In the realm of digital assets, February is shaping up to be a month of significant transformations. Several leading cryptocurrency projects, including well-known names such as Avalanche, Aptos, Sui, are preparing to release digital assets worth over a billion dollars. This process, known as “token unlocking,” aims to gradually introduce specific quantities of previously restricted cryptocurrencies to the market to prevent sudden sell-offs by early investors or project team members.
Among the leaders of this movement is Avalanche, which plans to unlock 9.5 million new tokens on February 22, representing 2.60% of the circulating supply. The value of this release is estimated at around 340 million dollars at current market prices.
Interestingly, the majority of these unlocked tokens, over 8 million AVAX units, are intended for the Avalanche team, Foundation, and strategic partners. This step may impact the price dynamics of AVAX, which ended January as one of the top performers among the top ten digital assets by market capitalization.
Another significant project is the Aptos blockchain network, which intends to release 24.84 million APT tokens (7.36% of its circulating supply) by February 11. The value of this token is estimated at 230 million dollars. Despite previous significant unlocks, this asset has shown price resilience. Over the last 30 days, the value of APT has risen by 9%, despite the release of tokens valued at 234 million dollars.
The metaverse-related project, The Sandbox, also plans to release tokens valued at 95 million dollars, accounting for 9% of its current supply. Meanwhile, Optimism and the rapidly growing blockchain network Sui are preparing to release 24.16 million and 34.62 million of their tokens, respectively. The value of these events is estimated at 78 million and 53 million dollars, respectively.
Other projects, such as Apecoin, Manta, and Galxe, are also joining the February wave of releases, increasing the supply of digital assets by several million dollars. This mass token dump could introduce significant turmoil to the market, potentially leading to increased selling pressure on some assets and affecting their price in the short term.
In the context of these events, investors and cryptocurrency market observers are eagerly awaiting to see how these mass releases will affect the price and stability of digital currencies. Will the supply effect prevail, pushing prices down, or will the market absorb the new tokens with appetite, stabilizing or even raising their value? Only time will tell how this digital thaw will reshape the cryptocurrency landscape.
