In November, a substantial $2.68 billion worth of locked digital assets is poised to enter the market as vesting periods for various blockchain projects come to an end.
This unlocking of assets, tracked by the data analytics firm Tokenomist, will see over $900 million released at once, while approximately $1.7 billion will be gradually unlocked.
Notable projects experiencing significant token unlocks this month include Memecoin, Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Optimism. These releases are part of a broader strategy in the cryptocurrency space to manage token distribution and maintain market stability.
Token vesting is a common practice among blockchain projects, designed to prevent early investors and team members from selling large amounts of tokens before the project has matured. This approach helps avoid sudden market pressures that could lead to price declines.
Key Token Unlocks
Memecoin will unlock a remarkable 3.45 billion coins, valued at around $37.8 million, primarily for its airdrop. Additionally, the project will implement a linear unlocking mechanism, releasing over 10 million MEME tokens daily, which is worth about $117,000 at the current price of $0.010—81% lower than its peak of $0.053 earlier this year.
Aptos is set to unlock 11.31 million tokens worth approximately $93 million. Of this, about $32 million will be distributed to core contributors, $26 million to the community, $11 million to the foundation, and $23 million to investors. Currently, APT tokens trade at around $8.24, significantly down from a 2024 high of $18.14.
Avalanche will also release 1.67 million AVAX tokens valued at $39 million, primarily for its foundation, and Optimism will unlock 31.4 million tokens worth about $44 million for its investors and core contributors.
Arbitrum, an Ethereum layer-2 network, will unlock 92.65 million tokens valued at $45 million, allocated to investors, team members, and advisors.
It is worth noting that following its previous major unlock of 1.1 billion tokens in March, Arbitrum’s ARB token has faced a decline in value, currently trading at about $0.48, down 79% from its all-time high of $2.39 earlier this year.
