Major Token Unlocks This Week: What Investors Should Know

KEYTAKEAWAYS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• KEY TAKEAWAYS
• WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK
• KEY PROJECTS TO WATCH
• POST-UNLOCK INSIGHTS: BANANA AND STRX
• CONCLUSION
• DISCLAIMER
• WRITER’S INTRO

CONTENT

Explore the impact of this week’s major token unlocks — Optimism, FastToken, LayerZero, Arbitrum — and see how post-unlock cases like BANANA and STRX illuminate what to expect.

This week promises to be a key moment in the crypto markets as multiple high-profile projects prepare to unlock significant amounts of tokens.

These unlocks may shift supply dynamics, generate volatility, and influence investor sentiment. Below is a rundown of the most important upcoming unlocks, what they mean in practice, and how some projects’ fundamentals may help them weather the impact.

The following viewpoints are for reference@web3_batulu

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

• Over $353 million worth of tokens are scheduled for unlock across various crypto projects this week. 

• Some of the largest events include FastToken (FTN), Optimism (OP), LayerZero (ZRO), ARB (Arbitrum), VELO, and others.

• Unlocks come in different forms: “cliff” releases (a large batch released at once) and linear or scheduled releases over time. The impact depends a lot on who’s receiving the tokens (team, investors, ecosystem), how the market expects them to be used, and how much demand there is. 

KEY PROJECTS TO WATCH

Below are some of the projects with unlocks large enough to possibly move markets. For each, I cover what is being unlocked, what’s potentially at stake, and how their fundamentals might buffer the impact.

Optimism (OP)

• Unlock Details: Optimism will unlock 116 million OP tokens on September 21, representing 6.89% of its released supply.

• Significance: A release of this size in one event (cliff unlock) can introduce substantial sell-side pressure, particularly if holders decide to take profits quickly. On the flip side, OP is a well-established Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, with strong adoption in the rollup space.

• Fundamentals: Optimism benefits from its broad ecosystem, developer activity, and alignment with Ethereum scaling needs. Its roadmap toward scaling, governance, and incentives might help absorb some of the unlock pressure. However, the size of the unlock means short-term volatility is almost guaranteed.

FastToken (FTN)

• Unlock Details: FTN will unlock 20 million tokens on September 18, worth around $89.6-89.8 million USD. This accounts for about 2-4% of its market cap, depending on what measure is used.

• Significance: With all unlocked tokens going to founders (per the sources) this creates a risk of “founder sell pressure.” Investors will want to track what portion of these tokens is likely to be sold versus locked again or used for development.

• Fundamentals: FastToken is part of the Fastex ecosystem and built on Bahamut (a Layer-1 EVM chain). Its fundamentals rest on scaling and transaction cost advantages. If FTN can show increasing usage, demand from ecosystem incentive programs, or partnerships, it may help offset any negative sentiment. But because so much is going to founders, perception matters a lot.

LayerZero (ZRO)

• Unlock Details: ZRO is set to unlock 25.71 million tokens on September 20, valued around $49-50 million USD, which is about 8.53% of its unlock allocation. The distribution goes to partners, contributors, and also some for tokens repurchased by the team.

• Significance: An unlock of this size and with multiple recipient categories may diffuse sell pressure, since not all recipients are equally likely to liquidate soon. Still, the market will watch closely since partners and contributors often have shorter time horizons.

• Fundamentals: LayerZero is an interoperability protocol aiming to allow seamless cross-chain communication. Its product utility is fairly high in the current multi-chain environment. If it continues to deliver on integrations, security, and growth, then it’s more likely to ride out any negative reaction from the unlock.

Arbitrum (ARB)

• Unlock Details: Arbitrum will unlock 92.65 million ARB tokens on September 16, worth approximately $47-48 million, representing about 2.03% of its circulating supply.

• Significance: Arbitrum is a top competing Layer-2. The magnitude of ARB’s unlock is not as large in percentage terms as some of the others, but still meaningful. It adds to the supply pressure just when Layer-2s are under scrutiny in terms of adoption, fees, and scaling.

• Fundamentals: Strong adoption of Arbitrum, developer traction, and its place in the ecosystem among the rollups gives it more resilience. If usage (transactions, fees, dApps) continues to grow, then new supply might be absorbed. If usage stagnates, unlocks could weigh more heavily.

POST-UNLOCK INSIGHTS: BANANA AND STRX

In contrast, for BANANA and STRX, some unlocks have already taken place. Examining how those fared can provide useful cautionary tales (or lessons) for this week’s unlocks.

Banana Gun (BANANA)

• Unlocks & Tokenomics: As of recent reports, about 40.17% of BANANA’s total supply has been unlocked. Circulating supply stands at ~4.016 million tokens out of max 10 million.

• Recent Event & Market Reaction: On December 8, 2024, Banana Gun unlocked 250,000 BANANA (about 7.21% of then-circulating supply) which momentarily increased supply. However, trading reaction was muted: price dipped somewhat but did not collapse, likely because the unlock was relatively small compared to total supply at the time, and there has been steady interest and usage of BANANA. 

• Fundamental Strengths That Helped:
  1. The project has a strong treasury with multiple assets (ETH, USDT, etc.) to support operations without needing to sell large unlocked allocations.

  2. There is a revenue-sharing model: holders receive a portion of platform fees, which gives a use case beyond speculation.

  3. Many unlocks are scheduled linearly over time rather than in one large cliff, reducing sudden supply shocks.

• Outcome: BANANA faced some short-term pressure around unlock events, but because of relatively modest unlock sizes and a coherent tokenomics and use-case story, it bounced back and regained investor interest. The market seems to view it more durable than tokens with large founder/investor cliff allocations.

Staked TRX (STRX)

• Unlocks & Regulatory / Demand Drivers: While STRX unlocks are less clearly reported in the same format, STRX has been receiving attention from institutional and regulatory perspectives. Reports suggest its price rose recently, outpacing broader market moves—fueled by speculation around a staked TRX ETF application in the U.S. and changes in DeFi yield policies (e.g. JustLend DAO tweaking staking costs).

• Price Behavior After Unlocks / Catalysts: After certain unlock or supply-release expectations, STRX has shown modest gains. However, resistance at key levels and some downside risk remain. Momentum indicators are mixed, which suggests that while unlocks or supply changes matter, they are not the only variables.

• Fundamentals That Helped:
  1. Strong staking utility—holders can stake or hold STRX for yield.

  2. Interest from regulatory bodies or institutional frameworks (ETF speculation) that can attract new demand beyond typical retail traders.

  3. Technical levels: many traders consider support zones and moving averages which, when breached, can lead to chains of buying or selling. STRX has had some resilience above key supports.

Outcome: Post-unlock / unlock anticipation, STRX did not tank; in fact it has gained some ground on positive sentiment and staking demand. But it remains sensitive to yield changes, regulatory announcements, and resistance zones. Buyers seem cautious, possibly waiting past unlock events to see how supply and demand stabilize.

CONCLUSION

This week is shaping up to be pivotal for tokenomics and market supply. Optimism, FastToken, LayerZero, and Arbitrum are among the most important unlocks to watch, each with the potential to reshape short-term price movements. For investors, the central task will be assessing how each project manages its unlock (who receives tokens, what their incentives are) and how the market is likely to absorb the increased supply. In some cases, strong fundamentals may buffer or even offset negative effects; in others, sharp corrections could emerge.