After a week of losses across Bitcoin and the wider crypto market, traders now face another critical test: a wave of token unlocks set to hit multiple altcoins in the coming days.
On-chain data shows that more than a dozen projects — including Aptos, Arbitrum, and StarkNet — will release substantial amounts of locked tokens between November 10 and 16.
The unlocks come at a sensitive moment for the market, as investor sentiment remains fragile following Bitcoin’s recent dip below $100,000. Historically, large token unlocks have often increased short-term selling pressure, especially when overall liquidity is thin.
The largest unlocks belong to Aptos (APT) and Arbitrum (ARB) — two of the biggest Layer-1 and Layer-2 projects by market capitalization. Aptos will release $36.35 million worth of tokens on November 12, representing roughly 1.6% of its $2.3 billion market cap. Arbitrum follows on November 16, with an unlock of $28.14 million, or 1.7% of supply.
Also notable is StarkNet (STRK), which will free up $19.34 million in tokens on November 15. The zero-knowledge scaling project has a market value near $690 million, and traders will be closely watching whether the event sparks renewed volatility.
Pump.fun (PUMP) — one of the newer entrants to the market — will unlock $8.7 million worth of tokens on November 12, a relatively small share of its $1.48 billion market value but enough to influence short-term price swings.
Among mid-cap tokens, Moca Network (MOCA) will release $8.5 million in tokens on November 11, and Cyber (CYBER) follows with $4.1 million on November 15. BounceBit (BB) and HOME (HOME) also have scheduled releases exceeding 4% of their market capitalization, while Linea (LINEA) stands out with one of the largest proportional unlocks of the week — $32.5 million, or 16.3% of its total value, on November 10.
Nereus Token (NRS) will see one of the most dramatic changes, freeing up more than half of its market capitalization — a 51% unlock event that could create major turbulence in its price.
Later in the week, attention turns to WalletConnect Token (WCT), which will release $16.38 million in tokens on November 15 — equal to a staggering 70.5% of its total market value. Such a large percentage could lead to substantial volatility, depending on how recipients handle their new supply.
Meanwhile, smaller but active ecosystems like Drift Protocol (DRIFT), Valve (VALVE), and GoPlus (GPS) will also experience moderate unlocks on November 16, closing out a packed week for token distributions.
Analysts note that not every unlock leads to immediate selling. Some projects stagger token distribution to long-term investors or teams with vesting schedules that reduce near-term pressure. Still, with nearly $190 million worth of tokens entering circulation over seven days, market participants are preparing for increased volatility.
Projects with higher unlock percentages — like WalletConnect, Nereus, and STBL — are expected to attract the most speculative activity, while larger names such as Aptos and Arbitrum may see more muted reactions due to their deeper liquidity.
