Key Crypto Token Unlocks to Watch in Early January 2026

Crypto tokens worth more than $657 million will enter the market over the next seven days. Notably, three major ecosystems, Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ethena (ENA), and Aptos (APT) will release new token supply into circulation in early January 2026.

The token unlocks will inject fresh liquidity into the market and can also trigger price swings and volatility. So, here is a breakdown of what to watch for in each project.

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1. Hyperliquid (HYPE)

• Unlock Date: January 6
• Number of Tokens to be Unlocked: 12.46 million HYPE 
• Released Supply: 345.08 million HYPE
• Total supply: ~1 billion HYPE

Hyperliquid is a high-performance decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on its own Layer 1 blockchain. It offers on-chain order books, fast execution, and non-custodial trading.

The project will release 12.46 million tokens, valued at approximately $330.51 million, on January 6. This accounts for 3.6% of the current released supply.

Hyperliquid will award all the unlocked tokens to the core contributors. This unlock follows the project’s release of 9.92 million tokens last week.

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2. Ethena (ENA)

• Unlock Date: January 5
• Number of Tokens to be Unlocked: 171.88 million ENA 
• Released Supply: 7.24 billion ENA
• Total Supply: 15 billion ENA

Ethena is a synthetic dollar protocol built on Ethereum (ETH). The protocol’s flagship product is USDe, a synthetic dollar stablecoin. Furthermore, ENA is the governance token of the protocol.

The team will release 171.88 million ENA tokens today. The tokens, worth $42.91 million, account for 2.37% of the released supply.

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Core contributors will get 93.75 million tokens from the unlocked supply. Moreover, investors will receive 78.13 million ENA.

3. Aptos (APT)

• Unlock Date: January 11
• Number of Tokens to be Unlocked: 11.31 million APT
• Released Supply: 1.62 billion APT
• Total supply: 2.6 billion APT

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Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain that focuses on high speed, scalability, and security. It uses the Move programming language and executes transactions in parallel to improve performance. Aptos supports Web3 applications such as DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and consumer apps.

Aptos will release 11.31 million tokens on January 11, in line with its pattern of monthly cliff unlocks. The tokens are worth $21.94 million. Moreover, the stack represents 0.70% of the released supply.

The team will award 3.96 million APT to core contributors. The community and investors will get 3.21 million and 2.81 million tokens, respectively. Additionally, Aptos will allocate 1.33 million tokens to the foundation.

In addition to these three, Linea (LINEA), Movement (MOVE), and IOTA (IOTA), among others, will also experience new supply entering the market this week.