The Ethereum layer 2 network, Optimism, faces a financial gale as its price has slumped almost 10% in the run-up to its planned token unlock on September 30. The currency, OP, which at publication trades hands at $1.26 shows a 9.29% decrease in the past seven days. After a slight plunge above 3%, the token has rallied in the last 24 hours. However, the token currently free falls along with sliding crypto prices, declining 15.37% in the past month with other altcoins falling in similar numbers.
At this point, OP is leading the loss race among the top 50 assets ranked by market capitalization, trailed closely by Toncoin (TON) and VeChain (VET). This sharp market response comes as the platform preps up to unlock about 24.16 million OP tokens, equal to approximately $31.1 million in current prices. It’s worth noting that these 24 million OP tokens make up 3% of its circulating supply.
Now, as the token unlock comes closer, there are inevitable changes to the tokenomics roadmap. A sizable chunk of about $15.49 million is set to be distributed to core contributors, with the remaining approximately $14.26 million designed for investors. To a certain degree, a downward trajectory in prices is expectable given increased supply’s impact on asset value.
Token unlock events are strategic steps taken by crypto firms for a wide range of reasons relating to the fine-tuning of supply. Many prefer to release tokens in phases rather than a full pump for engagement and price considerations. There are other projects besides Optimism, like 1inch, Yield Guild Games, and Euler (EUL), that follow a similar pathway, preparing for their token unlocks in the upcoming days.
Optimism has been quite active in boosting community interaction. It has unfolded community rewards to accelerate participation in the past few months. In an interesting strategy, the network unlocked 3.56% of its total circulating supply in July worth around $36.92 million at the time. There was another airdrop of approximately 19,411,313 OP tokens, around $27 million then, with about 31,000 addresses recognized for their community participation, governance votes, and OP holdings.
Stirring the community interaction further, approximately 570 million OP tokens are reported to be in sight for future airdrops. The future holds the answers to whether these efforts will result in sustainable community growth and price stabilization.
Source: Cryptonews
