In early October, crucial token unlocks are scheduled for both the Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) ecosystems, triggering attention from market participants.
According to a disclosure from blockchain reporter Colin Wu, Cardano will unlock approximately 37.06 million tokens worth $14.34 million, which constitutes a small fraction (0.10%) of its circulating supply.
Meanwhile, Solana is preparing for a much larger unlock of 524.03 million tokens, valued at $81.56 million, accounting for 0.11% of its supply.
Although these percentages may seem minimal, they could have implications for the market. In Cardano’s case, the unlock is unlikely to cause drastic price volatility, given the relatively small portion of circulating supply involved.
Previous Token Unlock Trends
Solana and Cardano have each had several notable token unlock events in the past. For Solana, a significant unlock occurred in July 2022, when 27.62 million tokens were added to the circulating supply, marking a 7% increase.
This was part of its yearly inflationary mechanism that seeks to gradually reduce the inflation rate until it stabilizes at 1.5%.
By July 2023, Solana’s circulating supply had grown to around 422.32 million tokens, and similar unlocks are expected annually until 2027. These token unlocks are part of Solana’s designed growth to sustain its ecosystem while maintaining a steady inflation rate.
However, questions about transparency, especially regarding tokens held by the Solana Foundation and early investors, have raised some concerns in the community.
On the other hand, Cardano has had a more conservative tokenomics model. Historically, its unlock events have not been as frequent or as large as those of Solana.
Since its launch in 2015, Cardano has followed a more deliberate and slow release of tokens, with major unlocks tied to the project’s various development phases.
Other Token Unlock Schedules
Other notable token unlocks happening in early October include Aptos (APT), which will see 34.09 million tokens worth approximately $134.42 million released, accounting for about 4.54% of its circulating supply.
Immutable X (IMX) will unlock 32.47 million tokens, with a value of $55.86 million, representing 2.02% of its circulating supply. Sui (SUI) will unlock 68.79 million tokens valued at $120.38 million, constituting 2.57% of its circulating supply.
For Avalanche (AVAX), the scheduled unlock involves 700,000 tokens, amounting to $19.98 million. Additionally, DYDX will unlock 9.88 million tokens, valued at $10.70 million, while Mode will see a massive 500 million tokens unlocked, though with a lower value of $6.62 million.
Lastly, NEAR Protocol (NEAR) will unlock 2.9 million tokens valued at $15.42 million, representing 0.26% of its circulating supply.
