Aster vs Phemex

Aster or Phemex: which to use

Aster vs Phemex 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. Phemex requires KYC, holds your funds in an account, and charges 1 bp maker and 6 bp taker, with up to 150x. As of 1 October 2026 Aster lists 588 perp markets against 132 on Phemex. Custody, ID and the fee on market orders decide it for most traders. Pick Aster for a wallet without ID and lower fees. Pick Phemex for a company account.

How each exchange is built

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

Phemex 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.

For the trader, the difference is custody. On Aster your wallet holds the funds. On Phemex the company holds them in your account.

What the fees are and what they mean

Aster's base tier is 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Aster's fee page. Phemex's base tier is 1 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per Phemex's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee on entry and again on exit. That is 8 bp per round trip on Aster and 12 bp on Phemex. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead: 0 bp on Aster and 1 bp on Phemex.

The fee is only part of the cost. Slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, grows with size. The round trip in the cost table above includes both at each size, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets, leverage and funding

As of 1 October 2026 Aster lists 588 active perps, 133 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Phemex lists 132, 67 of them real-world assets. Aster has the larger count of both.

Aster allows up to 300x on its highest-leverage market and Phemex up to 150x. Most markets on both allow less, so check the limit of the market you want.

Aster pays funding every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. Phemex pays every 4 hours or 8 hours. Funding is the periodic payment between longs and shorts, and a positive rate means longs pay shorts. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times, so a position held through a shorter interval has its funding cost or income move more often. 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.

Phemex requires KYC. Verification unlocks spot and futures trading, and an unverified account cannot withdraw at all.

Vaults, token and points

Aster runs ALP (Aster Liquidity Pool), a vault run by the exchange. It takes the other side of traders' positions, so depositors carry the traders' profit and loss. Burning ALP locks the funds 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 and airdrop program was at "Stage 5".

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 with like.

Phemex has no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show Aster alone, as DefiLlama's figure for the deposits its bridge holds.

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: 4 bp taker against 6 bp on Phemex.
• Pick Aster if you rest limit orders and want a 0 bp maker fee.
• Pick Aster if you need up to 300x, or a larger count of stock and commodity perps.
• Pick Phemex if you prefer an exchange account at a company and accept KYC.
• Pick Phemex if you want funding on a 4 or 8 hour schedule on every market, with no hourly settlement.