Aster Moves PAPER Perpetual Market to Reduce-Only Ahead of Delisting

Aster limits PAPER trading and schedules a delisting

Aster, a decentralized exchange, put its PAPER pre-launch perpetual market into reduce-only mode on Monday. A perpetual is a type of contract that lets traders bet on a price without an expiry date. Reduce-only mode stops traders from opening new positions.

The exchange said the delisting is set for 9:45 p.m. ET on Oct. 19, which is 01:45 UTC on Oct. 20. It told traders to close open positions before that deadline and called the move a "precautionary measure to manage market risks and maintain orderly trading conditions."

The decision followed a statement from Papertrade, the team behind the PAPER token, that it has no current plans to make the token transferable.

Key details of the move

• Aster introduced PAPER pre-launch perpetuals earlier on Monday with leverage of up to three times.
• Reduce-only mode began with immediate effect, so no new positions can be opened.
• Aster did not state a settlement price or a market-specific calculation for the delisting.

What Aster's delisting rules say

Under Aster's published delisting rules, positions still open when trading stops are automatically closed at the final mark price. Trading fees apply, and any unrealized profits or losses become realized. Those general rules set the final mark as an average of the price index sampled every second over the last hour before trading ends. Aster's separate pre-launch contract terms reserve its final authority over the delivery price.

Papertrade's reasoning on transferability

Aster's notice cited Papertrade's statement: "At this juncture we do not have plans to allow off-contract token transferability." PAPER is the native token of Papertrade's perpetual-trading platform. It is minted to traders who realize eligible losses and can be staked for USDC revenue distributions, but it cannot be moved between wallets, according to its documentation.

Papertrade argued that external PAPER short positions could increase the payoff from manipulating the prices its platform uses. In that scenario, an attacker could profit both from draining the platform's trading bankroll and from a short position against PAPER. The team said it could limit its own bankroll but could not control exposure in external derivatives markets.

Paragon had already stopped its PAPER market

Paragon, a separate trading venue, said it had already halted its para:PAPER market at 6:31:15 p.m. ET on Monday. It explained that the pre-launch contract had assumed PAPER would eventually become tradable, allowing the derivative to converge toward a spot price.

Paragon said all open positions were settled at $0.026296, using the time-weighted average oracle price over the hour ending at the halt. Open orders were canceled, remaining margin was released, and realized profits or losses were reflected in account balances. Paragon said it would review reopening the market if PAPER's transferability plans changed.

What is confirmed

• Aster placed the PAPER perpetual market in reduce-only mode and scheduled a delisting for 01:45 UTC on Oct. 20.
• Papertrade said it does not currently plan to allow PAPER transfers between wallets.
• Paragon said it halted its para:PAPER market at 6:31:15 p.m. ET Monday and settled positions at $0.026296.
• PAPER is minted to traders who realize eligible losses and can be staked for USDC revenue distributions.

What is still unclear

Aster's notice did not specify the settlement price that will apply when its PAPER market is delisted, nor did it describe a market-specific calculation.

Sources

• The Defiant