Arbitrum to Unlock $2.32 Billion in Vested ARB Tokens on March 16

Hassan Shittu

Last updated:

March 11, 2024 20:20 EDT | 2 min read

Arbitrum, a Layer-2 blockchain network, is gearing up to release $2.32 billion worth of vested Arbitrum (ARB) tokens on March 16, marking a major milestone for the platform.

Token Unlocks highlighted that Arbitrum will do a “Cliff Unlock,” where tokens are released in a lump sum at the deadline.

Arbitrum Prepares for $2.32 Billion Token Unlock on March 16

According to data from Token Unlocks, approximately 1.1 billion locked ARB tokens will be unlocked, constituting roughly 76% of the token’s circulating supply.

Of the unlocked tokens, Arbitrum will allocate 673.5 million tokens, valued at around $1.41 billion at current prices, to its team and advisers.

Additionally, 438.25 million tokens, worth approximately $915 million, will be released for investors. Token Unlocks clarified that this will be a “Cliff Unlock,” meaning no tokens are initially released until the specified unlock date, upon which a lump sum will be introduced into the market.

Unlocks are staggered releases of cryptocurrencies that have been frozen to prevent early investors or project team members from selling in large numbers. The Cliff Unlock method allows for unfreezing a certain number of tokens immediately after a predetermined period, after which unfreezing happens in a linear schedule.

Following the March 16 release, Arbitrum will continue to unfreeze a certain amount of tokens every four weeks for four years, Token Unlocks noted in a tweet.

📅 Mark your calendars
$1.1 billion in $ARB unlocks are coming ⏳

On March 16th, 2024, get ready for a massive cliff unlock as the Team and Investors unlock their tokens, totaling a staggering $1.26 billion. 🔥

But that’s not all! Starting from that day, every 16th of the… pic.twitter.com/Ayv4bKXmty

— Token Unlocks (@Token_Unlocks) August 16, 2023

Given the huge number of tokens set to be unlocked, crypto community members are anticipating potential price fluctuations for ARB tokens. Some foresee a rise in short positions against the token on March 16, while others have already sold their tokens in anticipation of the unlock.

Unlocks free up liquidity and are considered bearish catalysts for the cryptocurrency’s price. A study from crypto analytics firm The Tie shows that unlocks representing more than 100% of the average daily trading volume tend to have a negative impact on the token’s price.

However, crypto influencer JJcycles shared a contrasting viewpoint on social media platform X, drawing parallels to a previous token unlocked by Solana.

On the 16th of March,
the Arbitrum supply increases dramatically.

Unlocks:

1. 674m ARB – Team
2. 438m ARB – Investors

The last time I saw such a huge supply unlock during a bullmarket of comparatively large cap coin was with Solana during the previous cycle.

It ended up… pic.twitter.com/HSJG7WXbzu

— JJcycles (@JJcycles) March 3, 2024

The trader noted that Solana’s SOL token experienced a surge in price following the release of vested tokens, contrary to expectations of a price decline.

Arbitrum’s ARB Token Lags Behind Competitors Amidst Market Growth

Arbitrum, a prominent layer-2 blockchain network, has observed a decline in the value of its native cryptocurrency, ARB, compared to other leading Layer-2 assets in the past day.

Despite a positive trend in the sector overall, ARB emerged as the weakest performer among the top five L2 tokens, experiencing a decrease of over 2% during the reporting period, while the sector showcased an average gain of 3.8%.

SpotOnchain’s analysis reveals substantial sell-offs by whales, with approximately 3 million ARB tokens offloaded for $6 million just ahead of the event.

Despite this, Arbitrum maintains its position as the largest Ethereum-based layer-2 network, with DeFillama data indicating a total locked asset value of $3.6 billion.

At press time, ARB changed hands at $2.10, a 3.04% decrease in the last 24 hours

In addition to Arbitrum, several other projects are gearing up to unlock tokens this week. Aptos is scheduled to release approximately 24 million tokens valued at around $329 million on March 13, constituting a sizable portion of the project’s circulating supply.

Similarly, projects like ApeCoin, Flow, CyberConnect, Moonbeam, and Euler are about to release vested tokens, collectively amounting to about $53 million in digital assets.

With approximately $2.7 billion worth of tokens set to be unlocked this week across various projects, the cryptocurrency space is anticipating big developments and potential market shifts in the days ahead.

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