# Aster vs edgeX in 2026 Updated: 24 September 2026; Terms read 18 September 2026; Books checked to 22 September 2026; The Switch Guide editors On aster vs edgeX, edgeX scores 23.2 of 30 against 23.0, on custody: it documents a withdrawal that works without its operator, and Aster runs its own chain with closed core code. Aster answers with 578 markets and 0% maker / 0.040% taker. Leverage shortens the distance between a position and its own margin, and moving venue does not lengthen it. ## Aster vs edgeX, line by line Weights, fixed 22 September 2026 before a venue on this site was scored: Book depth we measured 28 · Who holds the collateral 22 · Cost of a round trip 18 · Markets on offer 14 · Record so far 12 · Whether the door opens 6. Method in full: https://doliacats.com/methodology | Line by line | Aster | edgeX | |---|---|---| | Score of 30 | 23.0 | 23.2 | | Model | Matching and settlement on Aster Chain, its own proof-of-staked-authority layer 1 | Off-chain matching, every state change batched into rollup contracts on the EDGE chain | | Maker / taker, entry tier | 0% maker / 0.040% taker | 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker | | Round trip on $10,000 | $8.00 | $9.00 | | BTC leverage | 200x up to 400 USDT of notional, then 100x up to $800,000 | 100x up to $1 million of notional, then 75x up to $3 million | | Perpetual markets | 578 | 172, 93 of them shares and exchange-traded funds | | Median BTC depth within 10 bps | $14.8 million | $29.1 million | | Median spread | 0.01 bps | 0.04 bps | | Median impact of a $100,000 order | 0.56 bps | 0.02 bps | | Readings behind those medians | 94 | 94 | | Exit without the operator | None documented; the bridge is validator-signed | Documented: users can verify balances and withdraw bypassing the operator | | Getting in | Wallet signature or email | Wallet or MPC login | | Audits and bounty | Seven published reports; Immunefi bounty up to $200,000 | Six published reports from five firms; no bounty published | | Loss of user money, last 24 months | None; users reimbursed in USDT after the September 2025 mispricing | None; the June 2026 EDGE flash crash caused liquidations, which is a market move | Read in each venue's own documentation and terms on 18 September 2026; spread, depth and price impact are our own readings. ## What the choice turns on 1. Custody decides it: edgeX documents a withdrawal that bypasses the operator; Aster's bridge is validator-signed and documents none. 2. Cost: 0% maker / 0.040% taker on Aster against 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker on edgeX, so a $10,000 round trip is $8.00 against $9.00. 3. Book: edgeX held $29.1 million within 10 basis points, Aster $14.8 million — at a 0.01 bps median spread, level with Lighter's. 4. Coverage: 578 contracts against 172, 93 of edgeX's being shares and exchange-traded funds. ## What we measured ourselves Both BTC perpetual order books read every 10 minutes in the hours between 07:10 and 23:58 UTC on 22 September 2026; every figure is the median of the successful readings. | Venue | Round trip on $10,000 | Median spread | Depth within 10 bps | Impact of a $100,000 order | Readings | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | edgeX | $9.00 | 0.04 bps | $29.1 million | 0.02 bps | 94 | | Aster | $8.00 | 0.01 bps | $14.8 million | 0.56 bps | 94 | ## Step 1 — The word "on-chain" is doing different work in each answer Aster launched Aster Chain on 16 March 2026 and moved matching and settlement onto it ([Aster docs](https://docs.asterdex.com/overview/what-is-aster.md), checked 18 September 2026). The documentation is specific about the performance that buys and quiet about the governance: the core code is closed and phase one ran with no external validators. So a trade is on a chain, and the chain is the operator. edgeX matches off-chain and commits each change of state to rollup contracts on the EDGE chain ([edgeX docs](https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/home), checked 18 September 2026). Its self-custody page then does the thing almost nobody else does and writes down the failure case: if the front end or the operator stops processing requests, users can verify balances and execute withdrawals "completely bypassing the operator". That single documented route is worth three points on our custody criterion and is most of the gap between these two scores. Neither claim should be taken on trust. Both are statements in a venue's own documentation, read on 18 September 2026, and neither has been tested here by withdrawing money. ## Step 2 — Where each one is genuinely ahead **Aster on price and breadth.** 578 perpetual contracts is the longest list in this guide, maker fees went to zero for every tier on 2 February 2026, and the median spread we recorded, 0.01 bps, was level with Lighter's at the tightest anywhere. The Immunefi bounty pays up to $200,000, and when its own mispricing hurt users in September 2025 it reimbursed them in USDT and refunded the fees. **edgeX on the book and the exit.** A median $29.1 million within 10 basis points is the deepest reading among the venues scored here, and 0.02 bps of impact on a $100,000 order is among the smallest. Ninety-three of its 172 contracts are shares and exchange-traded funds. The price is the entry tier: 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker, where Aster charges 0% to make. One note on the comparison itself. Both books answered 94 times in our reading window, so neither median rests on a thinner sample than the other. ## Venue 1 — [Aster](https://www.asterdex.com), move here for the longest market list at the tightest spread (23.0 of 30) 578 perpetual contracts, 0% maker / 0.040% taker at the entry tier and a 0.01 bps median spread — level with Lighter at the tightest we recorded — with $14.8 million resting within 10 basis points. Matching and settlement run on Aster Chain ([Aster docs](https://docs.asterdex.com/overview/what-is-aster.md), checked 18 September 2026), its own layer 1, launched 16 March 2026, with closed core code and no external validators in phase one. - Getting in: Wallet signature or email. - Worth moving: 578 contracts at 0% maker / 0.040% taker, with an Immunefi bounty up to $200,000; 0.01 bps median spread and users reimbursed after its own 2025 incident. - Worth knowing: Operator-run chain with closed core code and no external validators in phase one; No forced withdrawal documented, and the bridge is validator-signed. - Not for: traders who left a centralised venue because one company held the switch. ## Venue 2 — [edgeX](https://pro.edgex.exchange), move here for the deepest book with a written way out (23.2 of 30) A median $29.1 million within 10 basis points, 0.02 bps of impact on $100,000, and every state change batched into rollup contracts on the EDGE chain ([edgeX docs](https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/home), checked 18 September 2026). The self-custody page documents withdrawals that bypass the operator. 