The crypto data research and analytics platform CryptoRank revealed that the crypto markets should expect approximately $7.2 billion in crypto token unlocks in January this year.
Major Token Unlocks in January
The platform’s token unlock data highlighted that the tokens released by projects since the beginning of the year have amounted to over $1.3 billion. The largest unlock value recorded was on January 1, valued at $910 million, while the lowest was on January 2, valued at $62 million. The week began with token unlocks worth $63 million, with more expected throughout the week. The third week of this month, from January 13 to 19, will record the highest unlock value, worth $4 billion. The January 6-12 week, the 20-26 week, and the January 27- February 2 week are expected to record $986 million, $509 million, and $1 billion in unlocks, respectively.
Keyrock's View on Market Impact
According to digital asset liquidity solutions service provider Keyrock, the January token unlocks might trigger negative market responses. After monitoring over 16,000 unlocks, the company researched token unlocks and their effects on crypto markets. The platform published its research findings in December 2024. The research highlighted that large unlocks could potentially lead to price declines and increased volatility depending on several factors.
Keyrock Research Findings
The Keyrock research report confirmed that 90% of the token unlocks had higher chances of triggering negative price action despite the type and size of the release. However, the research also highlighted that token release to teams causes the most notable crashes and panic sell-offs. Keyrock further shared that investor unlocks triggered more stable price action, while project development unlocks yielded the most positive results. Linear unlocks positively impacted markets more than cliff unlocks, but January unlocks are predominantly cliff unlocks.
January's token unlocks have a significant impact on crypto markets, expected to increase volatility and potentially lead to negative reactions, particularly among retail investors.
