TL;DR
- Over $446 million in altcoins were unlocked this week from projects including Aptos, Sui, and Starknet.
- This massive event increases the risk of high volatility and short-term price drops.
- Investors and the community are watching for the potential liquidation of assets by early beneficiaries.
A turbulent week is expected in the cryptocurrency market, as more than a dozen projects will release previously locked tokens with a total value exceeding $446 million.
This is a scheduled event known as a “token unlock,” an action that could inject massive liquidity into the market and exert significant selling pressure from the unlocked tokens, affecting the prices of several major altcoins.
Potential asset liquidation
High-profile projects such as Aptos (APT), Sui (SUI), Starknet (STRK), Arbitrum (ARB), and Immutable (IMX) are among those that will release a portion of their circulating supply.
These tokens are typically allocated to early investors, development teams, and advisors who acquired them in early stages at very low prices. Once the vesting period ends, it is common for these holders to decide to take profits, which increases the available supply on the market and can cause a drop in the asset’s value.
Aptos leads the event with a token release valued at nearly $100 million, representing a considerable portion of its market capitalization. It is followed by other major projects like Sui and Starknet, which will also contribute to the total volume. While these unlocks are planned and transparent events, the concentration of so many in such a short period raises a red flag among analysts and investors.
The main risk is the increased selling pressure from the token unlocks, which could not only impact the involved altcoins but also create a sense of caution throughout the ecosystem, potentially affecting even more stable assets like Bitcoin.
Traders will be closely watching the flow of these tokens to exchanges, a key indicator of selling intent. Given this scenario, market participants are advised to act prudently and manage their risks in the face of the impending wave of volatility.
