Aster will launch the fifth phase airdrop "Crystal" on December 22nd

BlockBeats News, December 18 — Aster announced that the fifth phase of the airdrop, Stage 5: Crystal, will launch on December 22. The airdrop arrangements for this phase are as follows: · Duration: 6 weeks (December 22, 2025 – February 1, 2026) · Allocation ratio: 1.2% of the total ASTER supply (approximately 96 million ASTER) · Claim method: users can choose to lock for 3 months

In terms of mechanism design, 1.2% of the airdrop quota is divided into two parts: · 0.6% Basic share: can be claimed immediately · 0.6% Lock-up reward: unlocked after completing 3 months of lock-up

Users can choose their claiming strategy: · Claim immediately: receive only the basic share, the lock-up reward will be burned · Wait for lock-up to complete: claim the full share (basic + lock-up reward)

This design provides instant liquidity while strengthening long-term holding incentives. By burning the reward upon early claim, it accelerates deflation. Aster also disclosed the timeline for the development of Aster Chain: Testnet: late December 2025 Mainnet: Q1 2026 Staking and governance: Q2 2026

Aster pointed out that launching its own L1 network in the future will give it greater autonomy in fee structure, validator economy, and protocol upgrades, thereby strengthening the value capture of the ASTER token from the underlying infrastructure layer.