The ASTER team's latest move is absolutely explosive—they launched a token buyback without any prior notice, catching everyone off guard with both timing and execution. Normally, a buyback sounds like good news, since it reduces the circulating supply, but the real issue lies in this "surprise attack." The community had zero expectation, the market rhythm was instantly disrupted, and criticism erupted everywhere.

What’s even worse is that this buyback cornered a number of whales. On-chain data reveals that several major addresses—even wallets suspected to be linked to CZ—have run into liquidity problems due to this unexpected move, and the unrealized losses on paper are painful to watch. Now, these whales are left with two choices: grit their teeth and hold on, cut their losses and accept defeat, or band together and stir up trouble. None of these options feel good.

In the short term, everyone’s watching the project team’s next move. Will they come up with a remedy to stabilize the situation? How will the trapped whales react? The answers to these questions will directly determine ASTER’s next trend. But in the long run, this incident has already completely destroyed the team’s credibility. In crypto, trust is the most precious asset; once it’s broken, fixing it is nearly impossible.

At the end of the day, this isn’t just a simple market action—it’s a multifaceted game of rules, trust, and capital. It’s a harsh reminder to everyone: in a decentralized world, the last thing you want is the project team pulling a “centralized” stunt out of nowhere. These kinds of black swan events, with no warning at all, tend to be the most devastating.