Whale Piles Into ASTER Shorts After CZ’s Comment – $52.8M On the Line

Aster (ASTER) has seen heightened volatility in recent sessions as broader market selling pressure weighs on altcoins and investor sentiment remains ￰0￱ in the midst of this downturn, the token drew unexpected attention when Changpeng Zhao (CZ) — Binance’s former CEO — posted on X that he personally bought ASTER using his own funds directly on ￰1￱ comment immediately sparked debate across the crypto community, with some viewing it as a confidence signal and others treating it with caution given current market ￰2￱ Reading: Bitmine Buys 44,036 Ethereum Worth $166M During Market Dip – Details However, not all major traders share the bullish ￰3￱ after CZ’s post, notable on-chain whale 0x9eec increased a bearish positioning, adding significantly to an already large ASTER short ￰4￱ divergence between a high-profile buyer and a whale doubling down on shorts has injected further uncertainty into the market narrative surrounding ￰5￱ action remains choppy as traders weigh institutional behavior, community influence, and market ￰6￱ sentiment split and volatility rising, ASTER finds itself at the center of a tug-of-war between speculative confidence and defensive positioning — a dynamic that could define its near-term ￰7￱ Bets Against Aster Despite CZ’s Public Support Aster finds itself at the center of an unusual market disconnect, where public sentiment and whale activity are pulling in opposite ￰8￱ to Lookonchain data, shortly after CZ publicly stated that he bought ASTER with his own funds, an influential on-chain trader took the opposite ￰9￱ 0x9eec, a whale known for large directional plays, has been aggressively increasing his ASTER short exposure, signaling skepticism about the token’s near-term ￰10￱ address now holds 42.97 million ASTER in shorts, currently valued at approximately $52.8 million, with a liquidation price set at $2.091.

This is a significant position that clearly reflects conviction — and raises questions across the ￰11￱ CZ’s comment boosted visibility and briefly stirred bullish chatter, this whale’s response appears to embody professional skepticism, positioning for downside rather than momentum ￰12￱ divergence between symbolic insider confidence and quant-driven bearish positioning highlights a broader dynamic in the current ￰13￱ participants often react quickly to influencer commentary, while large traders lean on order flow, funding dynamics, and liquidity ￰14￱ Aster trading in a volatile environment and crypto markets under macro pressure, whales appear more focused on risk management and price structure than ￰15￱ fact that such a large short exists, and continues to grow, suggests that sophisticated players anticipate either further correction or a liquidity event before a sustainable upside ￰16￱ traders, the key will be watching whether ASTER approaches the whale’s liquidation zone — a level that could create violent short-covering if reclaimed — or whether the market continues to follow the whale’s thesis and slides ￰17￱ Reading: Bitcoin Point Of Control Sits At $117K – Key Battle Zone For Bulls ASTER Downtrend Intact Below Key Moving Averages Aster’s price action on the 4-hour chart shows continued weakness despite a brief volatility spike triggered by CZ’s ￰18￱ token remains in a clear downtrend, consistently trading below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling that bearish momentum still ￰19￱ sharp bounce toward $1.25 quickly faded, with sellers stepping in almost immediately and pushing the price back toward the $1.00 ￰20￱ reaction suggests that the rally was driven more by short-term sentiment following CZ’s mention than by sustained ￰21￱ failed breakout attempt also highlights how fragile confidence is in the current market ￰22￱ moving averages are sloping downward, reinforcing a bearish structure, and price has yet to reclaim key resistance levels around $1.20–$1.30, which would be required to signal any meaningful trend ￰23￱ spiked during the recent move, indicating aggressive positioning — likely tied to short buildup from whales, as seen in on-chain ￰24￱ Reading: Bitcoin Records Over $300B Spot Volume In October – Investors Shift Away From Leverage Right now, the $0.95–$1.00 range appears to be acting as immediate support, but if selling persists, a deeper retracement toward prior liquidity zones cannot be ruled ￰25￱ bulls to regain control, Aster must reclaim the 50-day MA and hold above it with sustained ￰26￱ then, caution remains warranted, as price structure favors sellers and broader market sentiment remains ￰27￱ image from ChatGPT, chart from ￰28￱