$585M in Token Unlocks Loom: Will Altcoins Face Selling Pressure?
Multiple cryptocurrencies will see incoming cliff and linear token unlocks within the next seven days, putting pressure on the investors’ sentiment.
According to Wu Blockchain, Hyperliquid HYPE $25.61 24h volatility: 1.2% Market cap: $6.11 B Vol. 24h: $194.22 M , Sui SUI $1.46 24h volatility: 0.5% Market cap: $5.46 B Vol. 24h: $565.26 M , EigenCloud EIGEN $0.39 24h volatility: 0.0% Market cap: $194.38 M Vol. 24h: $31.44 M , Kamino KMNO $0.0533 24h volatility: 3.0% Market cap: $190.29 M Vol. 24h: $11.13 M , Optimism OP $0.28 24h volatility: 0.3% Market cap: $540.14 M Vol. 24h: $58.38 M , Ethena ENA $0.21 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $1.63 B Vol. 24h: $130.65 M , ZORA and SVL will see large token unlocks, with each one exceeding $5 million in value.
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According to Tokenomist, large cliff unlocks (single unlocks exceeding $5 million) scheduled over the next 7 days include HYPE, SUI, EIGEN, KMNO, OP, ENA, ZORA, and SVL. Large linear unlocks (daily unlocks exceeding $1 million) over the same period include RAIN, SOL, TRUMP, WLD,… pic.twitter.com/ZBllI1K6lq
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 29, 2025
HYPE is leading the list with roughly $251 million in expected tokens to be unlocked at once, also called a cliff unlock.
Since a huge amount of tokens is expected to enter the circulating supply at once, HYPE is currently positioned at a higher shock risk.
RAIN, Solana SOL $125.2 24h volatility: 0.5% Market cap: $70.48 B Vol. 24h: $4.58 B , Official Trump TRUMP $4.96 24h volatility: 0.7% Market cap: $993.02 M Vol. 24h: $163.99 M , Worldcoin WLD $0.51 24h volatility: 0.4% Market cap: $1.35 B Vol. 24h: $78.22 M , Dogecoin DOGE $0.13 24h volatility: 1.0% Market cap: $21.03 B Vol. 24h: $857.28 M , Avalanche AVAX $12.71 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $5.46 B Vol. 24h: $327.74 M and Aster ASTER $0.70 24h volatility: 2.6% Market cap: $1.67 B Vol. 24h: $107.25 M will see large linear unlocks in the same timeframe, Wu Blockchain wrote, citing data from Tokenomist.
Linear unlocks don’t happen suddenly, so it’s easier for the market to absorb the tension.
The total value of the forthcoming token unlocks for this week reaches at least $585 million.
Don’t Worry, Bears Have Your Back
The expectations of huge unlocks this week have already triggered fear, uncertainty, and doubt among the crypto community.
Responding to Wu Blockchain’s X post, users have been complaining about increased selling pressure.
Big unlocks = quiet selling pressure incoming
— A79 🀄️ (@a79degen) December 29, 2025
It’s important to note that token unlocks do not change or alter the fundamentals, technology, and utility of a cryptocurrency.
Instead, these are the tokens that have been locked for the founders, early investors, team, or partners of a project.
Naturally, the market expects selling pressure when large token unlocks are in line. However, some investors might not sell anytime soon, either due to future sentiment, bear market, or long-term utility.
Currently, many tokens are already far from their ATHs. For example, SOL is down by 57% from its top price of $294. HYPE has recorded a pretty similar movement and is currently down by 56% from its ATH of $59.
Overall, the global crypto market cap is down by $1.2 trillion since early October.
Since some investors would prefer to wait for a better price point, the selling pressure would likely be much lower than the market expects.
For example, the crypto market didn’t see high volatility after the $309 million token unlocks on Dec. 15. Instead, most of the assets continued sideways movements.
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Wahid has been analyzing and reporting on the latest trends in the decentralized ecosystem since 2019. He has over 4,000 articles to his name and his work has been featured on some of the leading outlets including Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Cointelegraph, and Benzinga. Other than reporting, Wahid likes to connect the dots between DeFi and macro on his newsletter, On-chain Monk.
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Crypto Market Faces Major Unlocked Coin Surge This Week
The cryptocurrency market enters the turn of the year with a significant supply calendar. Data provider Tokenomist and Wu Blockchain journalist have outlined an upcoming week of high-volume coin unlocks in both one-time and linear models. These unlocks, valued over millions of dollars, coincide with a period when investors are closely monitoring short-term price movements. The total unlocking amount exceeding $585 million fuels expectations of increased liquidity and volatility.
