In recent developments across the cryptocurrency ecosystem, a noticeable shift has taken place, centered around the influential figure of Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, the founder and former CEO of Binance. Tokens closely associated with CZ, particularly Binance Coin (BNB) and ASTER, have experienced substantial rallies, reigniting debates about his ongoing impact on the market—despite his formal distance from Binance operations following internal transitions and legal turbulence.
The Meteoric Rise of BNB: Charting New Highs
At the heart of the current crypto bull run, Binance Coin (BNB) has taken center stage. BNB reached a new all-time high at the start of this week, approaching $1,100 for the first time and pushing its market capitalization past $150 billion. In contrast to other blue-chip cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), BNB has successfully maintained upward momentum even as these others have begun to plateau or retrace.
Analysts attribute part of this surge to well-timed strategic updates and treasury moves from companies connected to the BNB ecosystem. For example, CEA Industries, operating under the name BNB Network Company, recently closed a $500 million private placement to advance its BNB treasury strategies. According to independent research data, BNB Network Company has already accumulated BNB worth more than $420 million, positioning itself as a significant participant though still holding only a fraction of BNB’s vast circulating supply.
Despite the hefty sum, the amount acquired by treasury companies represents less than a percent of BNB’s circulating supply, raising the question: Can these moves alone fuel BNB’s explosive growth and sustain continued enthusiasm from investors?
ASTER’s Explosive Debut: New Contender in the Perps DEX Space
Running parallel to BNB’s ascent is the impressive trajectory of ASTER, a relatively new token linked to the ASTER decentralized perpetual exchange (perps DEX) and backed by CZ’s family office and venture entity, YZi Labs. Shortly after its introduction, ASTER not only established a record price but subsequently soared to a market capitalization nearing $3.9 billion.
While ASTER operates as a multi-chain token, the lion’s share of its trading volume and user activity is concentrated on BNB Chain. Remarkably, ASTER now leads as the highest-volume perps DEX, surpassing competitors like Hyperliquid. Over the past week alone, ASTER reported trading volumes in excess of $100 billion, outpacing Hyperliquid’s $65 billion, according to DeFi analytics providers.
A defining feature of ASTER’s rapid adoption is its aggressive incentive structure, particularly a points-based reward system that promises airdrops equating to 50% of the token’s entire supply to active traders. Points can be accumulated by a range of activities: trading volume, holding leveraged positions, referrals, team-based trading, margin usage, and profit/loss performance during the competition. This campaign is set for further extension through 2025, fueling sustained engagement and speculation surrounding future token distributions.
The Merger Behind ASTER: From Astherus to a Market Leader
The emergence of ASTER as a dominant protocol follows the merger in March 2025 between liquidity aggregator Astherus and APX Finance, a decentralized exchange founded in 2022. This collaboration brought about substantial synergy—during the transition, the APX token was rebranded as ASTER, and existing APX holders exchanged their tokens at a 1:1 ratio.
Market observers note that ASTER’s rally coincided not only with its token generation event (TGE) but also with strong social media advocacy, particularly from CZ himself. Several influential personalities, such as YouTube creator MrBeast, have reportedly participated in ASTER trading, amplifying market excitement but also raising concerns about outsized influence and potential volatility resulting from concentrated token holdings among early backers and high-profile traders.
CZ’s Ongoing Influence: From Binance to YZi Labs
Despite relinquishing his direct role at Binance, CZ’s transition to leadership at YZi Labs has only magnified his impact across the cryptocurrency sector. Early in 2025, it was revealed that CZ had minimal previous experience using decentralized trading protocols. On social media, he humorously described his struggles with decentralized exchange mechanics, admitting to great difficulty in executing trades on-chain. Despite—or perhaps because of—his self-proclaimed learning curve, the timing of his increased activity on the BNB Chain has coincided with renewed upward pressure on associated tokens.
