Aptos, a layer 1 blockchain project that aims to offer a faster and more scalable alternative to other networks, is set to unlock nearly 25 million APT tokens in January 2024, worth over $234 million at the current price. This represents 8.9% of its circulating supply and could have a significant impact on the market dynamics of the token.
Aptos is a relatively new blockchain project that was founded by former Meta executives and launched its mainnet in September 2023. It is based on the Move programming language developed at Meta and claims to offer high performance, low fees, and interoperability with other blockchains. Aptos also has a native token called APT, which is used for staking, governance, and paying for transactions on the network.
According to its tokenomics overview, Aptos has a total supply of 1 billion APT tokens, of which 307 million are currently in circulation. The rest of the tokens are allocated to various stakeholders, such as investors, core contributors, foundation, and community, and are subject to different vesting schedules. The vesting schedules are tracked by TokenUnlocks, a platform that monitors vested tokens and notifies users of upcoming unlock events.
The largest unlock event for Aptos is scheduled for January 12, 2024, when 24.8 million APT tokens will be released, worth over $234 million at the current price of $9.52 per token. The majority of the unlock, $96.4 million, is for core contributors, followed by $68.4 million for investors, $26.1 million for the community, and $10.8 million for the foundation. The tokens may not be claimed on the exact day of the unlock, as they are subject to a staking lockup period that varies depending on network conditions.
How will the unlock affect the price and adoption of APT?
The token unlock event could have a significant impact on the price and adoption of APT, as it will increase the supply and potentially the selling pressure on the market. The previous unlock event, which occurred on December 12, 2023, and released the same amount of APT tokens, resulted in a 13.4% drop in the price of APT in the following nine days, before recovering amid generally bullish crypto market conditions. The token currently trades at $8.09, down 3.4% since the last unlock.
However, the price impact of the unlock may also depend on other factors, such as the demand for APT, the sentiment of the token holders, and the competition from other layer 1 projects. APT is used for staking on the Aptos network, which provides security and rewards for the validators. According to the Aptos Explorer, there are currently 1,234 validators on the network, with a total of 153 million APT tokens staked, representing 49.8% of the circulating supply. The annual percentage yield (APY) for staking APT is 11.2%, which could incentivize some token holders to keep their tokens locked and earn passive income.
On the other hand, the sentiment of the token holders may also be influenced by the performance and reputation of the Aptos project, which has faced some challenges and controversies since its launch. In October 2023, Aptos encountered a five-hour outage, which prompted some crypto exchanges, such as Binance, OKX, and Upbit, to suspend deposits and withdrawals of APT temporarily. The outage was caused by a bug in the Move virtual machine, which affected the consensus mechanism of the network. The Aptos team claimed that the bug was fixed and that no funds were lost or compromised during the incident.
Moreover, Aptos also faces fierce competition from other layer 1 projects, such as Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Sui, which are vying for market share and user adoption in the crowded and fast-growing blockchain space. Aptos claims to have some advantages over its rivals, such as its compatibility with the Move language, which is also used by Meta’s Diem project, formerly known as Libra. Aptos also boasts a strong team of former Meta executives and engineers, as well as prominent investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.
However, Aptos also has some drawbacks, such as its relatively low network activity and adoption, compared to other layer 1 projects. According to the Aptos Explorer, the network has processed only 1.2 million transactions since its launch, with an average of 6,000 transactions per day. The network also has only 34,000 active accounts and 16 smart contracts deployed. In contrast, Ethereum, the leading layer 1 platform, has processed over 1.4 billion transactions since its launch, with an average of 1.2 million transactions per day. Ethereum also has over 170 million active accounts and over 3 million smart contracts deployed.
What are the other major token unlocks slated for January?
Aptos is not the only project that will face a significant token unlock event in January 2024. According to TokenUnlocks, there are several other projects that will release a large amount of tokens in the first month of the new year, which could also affect the market dynamics of their respective tokens. Some of the notable projects and their unlock events are:
- ApeCoin: ApeCoin is a decentralized exchange (DEX) platform that runs on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and allows users to trade and swap tokens with low fees and high liquidity. ApeCoin has a native token called APE, which is used for governance, liquidity mining, and paying for transactions on the platform. ApeCoin will unlock 2.6 million APE tokens on January 15, 2024, worth about $26 million at the current price of $10.08 per token. This represents 13% of its circulating supply and 2.6% of its total supply. The unlock is for the team and advisors, who will receive 20% of their allocated tokens on that date, according to the project’s whitepaper.
- Optimism: Optimism is a layer 2 scaling solution that leverages optimistic rollups to enable fast and cheap transactions on Ethereum. Optimism has a native token called OP, which is used for staking, governance, and paying for transactions on the network. Optimism will unlock 7 million OP tokens on January 31, 2024, worth about $56 million at the current price of $8.02 per token. This represents 7% of its circulating supply and 1.4% of its total supply. The unlock is for the early backers, who will receive 10% of their allocated tokens on that date, according to the project’s blog post.
- Sui: Sui is another layer 1 blockchain project that aims to offer a fast, scalable, and interoperable platform for decentralized applications (DApps). Sui is based on the Substrate framework and supports the WebAssembly (Wasm) standard, which allows developers to use various programming languages to build smart contracts. Sui also has a native token called SUI, which is used for staking, governance, and paying for transactions on the network. Sui will unlock 5 million SUI tokens on January 18, 2024, worth about $40 million at the current price of $8.04 per token. This represents 5% of its circulating supply and 1% of its total supply. The unlock is for the community, who will receive 25% of their allocated tokens on that date, according to the project’s tokenomics overview.
These are some of the major token unlocks slated for January 2024, which could have a significant impact on the price and adoption of the respective tokens. However, as with any crypto market event, the outcome may also depend on other factors, such as the demand and supply of the tokens, the sentiment of the token holders, and the overall market conditions. Therefore, investors and traders should always do their own research and due diligence before making any investment decisions.