One-Time High-Volume Unlocks in the Upcoming Week
Linear Unlocks Spotlighting Key Altcoin Projects
One-Time High-Volume Unlocks in the Upcoming Week
According to Tokenomist data, the period from December 29 to January 5 will witness major one-time coin unlocks, referred to as “cliff unlocks.” These events involve the release of more than $5 million worth of coins in a single transaction. Projects like HYPE, SUI, EIGEN, KMNO, OP, ENA, ZORA, and SVL are on the schedule. For instance, approximately 9.92 million HYPE coins, valued at over $251 million, are set for circulation, corresponding to about 2.59% of the adjusted supply.
Similarly, other altcoin projects will experience comparable supply increases. For SUI, the release of 46.41 million coins is anticipated, with EIGEN’s release accounting for 9.74% of the adjusted supply. Projects like KMNO, ZORA, and SVL are expected to see supply increase between 3% and 5%. Although OP and ENA have relatively limited releases, the value of the new coins entering the market surpasses millions of dollars.
Investors closely watch such one-time unlocks as the rapid increase in circulating supply can influence pricing behaviors. Project teams, early investors, and ecosystem stakeholders play a decisive role during the release of these unlocked coins.
Linear Unlocks Spotlighting Key Altcoin Projects
During the same period, linear coin unlocks, expected to exceed $1 million daily, are also crucial. According to Tokenomist’s classification, projects such as RAIN, SOL, TRUMP, WLD, DOGE, AVAX, and ASTER fall into this category. RAIN plans to gradually release a total of 9.43 billion coins, equating to over $76 million over seven days.
For SOL, a linear unlock of approximately 484,000 coins is anticipated, valuing at over $61 million. Projects like TRUMP, WLD, and DOGE see meaningful daily supply increases given their market volume. Even though AVAX and ASTER comprise smaller amounts, these unlocks also exceed the $1 million mark.
Linear unlocks, stretched over time compared to single transactions, have a more gradual market impact. Yet, the substantial total amount makes investors keenly assess liquidity flows and the supply-demand balance.
Is Worldcoin heading towards $0.58? Check forecast
Key takeaways
WLD is approaching $0.50 after adding 3.7% to its value in the last 24 hours.
The rally comes as a wallet linked to Multicoin Capital spent 30 million USDC on Thursday to buy 60 million WLD tokens.
Multicoin Capital link wallet purchases 60 million WLD tokens
WLD, the native coin of the Worldcoin ecosystem, is one of the best performers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The coin is up nearly 4% in the last 24 hours and is now trading close to $0.50.
The rally comes after Lookonchain data on Thursday revealed that a wallet linked to Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm, has spent 30 million USDC stablecoin to buy 60 million Worldcoin tokens at an average price of $0.50 through an over-the-counter (OTC).
A wallet(0xf000) linked to Multicoin Capital spent 30M $USDC to buy 60M $WLD at $0.50 via OTC.https://t.co/q17opHAoHl pic.twitter.com/wFp7dyOTGp
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 25, 2025
This acquisition highlights strong institutional demand for the cryptocurrency.
Furthermore, Santiment data shows that the WLD’s trading volume reached $1.46 billion on Wednesday, the highest yearly level and trading volume not seen since July 2024.
The growing volume indicates a surge in traders’ interest and liquidity in Worldcoin, boosting its bullish outlook. Furthermore, Santiment’s Supply Distribution data reveal that certain whales are buying WLD at recent price dips.
Whales holding between 10 million and 100 million WLD tokens and 1 million and 10 million WLD tokens have accumulated a total of 150.59 million WLD tokens from Sunday to Thursday.
WLD eyes the $0.58 resistance level amid bullish sentiment
The WLD/USDT 4-hour chart is bearish and inefficient despite WLD adding 4% to its value in the last 24 hours. At press time, the coin is trading around $0.498 and could rally higher in the near term.
If the bullish momentum continues, WLD could extend the rally toward the daily resistance at $0.56. A successful close above this level could see WLD target the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $0.63.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the 4-hour chart is at 49, pointing upward toward its neutral level of 50, indicating a growing bullish momentum. However, for the bullish momentum to be sustained, the RSI must move above the neutral level.
On the flip side, if the bulls fail to build on this momentum, WLD could face a correction and dip towards the recent low of $0.47.
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