A crypto research platform expects several cryptocurrency tokens with an estimated value of $7.2 billion to be unlocked in January this year.
The think tank says unlocking billions of dollars worth of tokens is a significant sum and notes that it could have an impact on the cryptocurrency market.
Unlock crypto tokens
CryptoRank announced in a post that an estimated $7.2 billion worth of crypto tokens could be unlocked in January this year, something the digital assets sector is keeping an eye on given the opportunities and risks involved should.
In an X post, the data research and analytics platform listed the top 10 highest value crypto token projects to unlock this month, adding that the list includes Aptos, Circular Protocol and Arbitrum.
Some analysts said that the crypto market would definitely “feel the heat” as the value of virtual tokens to be unlocked was huge, adding that January could be a wild month for the cryptocurrency sector given this development.
Crypto tokens like Aptos and Arbitrum, as well as other major players in the digital asset market, are serious about making their mark on the cryptocurrency landscape, saying their impact could bring new opportunities or a bearish situation.
$7.2 billion worth of tokens scheduled to be unlocked in January 🔓
The following notable token unlocks will take place in January:$APT $111.41 million$CIRX $108.35 million$ARB $86.42 million$OP $67.29 million$RON $66.89 million$MOVE $53.35 million$UXLINK $36.73 million$IMX $35.59 million$JTO $35.04 million$STRK $32.66 million pic.twitter.com/POLP3wI3bq
— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) January 6, 2025
Top crypto tokens
According to CryptoRank, data shows that Aptos is considered one of the top contributors to token unlocks, with a value of approximately $111 million. The crypto tokens are scheduled to be released on January 12th.
At press time, Aptos is trading at $10.42 per token and has a market cap of $5.8 billion.
The data analytics platform said Circular Protocol will take second place, releasing $108 million worth of crypto tokens, and says around 28 billion CIRX tokens will enter the market on January 12.
In third place, according to CryptoRank, is Arbitrum, which is expected to issue digital coins worth $86 million.
Impact on the market
Financial platform OneSafe said that token unlocking occurs when locked tokens are “released freely onto the market.”
“These tokens are typically held by project teams or early investors, or are intended for things like development financing and marketing. When these tokens hit the market, it can create a buzz by increasing the circulating supply,” the financial platform explained.
Source: Keyrock
Crypto company Keyrock warned about the possibility that unlocking crypto tokens could trigger negative market reactions, coming to this conclusion after the company conducted a study of 16,000 unlocked tokens.
The company’s study found that the negative results were influenced by the recipients, size, expectation, timing and other factors, which still occurred despite the implementation of predetermined actions before token unlocking.
According to the study, unlocking large tokens typically resulted in price drops of around 2.4x, increasing volatility.
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