Significant price milestones on the BNB chart correlate closely with CZ’s personal journey, particularly his brief incarceration related to past compliance issues at Binance, and his subsequent re-emergence as a key market participant through his family office. Notably, when Binance Labs rebranded to become part of CZ’s family office, an immediate and sustained uptrend followed. This transformation included substantial seed capital investments, such as the $500 million funding of the BNB Network Company and an additional $1 billion fundraising round for another initiative, B Strategy, both aimed at acquiring and holding BNB for long-term ecosystem development and treasury management.
The Power and Peril of Crypto Influencers
The remarkable rise of ASTER and the continued dominance of BNB highlight a broader trend: the extraordinary influence wielded by key opinion leaders within the crypto community. CZ’s social reach and public endorsements have produced market effects not witnessed since the days of Do Kwon (Terra/LUNA) or Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX/FTT/SOL), recalling a time when singular personalities could command massive attention, rally capital, and shift investor sentiment almost single-handedly.
However, recent history urges caution. Both Kwon and Bankman-Fried’s flagship ventures collapsed spectacularly, causing major damage to investors and undermining trust in the digital asset ecosystem. The parallels are hard to ignore, and critics argue that the concentration of power—particularly when it comes to controlling protocol treasuries and influencing token distribution—introduces systemic risks that carry consequences well beyond short-term gains.
The Concentration Issue: Risks for ASTER and Beyond
One of the main talking points regarding ASTER’s extraordinary growth is the concentration of its token supply. A substantial portion remains in the hands of early backers and whales, granting them outsized influence over market dynamics. As airdrop campaigns and reward distributions unfold, many are watching to see if these incentives transition ASTER to a truly decentralized ownership structure or simply perpetuate the influence of a select few at the expense of broader community participation.
The same dynamic is observable in BNB’s accumulation by large treasury-focused companies, though their direct market impact is arguably blunted by the sheer scale of BNB’s overall supply and daily trading volume. Nevertheless, strategic accumulation and publicized fundraising efforts reinforce the narrative of centralized capital steering price trends, rather than more organic, distributed adoption.
The Return of the Kingmaker: CZ as a Market Force
What distinguishes the current era from previous influencer-driven cycles is CZ’s position as both a technical product leader and a masterful industry promoter. His blend of strategic oversight, technical acumen, operational experience, and public presence empowers him with a level of market sway unparalleled outside the likes of MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, whose Bitcoin advocacy set a new standard for institutional investment.
CZ’s story arc, from his early days at Binance to his recent resurgence via YZi Labs and associated investment vehicles, offers a striking narrative. Markets rallied on his release from prison and surged further as YZi Labs launched new initiatives and poured capital into BNB and emerging projects like ASTER. The formation and funding of new BNB Datamining Token (DAT) projects, as well as the rapid dominance of the ASTER token, reinforce his status as a kingmaker whose backing can redefine project trajectories in record time.
Looking Ahead: Hopes and Cautions for the Crypto Industry
As BNB and ASTER continue to draw investor capital and curiosity from across the digital asset spectrum, the industry finds itself at a crossroads. On the one hand, CZ’s track record of building effective teams and shipping innovative products remains largely unchallenged, and his new ventures may herald a more mature phase for the sector—one defined by increasing professionalism, transparency, and institutional integration.
On the other hand, the lessons of past cycles loom large. Outsized influence in any ecosystem introduces both opportunity and threat. While visionary leaders can rally markets and drive innovation, too much reliance on individual actors risks repeating the failures of the past. For every transformative rally, history shows that unchecked enthusiasm—particularly when fueled by concentrated token distributions and social media hype—can lead to destabilization, exit scams, or steep corrections.
Ultimately, the crypto community must balance its appetite for growth and excitement with measured safeguards. Projects like BNB and ASTER will be scrutinized not only for their price action and user acquisition metrics, but also for their ability to decentralize control, deliver on governance promises, and foster sustainable ecosystems. CZ’s return as a market mover is a signal moment—one that will be watched by supporters, skeptics, and regulators alike.