172 contracts, 93 of them shares and exchange-traded funds, and leverage of 100x on BTC up to $1 million of notional. - Getting in: Wallet or MPC login. - Worth moving: $29.1 million of resting BTC depth, the deepest of the venues scored here; A withdrawal that works without the operator, described step by step. - Worth knowing: 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker at the entry tier, where Aster charges 0% to make; No bug bounty published that we could find on 18 September 2026. - Not for: makers, and anyone who needs hundreds of altcoin markets. ## In their own words > "This runs on Aster Chain, our own L1 built for private perps trading" — Aster documentation, What is Aster, 18 September 2026. https://docs.asterdex.com/overview/what-is-aster.md > "users can utilize direct blockchain interactions to verify their balances and execute withdrawals, completely bypassing the operator" — edgeX documentation, Self-Custody (V2), 18 September 2026. https://edgex-1.gitbook.io/edgeX-documentation/edgex-v2/self-custody > "Effective February 2, 2026, Maker fees for all VIP tiers were set to 0 bps." — Aster documentation, VIP programme, 18 September 2026. https://docs.asterdex.com/program-and-rewards/vip-program.md ## FAQ from people mid-switch ### Is Aster better than edgeX? On our weights edgeX scores 23.2 against 23.0 out of 30, and the whole gap is custody: edgeX documents a withdrawal that works without its operator. If what you want is markets and a maker fee of 0%, Aster is ahead on both, with 578 contracts against 172. ### Is Aster a real DEX? It runs its own chain, so trades are recorded on a blockchain. That chain's core code is closed and phase one ran without external validators, so the recording and the operator are the same party. Whether that counts depends on which property you were buying. ### What is edgeX exchange? A perpetual futures venue that matches orders off-chain and commits each change of state to rollup contracts on its EDGE chain. It lists 172 contracts, 93 of them shares and exchange-traded funds, and charges 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker at the entry tier. ### Which has lower fees, Aster or edgeX? Aster, by a wide margin at the entry tier: 0% maker / 0.040% taker against 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker. On a $10,000 round trip that is $8.00 against $9.00, and the maker side is the bigger gap for anyone leaving orders in the book. ### Which perp DEX has the tightest spreads? Aster and Lighter shared it, both at a 0.01 bps median on the BTC perpetual, against 0.04 bps on edgeX. Nobody wins that line outright. A tight spread on a thin book is still expensive, which is why depth sits in the next column. ### Can I withdraw from a perp DEX if it goes offline? Only where the venue has built and documented a route that does not need it. edgeX describes one; Aster does not, and its bridge is signed by validators. Across this whole guide only three venues document such an exit, which is part of why custody is the second-heaviest criterion here. ### Does Aster have a bug bounty? Yes, on Immunefi, paying up to $200,000 for a critical report. edgeX publishes none that we could find on 18 September 2026, though it carries six audit reports from five firms. A bounty and an audit answer different questions: one is a standing invitation, the other a snapshot of one moment. ### How many markets does Aster have? 578 perpetual contracts in its Pro order book on 18 September 2026, the longest list in this guide. edgeX lists 172, and 93 of those are shares and funds rather than crypto, so the two counts are not comparable line for line. ### Which one is deeper on BTC? edgeX, at $29.1 million within 10 basis points of the mid price against $14.8 million on Aster. Each median rests on 94 successful readings, taken 10 minutes apart on the same day, and the gap between the two books is wide enough to survive a reading either way. ### Do either of them ask for identity documents? Neither asks in practice. Aster's terms reserve limited identity verification procedures, and edgeX says access needs a non-custodial wallet or a login secured by multi-party computation. Both keep the right to check later, so read the terms rather than the sign-in screen before funding anything. ## Where every figure on this page came from One of the six numbers is ours and five are quotations. Depth is measured here, in the window this page names. Fees, markets, ladders, sign-in, who the terms refuse and audit history were lifted from each venue's own documentation and terms on 18 September 2026. The rule that weights them was settled on 22 September 2026 and is set out on [how we rate](/methodology). Placement on this guide is paid for; the order of the table is not. Three things this guide cannot do. It cannot watch a venue behave: custody, the route out, who gets in and the record come off pages the venue wrote itself; silence costs points without proving anything. It cannot price your trading: the fees here are what a new account pays, before volume tiers and rebates. And only BTC was read, so anything narrower is thinner than it looks. The Switch Guide editors, 24 September 2026. Corrections, say which step it is on and what the venue actually publishes: editorial@doliacats.com This guide is paid to publish, and a venue you are being walked towards may be the one who bought the walkthrough.