Altcoin Rally Cautions as $650M Unlockings Loom Large

Altcoin Market Faces Uncertainty as $650M Unlocking Approach

Several prominent alternative cryptocurrencies, including native tokens of dYdX (DYDX), Optimism (OP), and Sui (SUI), fell on Monday as big token unlocks impacted values amid a generally poor day in the crypto market.

According to statistics from Token. Unlocks and CryptoRank, altcoin supply will climb by about $650 million this week.

DYDX's circulating supply will be increased by around $480 million, nearly double the present amount.

Token unlockings increase the asset's supply, freeing coins from vesting, including those held by early investors. According to research conducted earlier this year by crypto analytics startup The Tie, large unlocking events typically result in price drops since supply increases outpace investor demand for the commodity.

According to CryptoRank statistics, Axelar (AXL) fell 10% in the last 24 hours after nearly $18 million worth of tokens - roughly 5% of its market value - were added to its supply Monday during its planned monthly token unlock, including early investors.

DYDX was down 7% throughout the same period, ahead of the December 1 issuance of $480 million in tokens.

OP fell roughly 6%, with a $40 million token unlock looming on November 30.

SUI fell 8.8% throughout the day as its supply will rise by $48 million over the next week.

1INCH plummeted more than 4%, with supply expected to rise by about 10%, or $33 million, on December 1. HBAR and IMX fell 2%-3%, with each facing $11 million in tokens freed this week.

During the same period, bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.7%, while the CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-market crypto index, fell 1.5%.