USD1 secures exclusive settlement with Aster, quietly shifting the stablecoin battle towards RWA

An exclusive settlement agreement is reshaping the stablecoin competition logic

That WLFI tweet isn’t just a “formal announcement of a partnership.” It turns USD1 from a “stablecoin with a label tied to Trump” into a DeFi base layer that can actually be implemented, undermining a deeply rooted assumption: that USDT’s liquidity advantage is unbreakable.

Take a look at the current state of decentralized perpetuals: monthly trading volume has fallen from the 2025-10-01 peak of $1.36 trillion to $699.0 billion. Against this backdrop, Aster positions USD1 at the settlement core of RWA perpetuals like gold and crude oil—when crypto speculation cools off, this line has a chance to capture some liquidity from traditional finance.

Even more interesting is that the public sentiment has shifted: social media no longer treats WLFI’s “Trump association” as a burden, and instead starts viewing it as a moat from a compliance perspective. People are discussing “seamless on-chain commodity trading,” not hype gimmicks. The Defiant notes that this continues WLFI’s aggressive distribution strategy—circulating supply of $4.4 billion, the sixth-largest stablecoin; meanwhile, Aster’s multi-asset setup could hedge the overall cooling of the perpetuals segment.

On-chain data shows Aster’s daily trading volume stays steady at $800 million to $2.3 billion, with roughly 227k holders largely unmoved. But the token prices are almost unchanged (ASTER -1.21%, WLFI -0.59%). In other words, the formation of conviction is always slower than the spread of tweets.

• RWA integration capability matters more than political labels: Feedback from multi-language social media is overwhelmingly positive (roughly 16 key posts mention the 1bp fee rate and rebates/commissions). Almost nobody cares about WLFI’s political ties; the focus is on bridging DeFi and TradFi. Of course, after 2025, regulatory intensity has increased, and the compliance environment still carries uncertainty.
• Derivatives pricing hints at undervalued upside: Open interest is still relatively healthy (ASTER $724 million, WLFI $508 million), and it’s skewed toward passive liquidation of shorts, which releases a mild bullish pressure. But the technicals are neutral (RSI 42-46, price riding along with the moving averages); chase-the-move capital will get stung without a breakout.
• Perpetuals weaken, and that actually paves the way for RWA: Hyperliquid holds about 34% share of the top-tier DEXs. Aster’s RWA narrative may siphon liquidity away from pure crypto perpetuals, but after the tweet went out, trading volume didn’t expand. Viral spread doesn’t automatically transport capital—especially when macro liquidity tightens and risk appetite declines.

Price doesn’t move, which doesn’t mean the narrative is dead

Don’t equate “a dozen-plus high-liked reposts” with “price taking off.” ASTER and WLFI’s sideways consolidation in itself already shows a problem—ADX below 15 and no obvious expansion in open interest. What’s really happening is:

• Builders are treating RWA integration as a long-term moat;
• Short-term traders are watching funding rates (ASTER long funding is positive).

With WLFI adding $850 million in supply on Solana, plus Aster introducing AI trading integration, stablecoin competition is accelerating. But perpetuals trading volume has been falling for five straight months, meaning execution risk is rising. The public is “early on the heat,” while the shift toward “compliance hubs” happens later.

From a trading perspective, I’d rather allocate to WLFI for the long term because RWA is the tailwind, instead of betting on ASTER’s trading opportunities. In derivatives, you can also see signs of structurally bullish positioning from short squeezes (ASTER liquidation: shorts $188k vs longs $126k).

Core judgment: Long-term holders and builders have the edge. They bet earlier on RWA infrastructure like WLFI, letting them capture traditional finance liquidity without directly facing the regulatory bullseye. The short-term traders chasing the heat are more like “arriving late”—misreading sideways price action as narrative failure, while structural rotation is quietly advancing within the perpetuals track.

Conclusion: This is a narrative that’s “a bit early, but still buildable.” Builders and long-term capital are in the lead; short-term traders are not. If you’re a team working on infrastructure and compliance integration, or you’re leaning toward long-term capital, this is the first-mover position. If you’re a momentum-chasing trader and you’re already late, then the sideways range and weak volume will drain your win rate.