling for immediate action.
According to Aster’s announcement, APX DAO stakers were able to unlock their positions without any penalty starting on Tuesday and swap their recovered tokens under the same terms. However, all DAO rewards already ended last week. According to previous reports, Aster briefly surpassed $2 billion in total value locked (TVL) after launching its native token, before dropping back to $545 million.
Speculations trail CZ’s congratulatory post
At the time, the token registered a surge in trading volume, offering $434 million in 24 hours, making it one of the most active DeFi derivatives platforms. However, it is still behind Hyperliquid, which still records higher volumes and open interest. Binance-linked Yzi Labs incubated Aster and invested in its predecessor, Astherus. A spokesperson from BNB Chain confirmed Aster received mentorship, technical support, and exposure through the program.
At the time, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao congratulated the project on X, asking them to “keep building.” The comment seemed to have sparked speculation that Zhao may be the one behind it, with some users noting the changes in his profile and suggesting that he launched Aster as a direct response to Hyperliquid’s growth. One user mentioned that Zhao may have realised that his business is at risk, causing him to launch Aster.
Another user also speculated that Zhao was “obviously pissed about hyperliquid,” noting that he was back in charge after removing the ex-Binance tag on his profile. Despite the speculation, Zhao is barred from managing Binance under the lifetime ban imposed by US authorities as part of his plea deal back in 2024. Current CEO Richard Teng also confirmed it last year, with CZ noting that he is just a “community member and a BNB holder.”
