$300M in Token Unlocks This Week, Santa Rally or Wishful Thinking?

The crypto market moved sideways as Bitcoin and most large cap altcoins traded almost flat over the past day. This comes as a wave of token unlocks is set to hit the market this week, starting Dec. 15.

Data by Tokenomist shows that over $309 million worth of tokens will enter circulation between Dec. 15 and Dec. 22. The upcoming unlocks span dozens of projects, many of which have struggled to see steady buying interest.

Large one time releases, single unlocks above $5 million, include ZRO, ARB, SEI, ZK, LISTA, and ID.

Meanwhile, tokens such as RAIN, SOL SOL $133.0 24h volatility: 1.0% Market cap: $74.71 B Vol. 24h: $3.17 B , TRUMP TRUMP $5.48 24h volatility: 0.7% Market cap: $1.10 B Vol. 24h: $176.00 M , WLD WLD $0.58 24h volatility: 0.0% Market cap: $1.43 B Vol. 24h: $90.57 M , DOGE DOGE $0.14 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $22.99 B Vol. 24h: $905.06 M , ASTER, AVAX, and TAO are set for linear unlocks with daily releases above $1 million. ASTER leads these unlocks with $75.36 million in tokens scheduled for release this week.

Altcoins Face New Selling Pressure

Historically, periods with heavy token unlock activity often add supply pressure, resulting in a risk of short term price drop. This week’s releases come amid weakening sentiment toward altcoins. The Altcoin Season Index has already dropped to a multi month low of 19.

Popular crypto market watcher Ted pointed out that the total altcoin market cap shows no clear upward move. He compared this to the Russell 2000, a small cap US stock index, which recently reached a new all time high while altcoins barely reacted.

According to the analyst, current trajectory suggests that hopes for a broad altcoin rally may be “nothing more than wishful thinking.”

What’s Next?

Crypto expert Michael van de Poppe said this week could direct the market well into 2026. He noted that Bitcoin BTC $89 733 24h volatility: 0.2% Market cap: $1.79 T Vol. 24h: $33.33 B dominance has started to drop while Ethereum ETH $3 153 24h volatility: 1.5% Market cap: $380.33 B Vol. 24h: $20.52 B has shown relative strength against the largest cryptocurrency.

However, he added that this shift has yet to spread widely, as many altcoins remain undervalued. The analyst argued that this could lead to a strong altseason in the weeks ahead, if sentiment remains bullish.

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