Aster has picked up fresh momentum over the last few days. The token is trading near $0.653. It is up 5.8% in the last 24 hours. Over the past week, it has gained 8.6%. Despite this bounce, it is still down 9.2% over the past month.
A big reason behind the renewed interest is Aster’s buyback program. On January 19, 2026, the project started a new on-chain buyback plan. Up to 40% of daily fees from perpetuals and Shield Mode are now used to buy back ASTER tokens. When combined with earlier Stage 5 buybacks, as much as 80% of daily fees are going toward supporting token demand.
So far, these buybacks have already burned 209 million ASTER tokens. This has reduced the total supply and increased scarcity. More than $140 million has been spent on buybacks to date. All of this activity can be tracked directly on-chain, which has improved transparency.
This openness has helped calm worries in the market. Many traders were concerned because 97% of ASTER tokens are held by the top 100 addresses. This raised fears of manipulation. Those fears eased after Binance founder CZ shared a post showing his own Aster staking activity. His involvement is being seen as a positive signal by the crypto community.
From a technical view, ASTER has found some stability. The price is holding above the 7-day moving average near $0.619. It is also above the 78.6% Fibonacci level at $0.623. Momentum indicators remain weak. The RSI is at 43, which points to soft demand. The MACD histogram is still above zero but shows limited strength.
Some traders are betting on a short-term bounce from oversold levels. However, gains may struggle near resistance zones. The area around $0.69 could slow the rally. Another key level sits near $0.718.
Looking ahead, there is a stronger long-term story forming. Aster’s mainnet launch is expected in Q1 2026. Staking integration is also planned. These updates could support demand over time, even though the token is still down 39% over the last 90 days.
Supply remains a risk. Around 2.57 billion ASTER tokens are currently in circulation. Another 6.35 billion tokens are still set to unlock in the future. This could create selling pressure if demand does not keep up.
As January 2026 ends, the $0.65 level is key to watch. Holding above it is important for further upside. If bullish momentum continues, traders will be watching $0.69 and $0.718 closely. A clear break above these levels could signal a stronger trend reversal.
If the price drops below $0.65, the next support lies near $0.573.
Longer-term forecasts remain optimistic. Some projections see ASTER trading between $1.06 and $3.56 by the end of 2026. This depends on buybacks continuing, ecosystem growth, and sustained confidence.
Trading activity is also picking up. Around $148 million in volume was recorded in the last 24 hours. Investors will be watching fee revenue, buyback execution, and mainnet updates to judge whether this rally has real strength behind it.
