Aster DEX Launches 'Shield Mode' to Combat MEV and Boost Trader Privacy

Decentralized perpetual exchange (Perps DEX) Aster has launched a new feature called Shield Mode to enable high-leverage trading while protecting users from market exploitation.

Key Features and Benefits

• Privacy and Protection: Shield Mode allows traders to execute perpetual trades with up to 1,001x leverage on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) pairs without revealing their positions. Orders are kept off public order books, making them invisible to the market.
• Performance: Trades offer instant execution and zero slippage.
• Risk Control: The mode utilizes isolated margin to limit potential losses to the position size, even with high leverage.
• Promotional Offer: As part of the launch through December 31, Aster is waiving all gas costs and trading fees for Shield Mode trades (though these trades won't count toward airdrop rewards).

Addressing the Transparency Problem

The feature directly addresses the "transparency problem" in DeFi, where the visibility inherent in blockchain technology creates vulnerabilities for traders. This transparency enables Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) attacks, where bots and validators profit by reordering or inserting transactions.

• Common MEV Attacks: This includes frontrunning (observing large orders and trading first) and sandwich attacks (placing orders immediately before and after a target transaction to profit from the price change).
• Competitive Advantage: Unlike traditional finance, which uses "dark pools" for large orders, most DEX trading is public. Aster sees privacy features like Shield Mode and its previously launched Hidden Orders (June 2025) as a key competitive advantage.

Market Position and Future Plans

Aster is vying for dominance in the perpetual trading market. It recently surpassed Hyperliquid as the largest decentralized perpetuals exchange protocol in September 2025 and currently leads in 24-hour perps volume ($4.95 billion vs. Hyperliquid's $3.17 billion), and 30-day perps volume ($219.85 billion vs. Hyperliquid's $204.35 billion).

Aster views Shield Mode as an "early building block for the privacy features" it plans to explore with Aster Chain. The platform also plans to introduce a Flexible Fee Model soon, offering a commission mode and a Profit-and-Loss (PnL) mode, where users only pay when they profit.

Aster's push for privacy aligns with a growing trend in DeFi, reflecting the recognition that pure transparency can conflict with the practical needs of sophisticated traders.

December 2025, Cryptoniteuae