You can now trade a perpetual contract on SpaceX, the private space company, without leaving the crypto ecosystem. But the more interesting detail might be the stablecoin that’s settling the trades.
On August 20, decentralized exchange Aster launched five new real-world asset perpetual markets with a notable difference: they’re priced and settled entirely in USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial.
It’s the kind of move that could matter less for the assets being listed and more for the stablecoin trying to establish itself as a trading standard.
What’s Actually Live Right Now
Aster listed five perpetual contracts under its AOS-2 open listing standard:
| Ticker | Underlying Asset |
|---|---|
| SPCXUSD1 | SpaceX |
| CLUSD1 | Crude Oil |
| XAUUSD1 | Gold |
| SNDKUSD1 | SanDisk |
| SKHYNIXUSD1 | SK Hynix |
The exchange described these as the first RWA perpetual contracts denominated in USD1. More markets are expected to follow under the same standard. These are perpetual futures—index-based exposure, not direct ownership of SpaceX shares or physical gold.
A $28 Million Liquidity Fund
Backing these new markets is a combined growth fund of 250 million WLFI tokens from World Liberty Financial and 12.5 million USD1 contributed by Aster. At current prices, the total package comes to roughly $28 million.
The WLFI token allocation ties the fund’s health partly to how the token performs. That’s a factor worth watching if you’re considering trading these pairs.
Why the Stablecoin Choice Matters
Aster is making a deliberate bet with this move: it’s positioning USD1 as the settlement asset for all its RWA and commodity perpetual contracts, replacing conventional alternatives such as USDT or USDC for these pairs.
For a stablecoin trying to carve out a niche, this is a strategic play. USDT and USDC dominate because traders already keep them on exchanges and most markets are quoted in them. You don’t buy USDT before every trade—it’s already sitting there. USD1 is trying to create that same habit.
If traders start keeping USD1 ready before they even know what they want to trade next, that’s when it becomes a real competitor.
USD1 has grown into a meaningful stablecoin. By early 2026, its circulating supply had reached roughly $4.4 billion. By mid-2026, its market cap had surpassed $4.5 billion, making it the fourth-largest stablecoin behind USDT, USDC, and Sky’s USDS. It runs natively on around ten blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Tron, and Solana.
What This Means for Traders
The fee structure for USD1 commodity pairs is set at 1 basis point for takers and a negative 0.5 basis points for makers—meaning the exchange pays a rebate to liquidity providers.
This isn’t Aster’s first expansion into RWA markets. The platform emerged from a 2025 merger and previously listed tokenized stocks and commodities pegged to USDT. The shift to USD1 represents a deeper integration with World Liberty Financial rather than a new product category.
For traders, the open question is whether these new markets can sustain enough liquidity to trade profitably. A listing alone doesn’t guarantee tight spreads or deep order books. The $28 million liquidity fund provides initial support, but the ultimate measure will be trading volume over time.
The Bottom Line
Aster’s new USD1-denominated RWA perpetuals open trading on assets like SpaceX and gold within the crypto ecosystem. The move positions USD1 as a settlement asset in derivatives markets, potentially giving it a use case beyond simple stablecoin transfers and DeFi lending.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Trading perpetual contracts involves significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors.
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