The cryptocurrency market is set for a potentially volatile week as approximately $581 million worth of tokens are scheduled to be unlocked across 17 altcoin projects, according to data from Tokenomist. These unlock events, spanning from large one-time releases to ongoing gradual distributions, are expected to significantly impact market dynamics, particularly in low-liquidity environments.
Major Token Unlocks (May 19–May 26)
Leading this week’s unlocks is PYTH, with a substantial one-time release valued at approximately $324.09 million, representing 58.62% of its locked supply. The size and scope of this unlock suggest it could have a pronounced short-term effect on price and market sentiment.
Other significant one-time unlocks include:
ALT: $8.27 million (7.34% of locked supply)
VENOM: $6.13 million (2.51% of locked supply)
These abrupt increases in circulating supply can heighten selling pressure and contribute to short-term price fluctuations.
Gradual Unlocks (May 19–May 26)
In addition to the large-scale releases, several projects will unlock tokens gradually throughout the week. While the percentage of supply unlocked in these cases is smaller, the cumulative dollar value remains considerable:
Solana ($SOLV ): $78.64 million (0.09%)
Worldcoin (WLD): $43.18 million (2.69%)
Celestia (TIA): $18.72 million (1.10%)
Dogecoin (DOGE): $21.90 million (0.06%)
Bittensor (TAO): $21.04 million (0.59%)
Avalanche (AVAX): $15.83 million (0.17%)
Sui (SUI): $12.89 million (0.10%)
Polkadot (DOT): $10.86 million (0.15%)
IP: $11.20 million (0.86%)
Morpho (MORPHO): $11.27 million (2.57%)
NEAR Protocol: $8.24 million (0.24%)
EtherFi ($ETHFI ): $11.26 million (3.53%)
Jito (JTO): $8.11 million (1.29%)
Filecoin (FIL): $7.30 million (0.39%)
Market Outlook and Risk Considerations
Token unlocks increase the circulating supply, which can create downward pressure on token prices, especially for projects with a high percentage of tokens being released. Investors should be particularly cautious with projects such as PYTH, WLD, and ETHFI, where the relative share of unlocked tokens is large enough to potentially trigger heightened price volatility.
Unlocks involving more than 1% of total supply are especially noteworthy, as they tend to have a greater impact on short-term market dynamics. Traders and investors are advised to stay informed and exercise disciplined risk management during this high-volume unlock period.
