Can the 198% step up in ASTER buybacks, burns reverse its bearish fortunes?

Aster [ASTER] hiked by 1.34% in the last 24 hours, with the daily trading volume spiking by 366%. However, ASTER’s rally had pushed the crypto from $0.661 to $0.803 on Wednesday, 17 June.

This 21% move came because of an official announcement of a tokenomics update. In a post on X, Aster clarified that they would be using 99% of Aster’s daily platform fees to buy back the native token.

An equal amount is burnt from the reserve, while the bought back ASTER goes to stakers. This would serve as a 198% step up in buyback and burn, explaining the short-term price reaction.

However, this move came within a larger consolidation phase. A long-term uptrend has not been established yet. In fact, the retracement in recent hours suggested that market participants might view the price surge as a selling opportunity.

What next for ASTER price trends?

Bitcoin [BTC], for its part, has been laboring under a long-term downtrend lately. Its bounce to $67K was quickly halted and at the time of writing, the $64K support zone was under threat. This has put selling pressure on the altcoin markets.

It also negatively affected ASTER prices, with the altcoin itself undergoing a sell-the-news type reaction.

Since October, the altcoin has made new lows on the 1-day chart – Evidence of a bearish structure. At the time of writing, this structure was still in place though, with the swing points highlighted in white.

ASTER bulls have to drive a rally beyond $0.811 to flip the swing structure bullishly. In fact, the latest attempt ran into the $0.75-$0.80 supply area and faced rejection.

Traders’ call to action – Sell

The 2-hour chart revealed a bearish structure in progress. The previous day’s rally offered an opportunity to go short in the $0.74-$0.78 region, though it also swept the area above the local high to squeeze leveraged short positions.

Since this sweep, the price has reacted bearishly though, increasing the chances of a move towards the $0.588 low. The extension levels plotted also showed $0.54 and $0.46 as the next bearish targets.

Final Summary

• Aster’s tokenomics update witnessed a “sell the news” type price bounce.
• The higher timeframe structure was bearish at press time, with its downward momentum likely to be sustained in the short term.