Korean AI Stocks Go Onchain With Aster

Decentralized exchange Aster has listed perpetual contracts for Samsung and SK Hynix, offering traders up to 5x leveraged exposure to two of the world's most closely watched AI-era equities, without leaving the blockchain.

Tapping Into the AI Memory Boom

The timing is deliberate. Both companies sit at the heart of the global push to build AI infrastructure. Samsung's semiconductor division posted 53.7 trillion won ($36.1 billion) in operating profit during the first quarter of 2026, while SK Hynix reported record quarterly revenue of 52.6 trillion won ($35.5 billion), fueled largely by booming HBM sales for AI infrastructure. SK Hynix is the world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, used in AI data centers.

In Samsung's full earnings report released on April 30, 2026, the company's memory chief Kim Jaejune warned that "significant shortages" across memory products are expected to continue through at least 2027. In April, Goldman Sachs raised its 2026 DRAM supply-demand gap forecast from 3.3% to 4.9%, calling it the most severe shortage in 15 years. That backdrop makes both stocks a focal point for investors trying to position around the AI infrastructure buildout.

Onchain Access to Traditional Equity Exposure

Aster's listings are structured as synthetic perpetual contracts. These are onchain synthetic contracts that track the price of major stocks without requiring ownership of the underlying shares. Key advantages include 24/7 market access, permissionless participation without a traditional broker, the ability to take short positions, and the use of leverage.

By integrating semiconductor-linked derivative products into decentralized trading infrastructure, Aster is bringing traditional equity exposure into blockchain-native markets. The platform says the listings expand access to major equity markets, targeting traders who want exposure to high-profile stocks but prefer to operate within a crypto-native framework.

Alongside the new listings, Aster launched what it calls RWA Sprint Season 1, dramatically reducing fees across selected real-world asset perpetual markets. The fee cuts are designed to draw liquidity into its growing roster of non-crypto derivative products.

The move reflects a broader trend across decentralized finance, where perpetual DEXes are increasingly competing with traditional financial access points by listing equities, ETFs, and other real-world assets as onchain derivatives.

Sources
Tom's Hardware: Samsung and SK Hynix warn AI-driven memory shortages could last until 2027
CNBC: SK Hynix posts record first-quarter profit as memory prices climb