Arbitrum’s Massive $107 Million Token Unlock Threatens To Send Price Below $1

Arbitrum (ARB) runs the risk of a significant price decline due to its upcoming token unlock on April 16. These token unlock events are known to be a recipe for high volatility because of what could happen in the aftermath of their occurrence. 

Data from TokenUnlock shows that 92.65 million Arbitrum tokens (3.49% of its circulating supply) are set to be unlocked on April 16. 56.13 million ($65.10 million) of these tokens will be distributed to the team, future team, and advisors, while the remaining 36.52 million ($42.36 million) will be distributed to investors. 

Token unlocks are usually followed by a wave of massive sell-offs from the beneficiaries, which causes the token’s price to drop. As such, Arbitrum’s price could also suffer the same fate once these tokens are distributed. However, this won’t be the first time, considering Arbitrum suffered a significant price decline during its last token unlock on March 16. 

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Arbitrum’s price, which closed the previous day at above $2, dropped to $1.8 on March 16. However, it is worth noting that the magnitude of this month’s token unlock is nothing compared to last month’s, when 1.11 billion Arbitrum tokens (41.89% of its circulating supply) were unlocked. 

Therefore, the impact of any potential sell-off on the market might not be as severe as the last time. Despite that, Arbitrum still risks dropping below the $1 support level for the first time in a long while, as it is currently hovering around that price range. 

$76.96 million worth of Axie Infinity (AXS) tokens (7.6% of circulating supply) will also be unlocked this week on April 17. 3.10 million of these tokens will be distributed as staking rewards, while 6.08 million and 1.69 million tokens will be distributed to the team and ecosystem fund, respectively. 

Meanwhile, like Arbitrum, Apecoin (APE) is another token that risks dropping below $1 with its upcoming token unlock on April 17. $18.57 million worth of Apecoin tokens (2.48% of circulating supply) will be unlocked, with most of these tokens going to the Yuga Labs founder. A significant drop in Apecoin’s price could further compound the bearish outlook of the Yuga Labs ecosystem, as the Bored Ape NFT is already down 90% from its peak.