In the past, we have seen many popular altcoins rapidly crash with massive token unlockings. The same could happen again. Most investors do not care about the token inflation of altcoins. For example, when DYDX was launched, new tokens were released each month equal to the initial circulating supply, while only a small fraction of its total supply was in circulation. This has prevented the price from reaching double digits.
July Token Unlockings
In July, there will be significant token unlockings for several altcoins, including Aptos (APT), ApeCoin (APE), Axie Infinity (AXS), and Optimism (OP). The total token unlockings exceed $138 million, which is quite high in a shallow liquidity environment.
Aptos (APT)
Aptos will release 4.54 million tokens worth over $31 million. These tokens represent 2.16% of the circulating supply. The project will unlock 1.33 million tokens for the foundation and 3.21 million tokens for the community.
The token unlock is expected to be completed within a few hours.
APE Coin
On July 17th, ApeCoin (APE) will unlock 15.60 million tokens. The value of APE tokens is $29.95 million, representing 4.23% of the circulating supply. The tokens will be unlocked for Yuga Labs, Treasury, contributors to the launch, charities, and the founder of Yuga Lab.
Axie Infinity (AXS)
Axie Infinity plans to unlock AXS tokens on July 22nd, where the project will issue 3.43 million tokens as a staking reward. This unlocking represents 2.96% of the circulating supply, with a total value of approximately $20 million.
Optimism (OP)
Finally, on July 30th, Optimism (OP) will unlock 24.16 million tokens for core participants and investors. These tokens contribute 3.75% to the circulating supply and have a current value of around $29 million.
These types of token unlockings can cause a downturn for two reasons. Firstly, management and community members with unlocked tokens may sell them. Secondly, other investors may also sell based on the assumption that the first possibility will occur. In any case, an increased amount of tokens available for sale is usually a good reason for the price to drop under normal circumstances. Of course, projects can reverse the downturn by making significant announcements during the same period to increase demand. We have also seen examples of this in the past.
