According to data from Token Unlocks, a token unlocks calendar platform; the Optimism Network unlocked 31.34 million OP tokens worth $54.53 million. Optimism’s token unlock event happened on June 30 at 12.00 AM UTC. Token Unlocks highlighted that the event released an equivalent of 2.88% of OP’s circulating supply.
CoinGecko data shows that the OP token is down 1.3% within the last 24 hours and 3.2% within the past 7 days. The OP token price is $1.75 at the time of writing.
OP underwent a similar trend in the previous unlock event on May 31, leading to a 2% price drop across all its pairs the following week. The current prices suggest that approximately $30 million will go to Optimism’s core contributors and $24 million to investors.
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The latest Optimism unlock event comes a few weeks after the network launched permissionless fault proofs on its mainnet on June 10. The launch aimed to provide a decentralized option to withdraw ETH and ERC-20 tokens without intermediaries. Optimism expressed its goal to become a fully decentralized network, with the release of permissionless fault proofs as Stage 1.
Optimism to unlock more tokens in July
Token Unlocks data showed that multiple crypto projects, including Optimism, have token unlocking events as their vesting periods end. Crypto projects introduced vesting as an incentive for token holders and a tactic to prevent markets from flooding with the tokens. Multiple sources reported that projects would unlock over $750 million in tokens in July.
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# Top Crypto Projects to Watch in July 2024: Token Unlocks Galore!July is shaping up to be a busy month in the crypto world, with several major projects set to unlock tokens worth millions of dollars. These unlocks can have a significant impact on token prices and the… pic.twitter.com/tR2oGbbeJm
— CryptoSpace Ninja (@BlindNinja85) June 29, 2024
The next unlock event for Optimism will be on July 15 at 12.00 AM UTC. This event will release 10 million OP tokens into the market, worth $17.5 million at current OP prices.
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Arbitrum, AltLayer, dYdX, Ethena, SUI, the Manta Network, Hashflow, the XAI blockchain, Immutable X, and more are among the top projects unlocking their tokens in July. These projects will release tokens worth from $1 million to over $100 million. Other projects are unlocking lower amounts of several thousands of dollars.
Token unlocks may affect the altcoin markets
As seen in the OP token price movement, many speculate how these unlocks influence crypto markets. According to a 6th Man Ventures (6MV) analysis, an upcoming venture capital firm, token unlocks over 1% of the circulating supply could lead to a decrease in token prices. The 6MV analysis also mentioned that projects with over 70% of their tokens already vested have more price stability than projects early in token vesting.
CryptoSpace Ninja on X also touched on how the upcoming token unlocks could significantly impact crypto markets. The tweet mentioned that while some tokens may see price fluctuations, others might experience more adoption with the unlocks. However, the tweet encouraged investors to research before coming to any conclusions.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth
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