Aster CEO Leonard: “2026 Will Be the Year of Perpetualization”

The future of trading may no longer be about owning assets — but trading everything, instantly, globally, and 24/7.

According to Aster CEO Leonard, 2026 will mark the beginning of a new era he calls “Perpetualization” a shift where equities, commodities, real-world assets, and global markets become accessible through perpetual trading infrastructure instead of traditional tokenization models.

And Aster is already moving aggressively to make that vision real.

In a major expansion move, Aster officially listed four Hong Kong equities on its perpetual DEX:

$MINIMAX $TENCENT $XIAOMI $POPMART

all available with up to 3x leverage.

This makes Aster one of the first perpetual DEX platforms to bring Hong Kong equities fully on-chain with 24/7 leveraged access.

Traditionally, accessing these markets required brokerage accounts, banking approvals, geographic restrictions, and limited trading hours. On Aster, users only need a wallet.

Long or short. Any time. Anywhere.

According to Leonard, this is only the beginning.

“Our RWA roadmap is simple,” he explained. “Cover every market traders care about and make it as cheap, liquid, and efficient as possible.”

That statement perfectly explains why many traders are beginning to see Aster as more than just another perp exchange.

While most crypto platforms still focus mainly on token launches and speculative assets, Aster is building toward a unified global trading layer — one venue where crypto, equities, commodities, AI stocks, and real-world assets can coexist under a single perpetual trading infrastructure.

The platform has already been rapidly expanding its RWA markets while simultaneously lowering trading fees across the board, making these instruments significantly more accessible for everyday users.

But perhaps the most important part of Leonard’s vision is accessibility.

“For those with limited access to tech and AI stocks from the East,” he stated, “now you can do it with Aster.”

That changes the game entirely.

Instead of waiting for traditional finance to slowly modernize, Aster is pushing global markets directly into an always-open, on-chain environment powered by perpetuals.