Crypto Watch: $450M in Altcoin Unlocks Could Shake Up Market

As the crypto market lost nearly $170 million over the past 24 hours in liquidation, a potential supply surge is just around the corner. The hawkish viewpoint comes from the massive token unlock this week.

This week, December 30 to January 5, the DeFi market is witnessing a massive unlock. In this week, the top 7 unlocks account for more than $450 million. Let’s take a closer look at these tokens.

Tokens Unlock to Cross $450M This Week

Among the top unlocks, SUI SUI $1.62 24h volatility: 4.5% Market cap: $6.07 B Vol. 24h: $1.16 B is witnessing an unlock of 81.91 million tokens. This constitutes 29.3% of the unlock supply and is expected to be released on the first day of 2025.

The token unlock is worth $336.58 million and constitutes 2.80% of the SUI market cap. SUI is trading at $4.0859, struggling to hold above this psychological level.

A 2.87% drop on Sunday signals a potential breakdown, with immediate support at the 50 EMA ($3.83). A token unlock could push prices toward the 100-day EMA ($3.1525).

Optimism OP $0.32 24h volatility: 6.5% Market cap: $613.75 M Vol. 24h: $82.40 M is preparing for an unlock of 32.21 million OP tokens on December 31. This is worth $58.46 million and holds 2.38% of the Optimism market cap.

OP (Optimism) trades at $1.89, forming a bearish pennant. The rising RSI suggests a potential breakout above the $2 psychological mark.

However, a $58.46 million token unlock on December 31 might prolong consolidation. A breakout rally is likely by 2025.

The DYDX decentralized derivatives platform is third on the list with an $8.33 million DYDX DYDX $0.20 24h volatility: 3.1% Market cap: $165.43 M Vol. 24h: $15.19 M token unlock worth $12.55 million.

The DYDX token supply will mark a massive unlock of 57.4% on January 1. DYDX remains in a consolidation range of $1.42–$1.50, under heavy bearish influence from a December pullback.

A 57.4% supply unlock worth $12.55 million increases bearish risks, with key support at $1.13 and the $1.00 psychological mark.

The Maverick protocol comes fourth with a token unlock worth $10.41 million or 49.67 million MAV [NC] tokens. This will mark a 23.3% unlock supply on January 1. Sleepless AI, TARS AI, and Echelon Prime are the next three with an unlock of nearly $10 million.

While Sleepless AI and TARS AI’s unlock value remains at nearly 25%, Echelon Prime unlocks nearly 40% of its unlock supply.

With the massive liquidation surge coming this week, the DeFi and AI tokens are expected to take a minor hit if the current market trend sustains. However, the New Year rally anticipations are likely to drive demand in the altcoin segment.

Ethereum Grows against BTC, Altcoins to Roar

Supporting the chances of an altcoin rally, the altcoin market cap (excluding Bitcoin BTC $90 245 24h volatility: 1.0% Market cap: $1.80 T Vol. 24h: $48.55 B and Ethereum ETH $3 123 24h volatility: 3.6% Market cap: $376.65 B Vol. 24h: $28.18 B ) stands at $943 billion. This marks a positive start to the week with a 0.69% rise following a 1.78% recovery last week.

Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC chart shows a sideways shift in Ethereum’s declining value against Bitcoin. Furthermore, the bearish trend has stabilized slightly above 0.034 BTC and has recovered to 0.03650 BTC over the past two days.

This recovery hints at a bullish reversal, as the RSI line bounces back from the oversold region. These developments increase the chances of an altcoin season in the crypto market.

Conclusion

The crypto market faces a pivotal week with over $450 million in token unlocks, creating short-term supply pressures across major tokens like SUI, OP, and DYDX. While bearish risks loom, signs of a bullish reversal, particularly in the Ethereum/BTC ratio and the broader altcoin market cap, suggest a potential New Year rally.

If demand sustains, the market could recover from supply shocks and set the stage for an altcoin season in 2025.

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