Locked digital assets worth $2.68 billion will hit the market in November as vesting periods for blockchain-based projects expire.
According to vesting data tracker Tokenomist (formerly Token Unlocks), $2.68 billion in crypto assets will be unlocked in November. Over $900 million in tokens will be unlocked on a cliff basis, while about $1.7 billion will be unlocked linearly.
The most noteworthy token unlocks in November 2024 belong to projects like Memecoin (MEME), Aptos (APT), Arbitrum (ARB), Avalanche (AVAX) and Optimism (OP).
Crypto token vesting is a practice in the digital asset space to prevent early investors or project team members from dumping tokens before a project matures. It also locks crypto assets to prevent holders from selling all at once and putting pressure on the markets, which may lead to a downturn in crypto token prices.
Biggest token unlocks in November
Meme-project Memecoin is set to unlock 3.45 billion coins, worth about $37.8 million for its airdrop. Apart from the cliff unlock, it would also perform a linear token unlock for its contributors. This would be over 10 million MEME tokens daily, worth about $117,000. The MEME token’s price currently hovers at $0.010, 81% lower than its 2024 high of 0.053.
Unlock progress for the MEME token. Source: Tokenomist
Layer-1 blockchain Aptos will unlock another 11.31 million tokens worth $93 million. About $32 million will go to the project’s core contributors, $26 million to the community, $11 million to the foundation and $23 million to its investors. The APT token currently trades at around $8.24, 54% below its 2024 high of $18.14.
Avalanche will also unlock 1.67 million AVAX tokens worth $39 million for its foundation, while Optimism will unlock 31.4 million tokens worth $44 million for its investors and core contributors.
Related: $2.39 in January Whale sell-offs and token unlocks weigh on Bitcoin — 10x Research
Arbitrum unlocks more tokens
Meanwhile, the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum will release 92.65 million tokens, worth $45 million. The crypto tokens are allocated to its investors, team and advisers. On March 16, Arbitrum released 1.1 billion tokens worth $2.32 billion.
Arbitrum’s 1-year price chart. Source: CoinGecko
Since its massive token unlock, ARB’s price started to go on a downward trend. The token now trades at about $0.48, 79% lower than its all-time high of $2.39 on Jan. 12.
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