Millions of AVAX tokens – the native crypto of the Avalanche blockchain will be unlocked on Sunday and distributed to key players in that ecosystem, adding a major 1.2% increase in total supply.
The 9.3 million tokens entering circulation on May 27 were worth roughly $130 million at press time. They’re set to go to the Avalanche Foundation, strategic partners and Ava Labs, as well as an airdrop, said Patrick Sutton, Avalanche’s communications chief.
“Tokens from unlocks aren’t automatically put to use. It just means the Foundation can now use them, but it is at their discretion when and how to use them,” added Sutton.
AVAX is the gas to Avalanche’s smart contracts ecosystem and also used to secure the blockchain via staking. It has remained stable in the past 24 hours, standing at $14.20, CoinDesk data shows.
“Token unlocks freak people out in general, but the upcoming Avalanche unlock has been mapped out for a while now and most sophisticated actors have adjusted for it,” said Lindsey Winder, CEO of token infrastructure firm Hedgey Finance.
Data from crypto analytics firm Token insights shows 358.55 million AVAX remains locked, though Sutton says the figure of remaining locked tokens is 96.06 million, about a quarter of Token Insights’ figure.