Recently, the crypto world has staged another thrilling scene. ASTER plummeted to $0.55 in a short period, causing many holders' accounts to be wiped out. On-chain data uncovered a key piece of information: a whale liquidated with a loss of $4.21 million during this market move, with ASTER accounting for a loss of $3.74 million—behind this number lies an even more striking detail: ASTER is a project personally endorsed and actually held by a major exchange founder.

According to on-chain tracking data, this big player's average cost for ASTER is around $0.913. Now, with the current price at $0.629, even such an industry top figure is not immune to being trapped. This raises an interesting question: with the same backing and endorsement from influential figures, why can some tokens become "myths," while others quickly depreciate? The answer is quite straightforward—everything boils down to two words: usefulness.

Let's first look at the success logic of BNB. This token is no longer just a simple exchange platform token; it has deeply integrated into the entire ecosystem. Every transaction on BNB Chain requires it as gas fee, discounts on transaction fees require it, participating in new coin launches on Launchpad requires staking it, and there is a regular quarterly buyback and burn mechanism to maintain its scarcity. From centralized exchanges to decentralized DEXs, from public chain infrastructure to application layers, BNB is like water, electricity, and coal—becoming something you "must hold." Some countries have even included it in their national reserves. This is a model driven by practical value.

Now, consider ASTER's situation. A thorough review of the project documentation reveals no "must-have" application scenarios. The CEO's hype about "privacy transaction features" and "1000x leverage"? Some DEXs have already implemented these. The so-called ASTER public chain? The official statement is "ecological construction will not be launched in the next two or three quarters." Even their own issued public chain isn't used to empower the token. What can investors do with holding ASTER? Airdrop points, future rewards—such promises often turn out to be castles in the air.

More critically, ASTER has fallen into a major taboo in the crypto world: over-reliance on hype and halo effects. Its popularity is entirely built on the reputation and future expectations of its endorsers. Once a big influencer reduces their holdings or market sentiment reverses, there is no solid foundation to support it. Such "traffic tokens" might ride the FOMO wave in a bull market, but once the market corrects, their true nature is exposed.

This market movement offers a clear lesson for investors: endorsements and hype are just reasons to enter; what truly determines a token's long-term value is its actual application within the ecosystem. Ask yourself a simple question—besides trading and increasing holdings, what else can this token do? If the answer is nothing, then the risks of this investment are far greater than you might imagine.