Robinhood Lists ASTER, XPL, and VIRTUAL: Price Surges Amid Crypto Downturn

Robinhood’s New Listings Spark Immediate Gains

Robinhood has expanded its crypto offerings by listing Aster (ASTER), Plasma (XPL), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) for spot trading, available to U.S. customers as of October 16, 2025. This move comes during a broader market slump, with Bitcoin dipping below $110,000, yet the announcements triggered sharp price rallies. TradingView data shows ASTER surging from intraday lows to over $1.36 before pulling back to around $1.35, while XPL briefly exceeded $0.50, now trading near $0.47 amid selling pressure. The listings enhance visibility for these tokens, with ASTER marking the second DEX token on Robinhood after Uniswap (UNI), and XPL—launched less than a month ago—already on major exchanges like Binance and Bybit. X sentiment highlights the timely boost, with users noting CZ’s backing for ASTER and Tether’s involvement in Plasma.

Project Backgrounds and Recent Challenges

ASTER, the native token of Aster DEX on BNB Chain, resolved internal airdrop issues last week, distributing rewards this week after delays. It features a hybrid model with cross-chain trading, yield-bearing liquidity, and privacy layers, achieving a $3.9 billion market cap in 30 days. XPL powers Plasma, an AI-integrated Layer 1 for stablecoins backed by Tether, which saw initial mainnet beta surges but faced dumps below $1. VIRTUAL adds to Robinhood’s lineup, focusing on AI and virtual protocols. Despite the listings, altcoins struggle with volatility, as evidenced by XPL’s 75% drop over two weeks post-Robinhood.

DEX Performance and Market Rankings

DefiLlama data reveals Aster DEX trailing in 24-hour volume at $160 million (18th among DEXs), behind Uniswap ($500 billion 7-day) and Hyperliquid ($3.4 billion). However, its 7-day volume hit $2 billion, surpassing Pump.fun but lagging leaders. Fees reached $2.2 million in 24 hours (11th), down from second place, compared to Uniswap’s $10 million and Hyperliquid’s $3 million. This positions Aster as a rising contender in perps and DeFi, capturing 44% market share in DEX perps.

Implications for Retail Adoption and Future Outlook

Robinhood’s listings, serving 20+ million U.S. users, bridge DeFi to retail, blurring CEX-DEX lines and boosting exposure amid declining volumes. While short-term pullbacks persist, the visibility could stabilize prices long-term, especially with ASTER’s whale activity and XPL’s TVL growth to $6 billion. Analysts eye convergence in Web3, with X buzz praising the move as a “giant leap” for adoption.

ASTER10.83%
XPL0.9%
VIRTUAL7.02%
BTC1.36%
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