Aster vs HTX

Aster vs HTX: which to use

Aster vs HTX is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Aster you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, with up to 300x. HTX holds your funds in an account, charges 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, and allows up to 200x. Aster lists 588 perp markets, 133 of them real-world assets; HTX lists 370, with 251 of them real-world assets. Custody and the share of stocks and commodities in the market list are the main differences.

How each exchange is built

Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on BNB Chain. You trade from a self-custody wallet, so you keep your funds. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

HTX is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

Both use a central limit order book. What differs is custody. On Aster the wallet holds the funds. On HTX the account at the company does.

Fees and what they mean

Aster's base tier is 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Aster's fee page. HTX's base tier is 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per HTX's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Aster, 12 bp on HTX. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead: 0 bp on Aster, 2 bp on HTX.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, grows with size. The cost table above adds the taker fee twice to the slippage we read from each exchange's live order book, at each size from $1k to $5M. Every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Aster lists 588 active perps, 133 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. HTX lists 370, 251 of them real-world assets. Aster has more markets in total. HTX has more real-world asset markets, and they are a larger share of its list.

Aster allows up to 300x and HTX up to 200x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. Both exchanges pay funding every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. Check a market's interval before you hold it: an hourly market settles 24 times a day, a 4-hour market 6 times and an 8-hour market 3 times. A positive rate means longs pay shorts. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Aster asks for no ID to trade, though its terms keep a right to limited checks. It is closed to the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine and sanctioned countries.

HTX allows limited trading without ID: trading starts without it, inside limits that verification lifts. An account opened since 2026-03-30 without ID gets futures up to 5x and no API trading. More leverage and the API need level-2 KYC. That matters if you trade through the API.

Vaults, tokens and points

Aster runs ALP (Aster Liquidity Pool), a vault that takes the other side of traders' positions, so its depositors carry the traders' profit and loss. A burn locks for 48 hours, and the mint and burn fee is 0.25% ± 0.05%. Aster's token is $ASTER, and as of 19 September 2026 its points program was at "Stage 5". HTX's token is $HTX.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions, so the open interest row and chart above compare like for like.

HTX publishes no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show Aster alone. That figure is DefiLlama's number for the deposits Aster's bridge holds. The Head to head table highlights the better figure of each row, and the rows with live numbers change every minute.

Which one fits you

• Pick Aster if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick Aster if you trade with market orders or rest limit orders: 4 bp taker against 6 bp, and 0 bp maker against 2 bp.
• Pick Aster if you need up to 300x or want the larger list of 588 perps, and a vault in ALP to deposit in.
• Pick HTX if you prefer an account at a company and accept identity limits that verification lifts.
• Pick HTX if you want a market list weighted toward stocks, commodities and FX: 251 of its 370 perps.
• Pick HTX if you need the API or more than 5x on a new account, and are willing to complete level-2 KYC.