May preview: $1.25 billion Pyth unlock leads major token unlocks from Avalanche, Aptos, Arbitrum, and more

Quick Take

  • Looking ahead to May, the Pyth network’s first major token unlock since launch promises to unlock over $1.25 billion worth of tokens at current value. Plus, hundred-million unlocks from Avalanche, Aptos, Arbitrum, and Memeland. 

Keeping track of a project's tokenomics can be important for crypto investors—especially when over one billion dollars worth of tokens is at stake. That's the case with the much-hyped Pyth Network PYTH -2.75% , which will unlock its first set of tokens to ecosystem participants in three weeks. 

But aside from Pyth Network, several other projects in crypto plan to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tokens. Here are all the significant token unlocks coming up in the month of May, according to Token.Unlocks data. 

Memecoin (Memeland): May 3, $150 million

It may be ironic that the coin with the name "Memecoin" ticker MEME -0.72% isn't, in fact, a memecoin. Memecoin, the token of comedy site 9GAG's Memeland project, will unlock 8.30% of its circulating supply at a current value of about $148 million, while also beginning regular unlocks for investors and advisors.

Aptos: May 12, $100 million

Aptos APT -6.59% , one of two projects largely staffed by former members of Facebook's Libra currency project (the other one being Sui), will unlock another 2.65% of its circulating supply on May 12, 11.31 million tokens at a current value of around $100 million. Aptos recently announced partnerships with major platforms, including Microsoft, to build out its Aptos Ascend program. 

Arbitrum: May 16, $100 million

Arbitrum ARB -3.44% , which recently launched Bounded Liquidity Delay, or BOLD, on testnet, will unlock 3.5% of its circulating supply on May 16. The tokens have a current value of about $100 million. 

Pyth Network: May 20, $1.25 billion

RELATED INDICES

Pyth Network, the decentralized oracle service, will unlock its first batch of tokens six months after its launch last November, rewarding ecosystem participants, protocol developers, and early backers. The unlock will more than double pyth's circulating supply of 1.5 billion tokens, unlocking 2.13 billion pyth at a value of $1.25 billion according to current prices. 

Avalanche: May 22, $325 million

Layer-1 network Avalanche AVAX -3.42% will continue its regular emissions, unlocking 9.54 million tokens, 2,5% of its circulating supply, at a current value of $325 million on May 22. Avalanche recently detailed the "community coins" it holds, which are memecoins connected to the Avalanche community. 

Other significant unlocks

May 1: Decentralized exchange dYdX DYDX -6.047% will unlock 10% of its circulating supply at a current value of $71 million. 

May 15: Ethereum Layer-2 Starknet will unlock 8.8% of its circulating supply at a current value of $80 million. 

May 17: Web3 gaming firm ImmutableX IMX -4.24% will unlock 1.75% of its circulating supply at a current value of $54 million. 


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About Author

Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].