Whales with holdings of Arbitrum (ARB) tokens have begun transferring their digital assets to cryptocurrency exchanges following the unlocking of a substantial number of tokens on March 16.
On March 18, blockchain analysis company Lookonchain identified that at least 11 whales had deposited their tokens on exchanges after the unlock. In total, these whales deposited 34 million tokens, which were valued at nearly $58 million at the time of writing.
The event occurred after a significant token unlock by the layer-2 blockchain project. On March 16, Arbitrum unlocked 1.1 billion ARB tokens with a value of $2.32 billion. Data from crypto vesting tracker Token Unlocks revealed that 673.5 million tokens were unlocked for the project’s advisers and team members, while 438.25 million tokens were released for investors.
The project conducted a “Cliff Unlock,” which involved releasing all the tokens at once. This led to predictions that many holders would take short positions against the token. Some community members even stated on social media that they had sold their ARB.
Despite some hopes that the token would not experience a significant drop, the price of ARB tokens consistently declined in the week leading up to the unlock. The token reached a high of $2.22 on March 13 and dropped to $1.84 on March 16, the day of the unlock. On March 17, the token fell further to $1.64, reaching its lowest point in seven days. Currently, the token is trading around $1.70, nearly 29% below its all-time high of $2.39, which was reached on January 12.
While the unlocked tokens have already caused a 23.42% decline in price, holders may not find relief in the near future. According to Token Unlocks, Arbitrum is scheduled to release an additional 92.65 million tokens on April 16. These tokens are valued at approximately $157 million based on current market prices and will be released all at once to the Arbitrum team, advisers, and investors.