Aster CEO Leonard confirms collaboration with Trump-linked World Liberty Financial in Dubai

The founder and chief executive of decentralized perpetual exchange Aster Leonard confirmed on Tuesday that his platform is in a collaboration with Trump-family-affiliated crypto startup World Liberty Financial (WLFI) to expand adoption of the latter’s stablecoin product USD1.

The agreement between the two entities was announced at a closed conference held on Tuesday in Dubai, where Aster, Opinion, and World Liberty Financial convened a private gathering. 

According to organizers, 176 attendees were present, including traders, protocol founders, researchers, and digital asset ecosystem founders. The meeting began at noon local time with arrivals and registration, followed by opening remarks and a mixer session lasting more than three hours.

A community member who attended the mixer posted on X that Aster and WLFI representatives disclosed their plans during the discussion period. Leonard later confirmed the news in a post on his official X account, saying: 

“Word travels fast in this space. Had an amazing time with World Liberty Financial and everyone who joined us in Dubai. We’re exploring ways to expand USD1 adoption together. Stay tuned.”

Aster CEO to appear in Binance Blockchain Week event

Aster’s Leonard will attend the 2-day Binance Blockchain Week event, held at the Coca-Cola Arena on December 3–4. In a promotional post on Tuesday, the exchange asked attendees to visit its booth and participate in scheduled events. 

“We’re at Binance Blockchain Week! Find us at booth P4 or join us at the events below, and we’d love to connect in person,” the company posted.

Aster’s schedule during the crypto forum includes a main-stage segment titled “Perp DEXs and the Freedom to Trade,” a StableFi networking dinner, and a DeFi-focused forum after BBW titled “New Era of DeFi: From Stablecoin to Autonomous Neo Banking” on December 5. 

Leonard is slated to join Crypto Banter for a fireside chat on Wednesday, where he will discuss how perpetual decentralized exchanges have impacted market access for traders and institutions.

Aster stage 4 buyback begins alongside trading competition

In parallel with the Dubai events, Aster began its fourth round of token buybacks at 01:10 UTC today, conducted through wallet address 0x573ca9FF6b7f164dfF513077850d5CD796006fF4. The buyback program came in the midst of a trading competition that debuted on November 17 and continues through December 21. 

The campaign features five phases of seven days each, matching the schedule for Aster’s Harvest: Stage 4 program. Each weekly phase has a prize pool of up to $2 million denominated in Aster’s ecosystem asset USDF. 

Aster said all users who place at least one daily order of a required size and record at least $100,000 in daily perpetual trading volume for six days between December 1 and December 7 will qualify to share the Week 3 prize pool equally. 

The platform listed several asset categories with associated minimum trade sizes, including $50,000 for BTC and $30,000 for ASTER, ETH, BNB, and HYPE. Other listed assets require $10,000, although trades executed outside the Aster platform don’t count towards the competition.

WLFI’s ties to Alt5 Sigma under scrutiny after SEC filing discrepancies 

Away from its recent partnership with Aster DEX, Trump-linked WLFI is in the spotlight due to its financial entanglements with Alt5 Sigma, a public crypto company that reportedly delayed quarterly filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alt5 Sigma accumulated $1.5 billion worth of WLFI cryptocurrency in a circular transaction that routed more than an estimated $500 million to the latter firm in August. The company informed the SEC last Friday that its independent accountant, Hudgens CPA, PLLC, had resigned on November 21, effective immediately. 

However, partner William Hudgens later told Forbes he notified the company before June 30 that he would step back after completing its second-quarter report because the firm was exiting public company audits.

The firm’s board suspended chief executive Peter Tassiopoulos on October 16, but an internal email dated September 4 stated he had already been placed on temporary leave.

Securities law professor James Palmiter believes the delayed filing could mean the company is struggling to find a new auditor. “There is quite a history of those who get close to the Trump Organization getting burned. Would you want to be their auditor?” he said.

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