Every month, regardless of market conditions, the same pattern repeats itself. Millions of new tokens are released onto the market, potentially putting downward pressure on the price of the crypto in question. Find out which token unlocks to watch in November to stay one step ahead.
The 5 crypto unlocks to watch in November
As the crypto market struggles to regain its footing after a turbulent October, shaken by the largest liquidation event the ecosystem has ever seen, a well-oiled mechanism could accentuate this dynamic: the famous token unlocks.
As usual, millions of tokens will be released in November.
Although a token unlock does not necessarily mean a drop in the price of the asset in question, this event contributes, at the very least, to accentuating supply relative to demand, which can translate into selling pressure.
This month, there are some important unlocks to be aware of and keep an eye on, particularly for ENA, APT, PUMP, ARB, and ASTER tokens:
Ethena (ENA)
- Quantity: 171.85 million ENA tokens;
- Value: $56.31 million;
- Unlock date: November 5;
- Quantity released relative to circulating supply: 2.31%.
Ethena is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that offers an alternative to traditional stablecoins through a product called USDe, a “synthetic” stablecoin pegged to the dollar.
Unlike reserve-backed stablecoins (such as USDT or USDC), USDe is kept stable through a hedging strategy based on crypto derivatives.
The ENA crypto is the governance token of the Ethena protocol. It allows users to participate in decisions about the protocol’s development and receive staking rewards.
As we mentioned in our article on the worst-performing cryptos in October, both ENA and its stablecoin were hit hard by the October 10 liquidation event. USDe lost 36% of its capitalization in just three weeks, while the price of the ENA token fell by around 46%.
On November 5, the Ethena project will release 171.85 million ENA tokens with a valuation of $56.31 million, or 2.31% of its total capitalization. This unlock is unlikely to make it any easier for the crypto to recover.
Aptos (APT)
- Quantity: 11.31 million APT tokens;
- Value: $29.65 million;
- Unlock date: November 12;
- Quantity released relative to circulating supply: 1.57%.
Aptos is a layer 1 blockchain born from the ashes of Diem, a crypto project abandoned by Facebook (Meta) under regulatory pressure. Based on the Move language, Aptos is an ultra-fast blockchain. It offers significantly lower transaction fees than the Ethereum blockchain, making it relevant in the high-frequency trading sector.
The APT token is also featured in our article on the biggest crypto drops of October. The price of the APT token halved during this period, mainly due to fundamentals that appear fragile from an on-chain perspective.
Pump.fun (PUMP)
- Quantity: 10 billion PUMP tokens;
- Value: $41.44 million;
- Unlock date: November 14;
- Quantity released relative to circulating supply: 2.83%.
Pump.fun is a popular launchpad platform for tokens, usually memecoins, on the Solana blockchain.
Despite the fact that Pump.fun’s products are regularly subject to abuse, which may deter some investors for ethical reasons, it should be recognized that few projects have such robust fundamentals.
Indeed, Pump.fun has a business model that seems to withstand the cyclical nature of attention and speculation intrinsic to the crypto ecosystem. Between September 25 and October 25, Pump.fun generated $37.7 million in revenue, according to Artemis data.
On November 14, Pump.fun will release 10 billion PUMP tokens, representing $41.44 million for 2.83% of its capitalization. The impact on the price of PUMP should be relatively neutral considering that the buybacks made by the project almost offset the unlocks.
Over the past 30 days, the price of PUMP has fallen by 32%.
Arbitrum
- Quantity: 92.63 million ARB tokens;
- Value: $24.32 million;
- Unlock date: November 16;
- Quantity released relative to circulating supply: 1.68%.
Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scalability solution for the Ethereum blockchain, based on optimistic rollups technology.
The ARB crypto is used for project governance, allowing voting within the Arbitrum DAO, which manages, among other things, the allocation of grants via the community treasury.
Over the last 30 days, the Arbitrum blockchain has seen a significant influx of capital:
As we can see from the graph above, Arbitrum has managed to capture $1.4 billion in capital over the last 30 days.
This influx of capital can be explained in particular by the launch of DRIP, an incentive program that began on September 3 and whose first season ends on January 20. More than 24 million ARB tokens will be distributed during this first season, according to Arbitrum’s official blog.
On November 16, Arbitrum will release 92.63 million ARB tokens, representing $24.32 million or 1.68% of its market capitalization. Over the past 30 days, the price of the ARB token has fallen by 41.5%.
Aster
- Quantity: 78.41 million ASTER tokens;
- Value: $81.42 million;
- Unlock date: November 17;
- Quantity released relative to circulating supply: 3.89%.
Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) specializing in perpetual contract trading, but also offering spot trading and tokenized stocks.
Publicly supported by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Aster has quickly established itself as a relatively credible alternative to industry leader Hyperliquid.
As with APT and ENA tokens, ASTER crypto was heavily impacted during October, posting a 53% decline. We also discussed the potential reasons for the fall in the price of the ASTER token in our dedicated article. On November 17, 78.41 million ASTER tokens will be released, representing $81.42 million for 3.89% of its valuation.
Honorable mentions
Other significant unlocks to watch out for in November include:
Linea, which will release 1.02 billion tokens on November 10, representing nearly $13 million for 6.46% of its valuation.
StarkNet Layer 2 (of the Ethereum blockchain) will release 127.6 million STRK tokens on November 15, representing more than $14 million for 2.8% of its market capitalization.
The Layer 1 Sei blockchain will release 95.15 million eponymous tokens on November 15, representing nearly $16 million, or 1.52% of its market capitalization.
The Layer 2 (of the Ethereum blockchain) zkSync will release 173.41 million ZK tokens on November 19, representing $14.2 million for 2.4% of its valuation.
The Layer 2 (of the Bitcoin blockchain) Merlin Chain will release 36.14 million MERL tokens on November 19, representing $11.44 million or 3.44% of its capitalization.
The LayerZero project will release 24.68 million ZRO tokens on November 20, representing $36.47 million for 10.3% of its valuation.
The InfoFi Kaito project will release 16.67 million tokens of the same name on November 20, representing $14.55 million for 6.91% of its capitalization.
The Layer 1 Plasma blockchain, officially supported by stablecoin giant Tether (USDT), will release 88.88 million XPL tokens on November 25, representing $28.48 million, or 4.94% of its valuation.
Layer 2 (of the Ethereum blockchain) Optimism will release 32.21 million OP tokens on November 30, representing $12.06 million or 1.7% of its capitalization.
The Zora project, which we discussed in Zan’s column, will release 166.67 million ZORA tokens on November 30, representing $10.88 million or 3.73% of its valuation.
