A fake screenshot claiming BlackRock had filed for a Staked Aster ETF spread across crypto Twitter today, picking up so much traction that multiple websites covered it.
For a moment, it looked like Aster had landed a breakthrough moment on Wall Street until it didn’t. The filing was never real, and Binance founder CZ stepped in to make sure everyone knew it.
The image showed what looked like an official SEC Form S-1 for an “iShares Staked Aster Trust ETF.”
However, BlackRock has not filed anything related to Aster. The document doesn’t appear in the SEC’s database, and several formatting mistakes made it clear the screenshot was photoshopped.
It was also posted about by influencer @ThatMartiniGuy, who shared it thinking it was legitimate. Once the truth came out, he admitted the mistake, writing: “This unfortunately was not real… however it would have been cool.”
CZ responded directly on X.
“Fake. Even big KOLs get fooled once in a while. Aster doesn’t need these fake photoshopped pics to grow. 😂”
CZ has a known connection to Aster. In November 2025, he revealed he personally bought 2.09 million ASTER tokens, worth over $2 million, using his own funds. The announcement sent ASTER up more than 30% before heavy shorting pushed the price back down, prompting CZ to joke about his timing.
Part of why the fake spread so fast is timing.
BlackRock did submit a real filing this week – iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, a product designed to track both ETH price performance and staking rewards. The fund is expected to hold primarily ether and stake a portion of it, with shares set to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ETHB once approved.
That legitimate news likely made the Aster hoax feel more believable.
Aster itself is a multi-chain DEX offering spot and perpetual trading across BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum. The project is backed by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), which added another layer of attention during the fake ETF frenzy.
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