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Buying $ASTRO

The $ASTRO token can be swapped for in any of Astroports outposts. The current markets and liquidity distributions for $ASTRO (as of Jan 5th, 2024) are as follows:

  • Terra: ASTRO / USDC.axl - $2.94M
  • Neutron: ASTRO / USDC.axl - $979.58k
  • Sei: ASTRO / USDC.eth - $504.32k
  • Injective: ASTRO / USDT - $269.6k

There are two primary ways to obtain ASTRO:

  1. Centralized approach: Use a CEX to buy the native token on any chain where Astroport has an active outpost: Neutron (NTRN), Terra (LUNA), Sei (SEI) or Injective (INJ). Then, withdraw it to a wallet on your target chain and swap that token for $ASTRO at app.astroport.fi.
  2. Decentralized approach: Bridge tokens to a chain where Astroport has an active outpost with Squid Router, IBC.fun or TFM.com. Then, swap those bridged tokens for $ASTRO at app.astroport.fi.

This tutorial will guide you through swapping for $ASTRO starting from either a centralized exchange or an EVM chain.

Starting from a CEX​

The $ASTRO token is currently not availiable on CEXs. As a result, you will have to transfer either a volatile or stable token that can be swapped for $ASTRO on-chain.

Bridging a Volatile Pair Asset​

One of the simplest methods for buying $ASTRO starting from a CEX is to bridge a gas token and then swap that token for $ASTRO on-chain. E.g. you can purchase $LUNA, $NTRN, $SEI, and $INJ on Binance. Either of these tokens could be transferred to their respective outposts and swapped for $ASTRO. However, you may be exposed to negative volatility between the time you buy/transfer the gas token and when you swap that token for $ASTRO.

NOTE

These tokens also serve as gas tokens for their respective chains, so make sure to keep some remaining in your wallet for additional swaps.

This tutorial will walk you through transferring $NTRN from Binance to the Neutron chain and swapping $ATOM for $ASTRO. But you can follow similar steps for other gas tokens ($SEI, $INJ, $LUNA) on other exchanges (Coinbase, KuCoin, etc).

Step 1: Purchase and withdraw $NTRN from a centralized exchange​

The most popular market to purchase NTRN is on Binance. You can withdraw NTRN from Binance with a 0.25 NTRN fee and a 0.4 NTRN minimum.

Step 2: Swap $NTRN for $ASTRO​

You can now swap your $NTRN for $ASTRO on Astroport. Select the assets to swap and amount.

You can select the drop down menu on swap routes to see specific routes and price impacts before you make a swap. E.g. in this example at the time, we recieve a more favorable quote routing through a pool with less liquidity.

Press "Swap" to continue.

Step 3: Confirm the transaction​

Before you finalize your transaction, make sure to review the price impact and exchange rate. Select confirm swap to continue.

Step 4: Sign transaction​

Sign and confirm the transaction using your wallet. Once signed, your swap will soon be complete.

Bridging a Stablecoin​

If you do not want to temporarily hold a volatile asset, you can transfer stablecoins (in addition to some gas) to swap for $ASTRO. However, each ASTRO market is paired with a different stablecoin, e.g. Terra and Neutron markets are paired with USDC.axl, the Injective market is paired with Injective's Eth-bridged USDT, and the Sei market is paired with USDC bridged from Eth using Wormhole. As such, there are several routes you could take to reduce slippage for each chain.

Here are some routes:

  • Neutron/Terra: Purchase $USDC and withdraw to an EVM chain (e.g. ARB, OP, Base). Bridge your USDC to USDC.axl on Neutron/Terra using Squid Router. Purchase and transfer $NTRN/$LUNA for gas. Swap your $USDC.axl for $ASTRO on Astroport's Neutron/Terra outpost.
  • Sei: Purchase $USDC and withdraw to an EVM chain or Solana. Bridge your USDC to Sei using the official Sei bridge: app.sei.io/bridge. Purchase and transfer some $SEI for gas. Swap your $USDC for $ASTRO on Astroport's Sei outpost.
  • Injective: Purchase $USDT and withdraw to the Ethereum network. Bridge your ERC20 USDT to Injective using the official Injective bride. Purchase and transfer $INJ for gas. Swap your $USDT for $ASTRO on Astroport's Injective outpost.
  • CCTP: Purchase $USDC and withdraw to an EVM chain or Noble directly (availiable on Coinbase). Bridge your USDC to

This tutorial will walk you through transferring $USDC from Coinbase to Arbitrum where it will be bridged to Neutron for USDC.axl using Squid Router. Once on Neutron, our $USDC.axl can be swapped for $ASTRO.

Step 1: Purchase and withdraw $USDC from a centralized exchange to an EVM chain​

This example uses Coinbase to purchase $USDC and and Arbitrum to bridge using Squid Router. But you can use another exchange as well, such as Binance, and another EVM chain (e.g. OP, Base).

Step 2: Head to Squid Router: https://app.squidrouter.com/ and select the swap path​

In our example, we will be swapping USDC from Arbitrum to USDC.axl on Neutron.

Step 3: Connect Arbitrum Wallet​

Step 4: Connect Neutron Wallet​

Step 5: Select amount to swap​

Step 6: Sign and confirm transaction​

You will need gas on the EVM chain to sign the transaction. In this example, ETH on Arbitrum will work.

Step 7: Swap $USDC for $ASTRO​

You can now swap your stables for $ASTRO on Astroport. Select the assets to swap and amount. Press "Swap" to continue.

Step 8: Confirm transaction​

Before you finalize your transaction, make sure to review the price impact and exchange rate. Select confirm swap to continue.

Step 9: Sign transaction​

Sign and confirm the transaction using your wallet. Once signed, your swap will soon be complete.

Note, you will need NTRN or ATOM for gas to transact on Neutron.

Starting from an EVM Chain​

If you want to bridge from an EVM chain, the best route is to transfer stablecoins to swap for $ASTRO. However, you will need to aquire some gas for the destination chain. Assuming you cannot aquire gas from a centralized exchange, the easiest way to get a tiny amount of gas on-chain from EVM is through a router (Squid Router). Once you have gas on the destination chain, you can bridge your stables from an EVM chain using any of the previously listed strategies:

  • Neutron/Terra: Bridge $USDC to USDC.axl on Neutron/Terra using Squid Router. Swap your $USDC.axl for $ASTRO on Astroport's Neutron/Terra outpost.
  • Sei: Bridge $USDC to Sei using the official Sei bridge: app.sei.io/bridge. Swap your $USDC for $ASTRO on Astroport's Sei outpost.
  • Injective: Bridge ERC20 USDT to Injective using the official Injective bride. Swap your $USDT for $ASTRO on Astroport's Injective outpost.

For a step-by-step example of bridging stables from EVM to Neutron using Squid Router and then swapping for $ASTRO, refer to the section above.