Many altcoins are poised to have significant token unlocks over the course of next week, potentially impacting prices and circulating supply. According to exclusive reporting by Bitcoin Sistemi, 16 altcoins will see unlocks totaling over $80 million in value.
Unlocks refer to tokens that were previously locked or restricted from circulating becoming freely tradeable. This can occur for a variety of reasons, such as release of vesting schedules, dissolution of multi-sig wallets, or expiration of lock-up periods. When a substantial portion of a cryptocurrency‘s supply unlocks, it can put downward pressure on the price as holders sell newly liquid coins. However, unlocks also increase circulating supply which is viewed positively for network security and decentralization.
Full Schedule and Details
Below is the full schedule for next week’s unlocks across these 16 altcoins, including the unlock amounts as a percentage of market capitalization:
(UTC +3:00 – TIME ZONE )
- SafePal (SFP) – $10.8 million, 5% of market cap – July 31, 3:00 UTC
- Circle of Merit (MC) – $2.79 million, 3.43% of market cap – August 1, 3:00 UTC
- StakeWise (SWISE) – $1.52 million, 5.75% of market cap – August 1, 3:00 UTC
- Ondo Finance (ONDO) – $6.95 million – August 1, 3:00 UTC
- Hooked Protocol (HOOK) – $3.98 million, 8.33% of market cap – August 1, 17:00 UTC
- dYdX (DYDX) – $13.39 million, 4.12% of market cap – August 1, 18:00 UTC
- Orbs (ORBR) – No unlock amount specified – August 2, 3:00 UTC
- Agoric (BLD) – No unlock amount specified – August 2, 6:00 UTC
- Biconomy (BICO) – $1.66 million, 1.24% of market cap – August 2, 8:00 UTC
- Sui (SUI) – $21.83 million, 5.29% of market cap – August 3, 3:00 UTC
- Near (NEAR) – $10.93 million, 0.82% of market cap – August 4, 3:00 UTC
- Meta Apes PEEL (PEEL) – $1.18 million, 10.98% of market cap – August 4, 3:00 UTC
- Mines of Dalarnia (DAR) – $2.32 million – August 4, 9:00 UTC
- Frutti Dino (FDT) – $1.08 million – August 5, 3:00 UTC
- Galx (GAL) – $9.34 million, 15.62% of market cap – August 5, 8:00 UTC
- talc (TALK) – $1.13 million, 5.92% of market cap – August 6, 3:00 UTC
As can be seen, a diverse array of altcoin projects from various sectors of the market will experience unlocks next week. The amounts range from no specified unlock for Orbs and Agoric, up to $21 million for layer 1 smart contract platform Sui. For some smaller market cap tokens like Meta Apes PEEL and Galx, the unlocks represent over 10% of their total market cap which could see more significant price impacts.
Market Impacts
In terms of potential market impacts, traders will want to keep a close eye on price action and volatility around the scheduled unlock times. Lower liquidity around these events can exaggerate price movements in either direction. Selling pressure may materialize leading up to, during or after the unlocks as holders take profits or re-balance positions.
However, buyers often step in around major unlocks as well, anticipating the increased circulation and viewing temporary dips as buying opportunities. Unlocks also reduce concentration among early backers, founders and institutional investors, allowing more of the supply to reach regular users and traders.
Overall the altcoin market has been relatively quiet amidst sideways ranging for Bitcoin and Ethereum. These scheduled unlocks could catalyze some volatility and large swings for the tokens involved. Or if the amounts unlocked are absorbed by the market without issue, it may signal ongoing strength for the impacted projects.
Either way, being aware of the timing around these events allows traders to prepare and plan accordingly rather than being caught off guard if sudden price spikes or flash crashes do materialize. With billions in market value unlocked across dozens of altcoins, next week looks to be an interesting one.
