Unlocking tokens does not cause markets to crash by default. Confusion yes. January brings a new token offering for Ondo, Sei, Plume and a few other projects. So numbers matter. However, timing matters more. Unlocks incentives for change. Early investors think differently from individuals. Teams think differently from traders.
So most people react emotionally. They panic sell or blindly hold their altcoins. Both can be expensive. This video gives the full context. Who receives these tokens? How often do unlocks repeat? What usually happens a few days before and after? The goal is simple. Remove surprises. When you understand unlocking, price movements stop seeming random. So this is not a prediction video. This is a preparation video.
Ondo Finance ($ONDO)
So, the first of today’s altcoins with a big token unlocked in January is Ondo Finance ($ONDO) on January 18. Now, Ondo has a somewhat unusual vesting schedule. A typical vesting schedule would see the daily, weekly, or monthly unlocking of tokens. However, not for Ondo and its $ONDO token. Instead, Ondo has a vesting schedule with an annual release.
Is this an unusual unlock schedule or not? Ondo will have four of these unlocks, and this is the second unlock. So, let’s first take a look at what this unlock is, and then I’ll take you back a year. I will examine the impact of this first massive unlock on the price of $ONDO. And by the way, in my previous unlocking video, I explained the difference between a cliff unlock and a linear unlock. If you are interested in more of my videos on Ondo, you can check out this list.
So, this unlock sees 1.94 billion being brought to market. At the current price of 45 cents $ONDO, that’s about $886 million. This represents no less than 57.23% of the circulating supply. The recipients of this unlocking are:
- Development of the protocol: 825 million $ONDO.
- Ecosystem growth: $792 million ONDO.
- Private sales: $322.56 million ONDO.
Source: Ondo Governance Forum
The unlocking of the $ONDO 2025 token
So, it’s time to look back at the 2025 unlock. To begin with, there is a big difference in sentiment in the market. The January 2025 unlock occurred in a bull market. Price dynamics and demand made it possible to absorb supply without a crash.
But this year the feeling is different. We are now looking at a moment of consolidation or end of cycle. This unlock will most likely have a very different effect on the $ONDO price. This is because sentiment and liquidity are lower. I expect a negative price correction. One option may be to sell your bag and buy it back later at a lower price, after unlocking.
Bitget ($BGB)
Next on my list of altcoins for token unlocking is an exchange token, Bitget ($BGB). This token is ranked 7th among all exchange tokens. So we are talking about a token with a high market capitalization. However, it also has a high unlock. No less than 140 million $BGB tokens will be released on January 26. With the current BGB price of $3.60, we are looking at a release of $504 million. This represents 20% of the current circulating supply. There are two allowances;
- Team incentives with 80 million BGB dollars.
- Branding and promotion with 60 million BGB dollars.
What is interesting about the $BGB token is that it has a very active burning mechanism. They burn tokens every quarter. See the engraving equation below.
Source:
However, in September 2025, Bitget partnered with Morph Chain. He transferred 440 million BGB dollars to Morph. 50% of this sum, or 220 million $BGB, was immediately burned. This brings $BGB 7 quarters ahead of its burn schedule.
– Morphing (@MorphNetwork) November 18, 2025
It seems that the quarterly burns have not affected the price of the token much. However, current price developments are simply a reflection of general market conditions. On October 10, the price of $BGB fell, like many altcoins. It now appears that the token is on a slight recovery trajectory.
So for this $BGB token unlock, I see this happening. If team tokens hit the exchanges, expect a sharp but short drop (10-30%). If they are used slowly for marketing or partnership purposes, their impact will be lessened. Monitor on-chain flows to exchanges during the 72-hour period surrounding the unlock. You can take a look at my recent dedicated Bitget video here.
Plume Network ($PLUME)
Plume Network ($PLUME) is next on the current list of altcoins with large tokens unlocked in January. Like Ondo Finance, Plume is active in the RWA sector. It ranks 6th in terms of market capitalization among all other RWA projects. However, since its ATH of 24.75 cents in March last year, $PLUME price has fallen. The current price of $PLUME is around 2 cents. This is 92% lower than his ATH. Unfortunately, many altcoins share the same problem.
I’m afraid the next token unlock won’t help the token price much. On January 21, 1.37 billion PLUME dollars will be released. It’s still worth around $26 million. Previously, $PLUME had smaller monthly unlocks. This time around, we are looking at an unlock of 39.75% of the circulating supply. In other words, this looks like a serious cliff-hanger. However, for good measure, this is a big one-time unlock.
Source: Tokenomics Plume
Investors will receive $700 million PLUME. Top contributors receive the remaining $667 million PLUME dollars. This is undoubtedly a big sourcing event. This can cause short-term volatility and downward pressure if the sell-off hits the exchanges.
In the short term, consider an increase around January 20-21 if you see an increase in trading flows. However, its long-term effect depends more on demand absorption and ecosystem growth than on unblocking alone. If you are interested in Plume, here is a playlist of my Plume related videos.
Sei Network ($SEI)
With Sei Network ($SEI) is the latest of today’s altcoins. It’s not the biggest unlock available, but it’s a popular token. Therefore, I pay attention to this rather small unlock. If you’d like to learn more about the Sei Network, I posted an in-depth Sei video a week ago. Here is also a list of other Sei-related videos posted by Altcoin Buzz.
Sei is a layer 1 channel that also focuses heavily on RWA. On January 15, there will be a release of 55.56 million SEI dollars. At the current SEI price of 13 cents, we’re looking at $7.25 million. This is a regular monthly cliff unlock. This therefore only represents 1.05% of the circulating supply.
These monthly releases generally result in a short-term price drop. $SEI also suffered from the October 10 event. Since the beginning of January, the price seems to be recovering slightly. As I mentioned before, this is a minor unlock. However, this adds supply. This may cause slight short-term volatility. A slight downward pressure is also possible once the sell-off hits the exchanges. The broader trend and demand environment will decide whether this is an incident or a deeper correction.
Source: Messari
So, are you aware of these unlocks and what is your action plan now? Let me know in the comments and be sure to follow our Discord and X channels.
Disclaimer
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