Crypto Markets Brace for Impact as $2B in Token Unlocks Hits This Week

Whale wallets are flexing—and traders are sweating—as major projects unleash their vesting schedules. Here’s what’s at stake.

• Aptos (APT) leads the charge with $100M hitting the market Tuesday

• Arbitrum (ARB) follows close behind—another 1.1B tokens now liquid

• Watch for the usual suspects: early investors cashing out, algos front-running the dump

Market makers are already widening spreads, anticipating the liquidity tsunami. ’Tokenomics’ meet supply and demand—just like your econ professor warned (but nobody listened during the bull run).

Major Coin Unlocks: LAYER Coin Takes the Lead

Between May 5 and May 12, the largest single coin unlock will occur with the altcoin LayerZero (LAYER), releasing 27.02 million coins valued at $86.73 million into circulation. While Ethena (ENA) will unlock 171.88 million coins, the value will be limited to $49.52 million. On the other hand, Spectra (SPEC) will see an unlock of 10 million coins, with 48.5% of it being made available.

Projects such as Kaspa (KAS), Move Network (MOVE), and Neon (NEON) will also experience coin unlocks ranging from $6 to $13 million. Even if the percentage unlock is low, the introduction of new supply relative to the total market cap can still trigger short-term fluctuations. During periods of speculative trading, such unlocks, combined with increased volume, can pave the way for sudden price corrections.

Linearly Scheduled Unlocks for Leading Altcoins

During the same week, Solana$147 (SOL) is expected to lead in terms of linear coin unlock value. The daily release of 465,770 SOL coins, equating to $67.27 million, will only represent 0.09% of the project’s circulating supply. Meanwhile, Worldcoin (WLD) will unlock 37.23 million coins valued at $34.6 million, making up 2.84% of its circulating supply.

Celestia (TIA), known for its AirDrops, will introduce 6.96 million coins valued at $16.63 million, accounting for 1.13% of the supply. In contrast, Dogecoin$0.173348 (DOGE) and Bittensor (TAO) plan unlocks valued at $16.53 million and $17.38 million, respectively.

Projects like Avalanche (AVAX), Sui (SUI), Polkadot (DOT), Internet Protocol (IP), and Morpho (MORPHO) will have linear unlocks in the $8 to $14 million range. While cumulative releases of linear unlocks gradually increase supply, potentially limiting market shock, they could also contribute to prolonged selling pressure, necessitating close price monitoring by investors.

Market analysts caution that both cliff and linear coin unlocks coinciding can result in reduced Leveraged positions and increased transaction fees. Notably, significant wallet activities during low volume periods could result in unexpected price movements, requiring vigilance.